Lithuanian Pilsener from a can, bought at a Russian supermarket in Ghent. Snow white, very irregularly shaped, shred-lacing, opening head on a crystal clear, pale straw blonde beer with no visible sparkling. Weak and rather neutral aroma: soggy breakfast cereals, strong ‘tin can’ iron effect, plaster, rubber, minerals, dry kitchen cloth, whiff of grass. Neutral onset, lively and minerally carbonation, clear metallic effect here, slender watery body; slick graininess, malt extract sweetishness, remaining very light-bodied and metallic until an unexpected grassy hop bitterness shows up in the end, albeit very mildly so. The metallic effect remains the most prominent feature here, the old ‘drinking from a can’ effect – clearly the improvements that were made in coating cans with a protective layer to prevent this from happening, have not yet reached this brewery. I hope they will, someday, but until then: boring, metallic, one-dimensional canned lager, redeemed just a little bit by that grassy bitter accent in the finish.

Bottle from 7 Days, Crewe. Has a mixture of grains, bread crusts and hops in the aroma. Pours a pale straw with a small transient white head with (surprisingly) some lacing. In the mouth the texture is light and watery – but not in a bad way. Flavour is cereals, sweet malts and a metallic tang. Fairly highly carbonated. A macro lager, but by no means the worst I’ve tasted.