Keptinis, the classic Lithuanian farmhouse style that is baked as a loaf before brewing. In between a porter and a Schwarzbier, though something different as well.

dok brewing festival 2022

“Baked beer” by a Lithuanian farm brewery (in a tradition dating back many centuries) and thus almost by definition a so-called ‘keptinis’, but, contrary to the real thing still made by a handful of farms there, boiled instead of raw – and bottled, though only limitedly so. One of the eyecatchers at this year’s Dok Brewing Festival, not too surprisingly perhaps, since Dok’s head brewer Janos has been dabbling in these northern and eastern European farmhouse beers for several years now. Pale beige, moussy, shred-lacing, opening head on a lightly hazed, very dark cola-brown beer with mahogany glow. Aroma of roasted walnuts, old coffee filters, burnt toast, wet leather, fresh bayleaf, burnt currants, ‘stale’ but interesting hints of a jar of green peppercorns and sweaty socks. Dryish onset, some dried blackberry and elderberry, medium carbonated with smooth mouthfeel; dominating burnt-nutty and toasted bread-crusty, in that sense indeed ‘baked’ malts, very stout- or Schwarzbier-like in effect; this ‘blackened’ maltiness persists in a dry, peppery finish, where some dark-fruitiness is retained and most of the bitterness, if not all, is provided by the toastedness of the malts. Very different from the keptinis made by Dok itself a few years ago, this one very clearly uses malt which has been baked far more, to the extent that the end result tastes roasted rather than baked – like a dry stout, in other words. I could have one of these every day.

1/VII/22 - 50cl bottle @ DOK Brewing Fest (Gent), BB: 30/IX/22 (2022-801) Thanks to all for sharing the beer!

Clear dark red brown beer, small white head, a little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: very malty, grains, cow fodder, yeasty, some banana. MF: ok to a bit lively carbon, medium to light body. Taste: a bit sourish, malty, good roast, some coffee even, a sweet touch, quite some caramel. Aftertaste: very malty, more acidic, very bitter, roasted notes, a bit weird, malty, some yeast, dry and roasted finish. I’m very happy to be able to try a real Lithuanian Keptinis beer!