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Description
Brewery Rinkuškiai is the only family held brewery in Biržai region, known as the beer capital of Lithuania. The history of the brewery began many generations ago.
Beer has been brewed in Biržai region since the end of XI th century. The secrets of beer making have been passed from generation to generation. Jonas Čygas, local brewer, was famous for his outstanding beer even outside Biržai region. He brewed his barley beer for family celebrations like weddings and anniversaries. His beer was even brought to Vilnius, the capital, as a gift to the government officers.
Rimantas Čygas, the son of Jonas Čygas, established brewery Rinkuškiai in at the end of 1990, together with his relatives Petras Kalkys and Sigitas Kalkys.
In 1991 the first beer was brewed following authentic receipt of Jonas Čygas, in old wooden beer vats that now are exhibited at Rinkuškiai beer museum.
Since 1991 the brewery has modernized the facilities, expanded the assortment and production. Rinkuškiai is the largest local capital brewery in Lithuania and one of the five largest breweries in Lithuania, the only one of five run by the local brewery family. Rinkuškiai beer has been exported to the USA for more than 10 years, also to Poland, Latvia and Estonia. In 2014 some sorts of beer have been exported to Ireland and China. On September 2015 Rinkuškiai started exporting to Canada.
The owners of the brewery reveal that brewery is not merely a business, but a mission to preserve beer brewing traditions of Biržai region, the beer capital of Lithuania.
Rinkuškiai beer. From generation to generation.
Beer has been brewed in Biržai region since the end of XI th century. The secrets of beer making have been passed from generation to generation. Jonas Čygas, local brewer, was famous for his outstanding beer even outside Biržai region. He brewed his barley beer for family celebrations like weddings and anniversaries. His beer was even brought to Vilnius, the capital, as a gift to the government officers.
Rimantas Čygas, the son of Jonas Čygas, established brewery Rinkuškiai in at the end of 1990, together with his relatives Petras Kalkys and Sigitas Kalkys.
In 1991 the first beer was brewed following authentic receipt of Jonas Čygas, in old wooden beer vats that now are exhibited at Rinkuškiai beer museum.
Since 1991 the brewery has modernized the facilities, expanded the assortment and production. Rinkuškiai is the largest local capital brewery in Lithuania and one of the five largest breweries in Lithuania, the only one of five run by the local brewery family. Rinkuškiai beer has been exported to the USA for more than 10 years, also to Poland, Latvia and Estonia. In 2014 some sorts of beer have been exported to Ireland and China. On September 2015 Rinkuškiai started exporting to Canada.
The owners of the brewery reveal that brewery is not merely a business, but a mission to preserve beer brewing traditions of Biržai region, the beer capital of Lithuania.
Rinkuškiai beer. From generation to generation.
3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 3
Flavor 2
Texture 4
Overall 2
500 ml bottle, $2 at Binny’s. A lot of corn and Malt-o-Meal in the nose. Smell further complicated by saccharine. In other words, not much actual beer. But I’ve been through three weeks of Christmas beers, so maybe an East European malt likker is what I need. At least there’s a golden beer color and a buzzy head here. But the taste is still sickly sweet corn syrup and an anesthesiologist’s mask just as they starting pumping the ether for my tonsillectomy back in 1965. A taste sensation so unpleasant I was reminded of it 45 year later, damn this evil brew. Ah! While writing that last sentence, the hearing went out on my left ear. Okay, it’s back, but this one of the nastiest alcohol delivery systems I’ve encountered.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jan 2010
at 20:12
5.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle. Pours gold with a decent frothy white head. Aroma of pale malt and grassy hop. Medium plus body with sharp, bubbly carbonation. Flavor is strong pale malt with a little grassy bitter. It’s decent. Nothing like a crappy malt liquor. Definitely drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Dec 2009
at 20:34
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottled, from Snekutis, Vilnius. Deep golden, rich head. Juicy floral nose. Sweet and fruity with medium-full body. Soapy and rustic with notes of butter. Dense and soft, juicy and sweaty, alcolol is well hidden. Some late herbal bitterness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Dec 2009
at 00:43
4.2/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4
Pours pale gold into a stein. Bright white head quickly recedes to nothing. Sour malt and artificially sweetened adjunct aromas. Crisp with our grass and bread upfront. Nasty sour finish.
Tried
on 30 Nov 2009
at 16:05
3.2/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 3
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 3
500ml bottle. $1.79 at Discount Liquors, Milwaukee. Pours a thin and pale golden yellow. Minimal patchy head, big soapy bubbles. The aroma is ruthlessly sweet, especially for a beer of such low ABV. Wow, what a shitty beer. Diacetyl bomb. Odd vanilla butterscotch flavors. Really just plain bad. Tastes like some horrible factory made nonsense, with some malt and hop extract tossed into the sugar water to make it beer-like. Really exceptionally bad, with no redeeming qualities at all.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Nov 2009
at 00:15
5.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
Pours gold into a shaker. Off-white head quickly recedes to hug rim. Perfume and adjunct aromas. Full sweet malt and cloying caramel.
Tried
on 25 Nov 2009
at 19:49
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Courtesy of Ramoned. Pours deep cloudy gold with thin off white head. The aroma is very sweet with malts, caramel, more caramel and then mixing with both caramel and molasses. Did I say it smells sweet? The taste is actually similar with sweet sweet malts and caramel to go along with a brief oasis of subtle roasted malts. There is little else going on here than that. I get no real sense of the sizable ABV.
Tried
on 14 Nov 2009
at 18:34
6.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
courtesy of retorp. Pours orange/copper haze, thin white head. Aroma is malty, hints of caramel, grainy with some corn sweetness. Flavor, similar to aroma, caramel malts, possibly corn?, sweet palate.
Tried
on 03 Nov 2009
at 22:27
4.6/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
Bottle thanks to angrypirate06. Pours a clear gold with a sparse white head. Aroma of trash can, orange, and dry bread. Taste is sweet and buttery diacetyl and lemon. Fizzy and dry.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Aug 2009
at 14:58
4.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4
Clear amber with rapidly disappearing white head. Aroma of alcohol and some spice. Very malty flavor, not well balanced. Mediocre.
Tried
on 31 Jul 2009
at 18:13