Snigger, Sounds like Alehouse

Lithunia 0 v England 1

World Cup Qualifying, Group F

Sunday 8 October 2017

13 Lithuanian Beer Ticks

My 140th England Away Game

A lovely pleasant, beery surprise. I’d done my internet research. So, I “knew” what I was up against. But, this was an unusually short in n out trip. The main concern on Match Day was summat that would be open at 11am on a Sunday. That turned out to be…..

Šnekutis
Šv. Mikalojaus g. 15
A Blackboard, ordered by beer style. Twenty five on it. ALL Lithuanian. And the Magic Passwords IPA/APA. A few comical language barrier problems around size of beers. But, the staff were polite & friendly. That place sort of set the tone. The pleasant surprise was the range of different Lithuanian Beers that every place we went in had.

Genys Kalifornikacija APA on keg at 5.8%
Dundulis Humulupu IPA on keg at 5.5%
Apynys Green Monster IPA on keg at 6.3%
Dundulis Juodas IPA (Black IPA) from a bottle at 5.6%
Dundulis Simkala APA from a bottle at 5.3%
Genys Tattoo Lager on keg at 4%
Apynys, Vasaros Griausmas on keg at 4.7%

I did benefit a little bit from being in a group. Some Fellas tried other ones, they weren’t all that, so I was able to swerve some. But, those were all Belters. The Juodas Black IPA caught me out a bit. The barman told me it was a straight ahead IPA. Nae bother. I love Black IPAs. Red fruit sweetness. Silky smooth. Bitter finish. Superb. As per, the IPAs came up a bit underhopped for my taste. The Genys Tattoo was glorious. Lager - like lager should be. Think Barley Sugar sweets. Then tangy & yeasty in the finish. But, I’m going to give Standout Beer Of The Bar to that Genys Kalifornikacija APA. Nice tropical & pineapple flavours into strong bitterness. Loved it.

Craft Beer Merchants, Alaus Pirkliai
Šiaulių g. 5-6
Slightly odd place. One of those hybrid bottle shop/front room bar places. (Effectively across the crossroads from Šnekutis. There were three kegs on. But, upon cross examination, they seemed to be from a Polish brewery. When I walked in, there was the owner & a bloke in the corner sat on a stool, strumming a guitar and crooning away. OK. Thought I. Sunday afternoon turn. Happens. As soon as we established ourselves & sorted out kegs & fridges. He’s unplugged, got off the stool & done the off.

Dundulis Dubults IPA from a bottle at 7.2%
Well. We’re in no brainer territory here. Double IPA. North of 7% abv. It was lovely. Well balanced. Not a Hop Bomber. Maybe needed a little more residual sugar. I’m nitpicking. It was deep & rich & bitter. Great. That’s a Contender.

BIX Bar
Etmonų g. 6
Naturally, after the game, I had many drunken idiots scattered around Vilnius. One of them was in here. Randomly. But, it gives me the chance to emphasise that even this random stumble inn was chock of Lithuanian Taps.

Pilialaukis Brizas American Pale on keg at 4.8%
Tasted sweet. Like Victory. For that is what it was…..

There is more than one Šnekutis location. Having had such a great time in one, we headed to another.

Šv. Stepono g. 8
Dundulis Saulenis from a bottle at 4.8%
Golden Ale style. Which was excellent. The yeast giving off just enough funky sugar to bump up the flavour.

Alinė Leičiai
Stiklių g. 4
Is a BrewPub restaurant. From what I could see, only serving their own range of beer. Hearty, meaty, Lithuanian food. Good place to while away your dinner & afternoon.

Leičiai, IPA on keg
A big sweet hit. Knocked back by a lime bitterness.

Bambalynė
Stiklių g. 7
Is a BottleShop in a cellar. With quite a few bits of upholstery to plant your arse on. I didn’t particularly warm to it. Very little interaction with the staff. Maybe if I’d asked for help, they would have. But. it felt like I was being left to my own devices in front of a bank of fridges. MTV or similar blaring out of the tele. I plumped for
Butautu Krafto Alus, Hello Mintonette from a bottle at 4.4%

Overwhelmingly. What is he doing here?. Tasted alright. Just not like any other American Pale I’ve had. Anywhere. I’ll call it as I see it. Mate. GINGER. You’ve got a perfectly palatable Ginger Beer there. With some lovely Marmalade tones running through it. Rebadge…..

And. Finally. What A Great Beer Scene. Even the bar at the Airport had a range of Lithuanian Taps n Bottles. Alaus Uostas. And a good enough time to get the giggles out of the way. A couple of the places I was in. And, a good few others I couldn’t make had the word ALAUS in them. Snigger, sounds like ALEHOUSE.
Rinkuškių Miežinis from a bottle at 5%

Okey Dokey. Outstanding Gaff Of The Trip goes hand down to the marvellous Šv. Mikalojaus branch of Šnekutis. Outstanding Beer Of The Trip was a close run thing. I’m hearing the Dundulis Dubults IPA (7.2%).

Three at the back, What’s happened there. Peering through the rain. Trying to count ‘em & audit them. The rain didn’t spoil it too much. It would have actually been a superb football experience. Small ground. We were very close to the pitch. A fella two along from me was holding a conversation with Defoe & his chances of getting on. As, he’d backed ‘em at 4-0. Mug Punting.

549/1146