From Lithuania with sweetness

As I entered the local Vinomopolet outlet yesterday, I was looking for some bottles of Budvar for the weekend. Unfortunately, the shop was out of Budvar, and the shop assistant could tell me that the central Vinmonopolet warehouse in Oslo also was empty. Therefore they do not know when the Czech lager beer will be available again in the shop. For me that is no problem, as I am soon returning to Prague and can have draughted Budvar instead.

I looked around the Vinmonopolet shop to find a beer that I had not tried before. On one of the shelves some bottles of Lithuanian lager was making themselves interesting for me. Covered in some dust, it looked as if these bottles were not a popular choice among the Vinmonopolet costumers. Anyway, I picked up a bottle and brought it home.

According to the label, Svyturys Ekstra is the most popular beer in Lithuania. In the glass this is a pale lager that builds a nice lasting head. It is fizzy, and in the nose there is little aroma. In the mouth, this is a very sweet and medium bodied beer. There is also some maltiness and hints of grains. The aftertaste is full of sweetness.

I did not like this beer, and after several sips, Svyturys Ekstra got much too sweet. It was almost sickening sweet for me, and I would have liked it to have some bitterness to counter the sweetness.

I guess I have bought my last bottle of Svyturys Ekstra. This was a beer that I did not care for at all. If I want something this sweet, I would rather have a Coke or a Pepsi.