I mentioned a few weeks back that Sherbrooke Liquor Store in Edmonton has found a way to one-up itself with a new 12-part series honouring the various beer gods in world cultures. The first one, Ragutiene – a Lithuanian beer goddess of some stature, hit the shelves a few weeks ago. Brewed by Saskatoon’s Paddock Wood, it is styled as a Baltic Porter (appropriately enough). I have been meaning to get around to tasting it, but with one thing and another it slipped by me. I finally got around to it recently and thought I would review it here.
It is a deep dark brown beer verging on black. Its thick tan head that reminds me of a stout rather than a porter. The aroma has tons of chocolate, some coffee as well as toffee and accents of almond and other nuts. I also detect some licorice and a noticeable alcohol heat.
Upfront, the flavour is molasses, brown sugar, chocolate and toffee. The middle picks up some coffee and bitter chocolate and a dark fruit character. It finishes intense with coffee, alcohol, dark rum, and bread pudding.No question there is a lot going on in that bottle.
This is a big beer with, I must say, a fair bit of alcohol. It is clearly a porter, and Baltic at that.It has the substantial body, dark fruit and intense bitter-sweetness to attest to that. It hits the style nicely. My only criticism is that it may be too hot. The alcohol takes a prominent place in the beer’s profile. This is not necessarily inappropriate for the style; I just think I would prefer it to be a bit more subtle and balanced. Maybe that will come with a couple of months in the bottle to mellow. Which means my recommendation is probably by a couple of bottles and leave them in your cellar for a few months. Not too long, mind you. Just till the new year and see if the heat has softened. I imagine the added sherry notes might help as well.
An enticing, alluring first effort in this ambitious series. Can’t wait to try the second one coming out sometime in the next few weeks. (The whole solstice/equinox thing seems to have gone by the wayside already).
September 9, 2011 at 10:45 AM
Timing turned out to be too much of a problem, so yeah, the best laid plans…
Silenius is up next, hopefully early November.
Next Act is carrying the whole series, and they just got Ragutiene yesterday, so they’re good to go.
September 10, 2011 at 11:45 AM
Harvest Vintage in Grande Prairie will be carrying the series as of next Thursday or Friday.
September 10, 2011 at 7:43 PM
Thanks for the heads up on the “heat”. I only have one bottle, and love a good Baltic Porter, so will cellar this one for a wee bit!
September 12, 2011 at 10:49 PM
I’ll likely be picking up at least one or two more. A wonderful porter! Looking forward to the rest of the series…no Really seriously anticipating the remainder!
September 21, 2011 at 1:29 PM
I’m late to the party here, but I tried the Ragutiene a few weeks ago (whatever day it was released). I too found the alcoholic heat too much too handle, I was unable to finish the bottle. But I also agree that it might be calmed down enough by late winter.
I also detected something a little “different,” a flavour I could not quite place. I have since been informed that this beer was aged on a small amount of sour cherries, so I assume that is what I felt didn’t quite fit into the flavour profile of a baltic porter.