In my previous job I had a friend from Latvia who visited his home constantly and brought me their local beers as gifts all the time. Not only did the 1 and 2 liter PET beer bottles become handy for my own homebrews their original content also kinda made me a fan. Miezitis Stripais and Muizas brands being my favourites. But now that I have changed jobs and about to move into another city, I find myself missing these treats and it is quite hard to find information about them in language that I can understand.
To describe them how they taste in single word, deceptive. Not much bittering hops, mild carbonation (no fear of bloating if drank straight from the bottle) quite malty but not cloyingly sweet and considering their strength (7.5%-8.5% ABV) there is next to no alcohol kick even when they are warm, which is something I definetly cannot say from our Finnish macrobrewer Dopperbocks and strong lagers which tend to be decent when ice cold but become horribly boozy when warm. These Latvian equivalents are so inoffensive that my mom, who hates strong beers, drank them when I gifted my dad a few bottles. She did not even realise that she was drinking super strong stuff that can sweep her legs off if not careful and my dad did not say a thing either, just watched what was about to happen with a devious smile.
I am looking for information what style these beers fall into and how to brew something similar, inoffensive tasting yet backstabs you with a mule kick. I do realize that these beers MAY have of a "bum fuel" reputation, they are after all cheap and sold in big PET bottles, so they are probably not favored in communities where IPA's and such hop bombs are all the craze. But I am a fan.
To describe them how they taste in single word, deceptive. Not much bittering hops, mild carbonation (no fear of bloating if drank straight from the bottle) quite malty but not cloyingly sweet and considering their strength (7.5%-8.5% ABV) there is next to no alcohol kick even when they are warm, which is something I definetly cannot say from our Finnish macrobrewer Dopperbocks and strong lagers which tend to be decent when ice cold but become horribly boozy when warm. These Latvian equivalents are so inoffensive that my mom, who hates strong beers, drank them when I gifted my dad a few bottles. She did not even realise that she was drinking super strong stuff that can sweep her legs off if not careful and my dad did not say a thing either, just watched what was about to happen with a devious smile.
I am looking for information what style these beers fall into and how to brew something similar, inoffensive tasting yet backstabs you with a mule kick. I do realize that these beers MAY have of a "bum fuel" reputation, they are after all cheap and sold in big PET bottles, so they are probably not favored in communities where IPA's and such hop bombs are all the craze. But I am a fan.
