Latvians have always been not just great singers, but also passionate devotees of smoked food and drink. In days of yore, it was not just slowly smoked pork thighs or wild boar sausages that acquired their special smoky fragrance and flavour in black smokehouses, but also barley meant for beer. Valmiermuiža dark smoked beer has proved to be so popular that the brewery’s Master Brewer has decided to brew it full time, and it can now be found on our shop shelves and fine restaurants throughout the year.
When it comes to brewing Valmiermuiža dark smoked beer, we use malts that have stood the test of time: light Pilsner, dark caramel and, of course, special smoked malt, dried over an open flame in birch wood smoke. To attain the beer’s inimitable flavour, we add just one fifth of the total amount of smoked malt — so we only imagine how potent smoked beer was during the Hanseatic Era. We offer you Valmiermuiža dark smoked beer live and unpasteurized. The beer has a rich amber colour with pale yellow foam. As one would expect, the first thing you sense about the fragrance is smoke shadowed by the sweetness of caramel. The balanced flavour is a subtle interplay of smoked ribs, honey and bitterness of hops.
| Alc. tilp. | 5,5 % |
| Beer style | Smoked Dark Lager |
| Colour / EBC | 40/ rich amber |
| Strenght / °P | 15 |
| Bitterness / IBU | 24 |
| Hops | Hallertauer Nugget and Hallertauer Mittelfrüh (Germany) |
| Malt | Pilsner, dark caramel and smoked |
| Special | Malt dried in birch wood smoke |
| Temperature | +14 °C |
| Food pairing | With grilled meat or fish, mushroom sauces,stews and intense cheeses. And try it after a meal as a dessert! |
Unhurriedly brewed for special occasions, in Latvia beer has been the Master Brewer’s pride and joy since days of yore. As a measure of our respect for venerable traditions, at Valmiermuiža we brew unpasteurised beer patiently and nurture a culture of enjoying beer, so that beer enjoys a place of honour on the festive table just as it did in olden days.
