beer guide latvia - Labs alus

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Vītolu iela 4
Krāslava
krāslavas
102
thousand litres
brewed annually
no website
production stats of the brewery in 2010
0.07 %
of total
Latvian beer volume
It is quite sad to think that the largest and most densely populated region of Latvia -
Latgale that was once famous for its homebrewers has only one commercial brewery
that has operated since the end of the 1980s without interruption. The smallest Latvian
brewery is located deep in the picturesque Latgale countryside, close to the border with
Belarus, more than 250 km from Riga. The beautiful area of Daugava river loops and its
valley is certainly worth the visit to this region, preferably during the summer time. If
one is there, it might be a good idea to try to taste some fresh Krāslavas beer.
The name of the brewery means Krāslava spring and it even produced its own malt when
it was started in 1988. The brewery has always been a small, but successful operation and
it does not seem that there is any expansion planned.
These beers are very good representatives of a typical sweet Latvian country style beer
and it seems that the brewery has acquired a solid customer base that likes Krāslavas
beers exactly this way. It is bottled in 1 l and 2 l PET bottles and it will spoil rather
quickly - in a week or so.
krāslavas beers
gaišais 4.0% (pale lager)
tumšais 4.8% (munich dunkel)
The brewery does not cater for a large variety and the range of beers has been constant
for over 20 years. It is only worth noting that ABV of Krāslava beers show a slow ascending
tendency; there were times when Gaišais was a solid 3.5% session beer.
Gaišais
ABV 4.0%, Pale Lager
Similarly to Abula brewery (actually both of these breweries are rather similar in many
aspects) the Pale beer was introduced later than the Dark one, but it seems that the latter
seems to be more widely distributed.
The beer is pale dark golden, slightly hazy with some
carbonation bubbles rising, several rings of weak lacing are
visible. Aroma is weak sweetish malt mostly, nothing too
interesting to it.
Taste is mostly malt, maybe a bit sourish with hints of citrus
yeast with rather long lasting sweetish malty aftertaste.
Smooth below medium mouthfeel, with weak and pleasant
carbonation.
Overall, this is pale Latvian country beer at its best, drinkable
and tasty, maybe not as sophisticated as other more
industrial Latvian beers, but certainly worth trying. It
certainly has the feel of a farmhouse beer to it and I hope it
will stay this way.
sights and attractions around the brewery
A small picturesque town situated on the banks of the picturesque Daugava river with
tens of lakes surrrounding its hilly countryside is always worth a visit.
• www.kraslava.lv
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