Rusty Beer in Latvia

Ever wonder what Soviet beer tasted like? Well then, go to Latvia, because they still have some leftover.

I drank a fair quantity of beer during my trip to Latvia and it was pretty good. Not special. Just good. All except for one draft beer handed to me about 0139 in the morning. The Swede I was at the bar with purchased it for me, as it was the 'Swedish thing to do'. That was great, until I tasted it. The taste was horrible, that is until the aftertaste which was much worse. It was kind of like getting a needle shot and all of a sudden having a metal taste in your mouth. But it was not quite metal. It was rust.

I tasted it a couple of times to be sure that I tasted what I thought I did. I asked my company how her beer was. "It sucks" was the reply. So I grabbed the two beers and brought them back to the bar.

"There is something wrong with this beer" I said to the bartender. "You don't like the beer?" was the reply. I tried to explain that I like Latvian beer, but that there was something wrong with the beer I just got. They refused to taste it. In fact, all of a sudden they could no longer understand English. Thankfully, there was another customer who was translating for me.

My ad-hock translator agreed to taste the beer. "Sorry to say, but that is how the beer is supposed to taste. In fact, this is my favorite beer." was his comment upon tasting it. I thanked him for his assistance by buying him a beer. I then got myself a can of Finnish Gin Long Drink. Which I enjoyed courtesy of my Swedish friend.

Finnish 'Lonkero'
Lonkero. Great Stuff.

I wonder how much lead was in that rusty beer?

.