Aiko
Rinkuškiai

AikoAiko
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From:
Rinkuškiai
 
Lithuania
Style:
European Strong Lager
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
75
Avg:
3.07 | pDev: 22.15%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
33
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 06, 2016
Added:
Sep 17, 2006
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Photo of ordybill
Reviewed by ordybill from Georgia

3.75/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 500 ML bottle into a pint glass at the World of Beer in Columbia, SC. The appearance is a slightly murky golden orange color with a medium sized off-white head. The aroma is alcohol, malt and biscuits. The taste is matches the smell.
Dec 06, 2016
 
Rated: 2.69 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Apr 25, 2016
Photo of barczar
Reviewed by barczar from Kentucky

3.33/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
2011 vintage.

Aroma is lightly metallic, but very heavy on caramel malt, with date, prune, fig notes.

Flavor is a touch deep in the sherry department, and somewhat devoid of character, elsewise.
Jan 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Ian504 from North Carolina

Aug 05, 2014
 
Rated: 2 by steve99 from Connecticut

Apr 14, 2014
Photo of RonaldTheriot
Reviewed by RonaldTheriot from Louisiana

4.12/5  rDev +34.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Aiko Stiprus (Strong) has a medium-to-thick, off-white head and a somewhat hazy, orange-gold appearance, with streaming bubbles and respectable lacing left behind. The aroma is sharp, rich, biscuit, of slight alcohol, rich, and full. The taste is the same, with a distinctive barley aspect and even a mentholated character as one exhales. Mouthfeel is medium to full, chewy, and candied. Aiko Stiprus finishes semi-dry, very rich, super sweet, and sip-able. Overall, this is a fantastic and exquisite beer, and we rate it as most excellent!

RJT
Sep 23, 2013
Photo of AmitC
Reviewed by AmitC from New York

3.31/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Last product from Rinkuskiai. Poured from a 500 ml bottle into a hefe glass.

Pale golden color with good clarity. Less than a finger thick head of white color with decent retention. Good lacing on the sides. A lot of bubbles rising up.

Smell is full of strong grainy malts. A bit of alcohol. Very different kind of aroma. Not very likable. It has decent strength and longevity.

Flavor is very malty and tastes more like boozy malt liquor. Grains are present. Some amount of hops but the overall finish is alight sweeter.

Mouth feel is medium to slightly light. Moderate carbonation. Some poor smell and taste but no astringency. Appears a little boozy.

I will congratulate you if you could finish this one. I do not like it and finishing it is really tough.
Feb 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by Brewsed from North Carolina

Aug 14, 2012
Photo of sommersb
Reviewed by sommersb from Tennessee

3.58/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Tasted On: 03-05-2012
Freshness: Not indicated
Packaging: 500 ml brown bottle
Glassware: Willi Becher
Purchased: Single from Grace's, Nashville

A: Clear, light amber color, with a few bubbles seen in the glass. The head is off-white, standing a couple of fingers high. Retention is low, with a good amount of lacing.

S: Aromas include some spicy pilsner hop profiles, sweet pale malts, with caramel and woody/oak smells.

T: Taste is malty sweet, fruity, with some supporting spices like cinnamon and ginger.

M: Moderately carbonated on a body between thin and medium. Aftertaste is balanced with toffee sweetness and a slight earthy bitterness.

O: Very easy drinking, this beer does well at hiding the 9.5% alcohol. Not overly complex, but a good enjoyable lager. This doesn't get much love on BA but I can recommend it.
Mar 06, 2012
 
Rated: 2.5 by LJWalker from Indiana

Mar 05, 2012
Photo of Nerudamann
Reviewed by Nerudamann from Oregon

3.45/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

Look – light amber color, a little murky with good carbonation and about two fingers’ worth of frothy off-white colored foam that dissipates somewhat slowly.

Smell – a little musky smelling, and very earthy in general. Mostly more malty in smell though.

Taste – much like the smell. It smells like it has the faint beginnings of a barleywine, but it doesn’t continue with that due to the musky quality. The abv can be noticed, but it’s not overwhelming. The finish feels a little medicinal.

Mouthfeel – pretty well balanced in general, not leaning one way or the other in terms of watery vs. creamy.

Overall – not a bad brew, really. Not quite what I was expecting, but that led to a pleasant surprise.
Oct 30, 2011
Photo of Stinkypuss
Reviewed by Stinkypuss from Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Aiko (Stiprus)

Appearance: Orangeish gold in color, and cloudy with a chill haze. Soapy white head retains decently well but leaves no lace.

Smell: Lofty alcohol, slightly fruity and sweet fusel aromas billow.

Taste: For a lager, this tastes alot like a Barleywine style ale. Sweet toffee like malt, suggestions of honeydew melon, and some alcohol. Somehow manages to be crisp, and surprisingly light for the ABV. Alittle bit of spent grain is there too, no noticable hop character, but everything is pretty much balanced.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, appropriate carbonation, alittle warming alcohol.

Overall: Strong lager with some deceptiveness and good character.
Oct 16, 2011
Photo of biggred1
Reviewed by biggred1 from Indiana

3.23/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Slightly murky butterscotch with blonde highlights on the edges of the glass and a fluffy eggshell head that leaves scraps of lace on the glass. The nose is pure candy, maybe banana Airheads or something with fruity esters and a touch of grain alcohol. Sweet and fruity with some juicy-fruit and a touch of herbal hops but not really enough to balance, this is a high alcohol malt bomb for sure with a distinct caramel apple finish. Medium bodied and with sharp carbonation and alcoholic heat. Better than some of these crazy high octane Euro Malt Liquors and not entirely unpleasant, but don't ever drink more than one in a sitting.
Oct 02, 2011
Photo of nlmartin
Reviewed by nlmartin from Ohio

3.2/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
This beer came out of the dollar bin. A dollar and a half for 9.5% beer its got to be awful! The beer was served in a pint glass well chilled.

Appearance: The body of the beer is golden colored with a frothy white head noted. Very little in the way of head retention.

Smell: A nice caramel floral and vaguely fruity aroma rises out of my glass. A whiff of alcohol rises but is not noxious as I expected it to be.

Taste: Sweet malty caramel flavors all the way. A bit of alcohol peaks its head out but not in a bad way.

Mouthfeel : The beer is full bodied. The alcohol reminds me of drinking a strong mixed drink. The carbonation is medium and works well with the beer.

Overall: In spite of my earlier trepidation I am enjoying this strong lager. This is a malty alcoholic monster that will reappear in place of malt liquor.
Apr 12, 2011
Photo of drpimento
Reviewed by drpimento from Wisconsin

2.75/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Poured with a thick foamy, frothy, cream colored, sudsy head and some lace. Color is a clear medium amber with some chunky bit of sediment. Aroma is beery, sweet malt, and a bit of soap. Flavor is heavy malt, sweet, with a little hop bitterness. Body is malt heavy and good carbonation; good for the style. Finish is like flavor and like boozer's beer. Not for me.
Jul 01, 2010
Photo of redjameskidd
Reviewed by redjameskidd from Illinois

1/5  rDev -67.4%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
First off, just let me start off by saying that I cannot believe--CANNOT BELIEVE--that this beer has thusfar obtained a C+ rating on this site. It almost makes me lose faith in the system completely. It makes me wonder if those people giving this beer B's were somehow tricked by it's absurd alcoholic content.

I picked up this beer for exactly $1 at the local liquor depot. A buck. A dollar for a 9.5% abv. beer. That does not bode well in any language.

Appearance: A frothy golden color that surprisingly doesn't clear. The color of cloudy urine in the toliet bowl.

Smell: Indescribable. My friend compared it to the smell of toe fungus.

Taste: I wouldn't know, but presumably also close to the taste of toe fungus. Upon drinking an american lager later in the evening, it occured to me that if you magnified the funky taste of say, an MGD about a dozen times, this is probably what it would taste like.

Mouthfeel: It invaded my mouth like a Lithuainian army. The aftertaste was even worse than the present-taste.

Drinkability: Drain-pour.
Sep 17, 2009
Photo of utah44
Reviewed by utah44 from Louisiana

2.25/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
Contained in 0.5 liter brown bottle. Pours as a urine colored yellow with a minimal head which melts away to nothing. Aroma is sweet, almost floral, with a hint of adjuncts and hops. Taste is light and mildly sweet and hoppy. The light body is without merit and leaves little trace of anything. At a cost of $2.49 a bottle, I expected more but this brew does not deliver anything that would induce me to recommend it to others.
Aug 21, 2009
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
An interesting and enjoyable beer (for some). Deep-gold/amber body beneath a creamy head of gently off-white. Fair head retention, and average lacing. The aroma is floral and fruity with a waft of alcohol over a sweetish malt base, and it at times seems a bit fruit-candy-ish. That carries over into the finish, and it ends with a sweet note of fruit candy, as well as a bit of grassy, gently spicy, and mildly herbal hops that fade to leave behind a note of sweet licorice. There's a pretty good deal of malt to it as well, and it's like candy-coated caramel. Full bodied, but also strong (9.5%), and backed by a stiff bitterness that cuts through the middle but just can't hold on. Sweetish? Yes! But not too unlike many Russian/eastern European strong ales. It's done in that vein. The difference is that there's a bit more caramel malt here, and the hops are not as herbal as usual. So, OK, onwards to drinkability. Well, for this style it's pretty good. The beers from this part of the world are pretty 'different', but at the same time, we're not all from there, and to a lot of us it seems sweetish-malty. It actually tastes a little like there was some propylene glycol added to it to give it a little bit of a kick! Yeah, I guess it's got a hint of a medicinal edge too. Not enough to kill you though ;) If you're familiar with beers done in this vein you'll know what you're getting into. If you're not, and you're used to more focused and balanced beers stay away.
Jun 12, 2009
Photo of dotsonjamesg
Reviewed by dotsonjamesg from Arkansas

3.48/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Found this a few months ago at Springhill Liquor. Looked interesting and foreign so I thought I would give it a try. Honestly, the biggest attraction for me was the $3 price tag and 9.5% ABV! A cheap drunk is a good drunk when your like me and on a budget.

Appearance: Pours a clear golden color with a white head that quickly dissipated. No real retention here.

Smell: Subtle malty sweetness with a tinge of fruit and spices. The brew smells kinda pretty, actually.

Taste: Rich malty sweetness is used to hide the alcohol and it seems to do it pretty well. The alcohol does come through a bit at the end and the warming bitterness lingers on for a bit then dissipates.

Moutfeel: Thick and viscous.

Drinkability: It really isn't a bad beer but I have most definitely had better. I am not real familiar with the this caliber of brews so I have nothing really too compare it to, though I felt it closely resembles a poorly made dubbel or bock. I think I'll buy again but not really to enjoy. It'll my backup when the SN: Torpedo and Big Foot Ale run out.

Cheers!

-Dotson
Apr 04, 2009
Photo of Amalak
Reviewed by Amalak from New York

3.24/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Got a bottle of this at a local Russian supermarket. It had an average head with good lace. It was bubbly and gold. The scent was of roasted malt.

True to the scent, it had a very malty taste. Solid is about the best way I can describe it. Much better than an American Macro Lager, but leaves a strange taste in the back of the mouth. While it has many of the elements of a Macro, the malts separate this beer.
Jan 22, 2009
Aiko from Rinkuškiai
Beer rating: 75 out of 100 with 33 ratings