Keptinis

 Overall Impression Keptinis is a traditional Lithuanian oven-baked beer with a deep caramel and toffee flavour, soft and rounded, yet still very drinkable.

Aroma

Medium to low toffee flavor, with hints of caramel and Maillard byproducts, medium roasted flavors with coffee and cocoa. Medium to high nutty, reminiscent of a Dunkel Lager beer, with medium dried fruits. No hops, light esters from yeast.

Appearance

Brown to dark in color, often with ruby highlights. Good clarity, although it could be opaque. Moderate white to light tan head with good to fair retention.

Flavor

Moderate to high bready, biscuity and toasty flavor and medium caramel, nutty and toffee character. Moderate to light dried fruit tones (chestnut, date). Low to medium dark flavors like licorice or coffee. Low to medium fruity esters. Low to no floral hop aroma.Low to medium-low bitterness, slightly balanced. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel

Medium-light to medium body. Low to moderate carbonation. Light to moderate creamy texture.

Comments

The style describes an usual version of historical and farmhouse style Keptinis, still common to find in Lithuania.

History

Today keptinis is associated with the area around the town of Kupiškis, but it's clear that it used to be brewed in a much broader area in north Lithuania.The Lithuanian style keptinis, however, has a simple definition: it's made from malts that are baked, often in bread shapes. Keptinis actually means "baked". There are some farmhouse breweries around panevėžys that still brew it in old way: nobody remembers the exact time, but since 2012 some lithuanian homebrewers started to start to brew this style and let it know more around the country.

Characteristic Ingredients

It was usually made from three types of grain: drooping brome, barley, and oats. Brome is generally considered a weed, but it's sometimes used as fodder for animals so, whatever grains were available, barley was probably preferred. Anyway, the grain is malted in the usual way. Then the malt is mixed with hot water to a thick mash, then put into the oven at a thickness of 17-19 cm on top of a layer of straw. Some people form bread shapes from the mash, while others just make a thick layer. It should then bake until it's brown to black as coal and crisp (over 150 °C), usually 20-30 minutes: a toasty crust should form. Pale malts are mashed in normally, then put into an oven when the initial temperature should be 400-350 °C and let the temperature drop over three hours while the mash bakes. Everything else is normal, no boil as it’s a raw ale but a separate hop brew with water is done. Fermented with fairly neutral ale yeast strain.

Style Comparison

Similar to dunkel as caramel and roasted are moderate, close to a porter about cocoa and coffee notes in balance with caramel, but more rich in Maillard byproduct, it had a more soft and rounded body.

Vital Statistics

IBUs 20 – 35 SRM 25 – 40 OG         1.042 – 1.058 FG         1.010 – 1.015 ABV 3.8 – 5.3%

Commercial Examples

Dundulis Kurkas, Sakiškės Brewery Keptinis

 

Contributor

Angelo Ruggiero

Additional Sources

Historical Brewing Techniques (book), Lars Marius Garshol (website)