Cisk Beer: A Guide to Malta's Lager Range

What Cisk beer is and who brews it

Cisk is the beer brand of Simonds Farsons Cisk, a Maltese brewer. Cisk Lager is described as a golden-coloured, bottom-fermented lager with a well-balanced character and a rich hop aroma.

Cisk Lager was launched in Malta in 1928, according to a retailer listing for the canned beer, and it is bottled at 4.2% alcohol. Treat the 1928 date as the brand's launch year rather than the start of the brewery itself, and judge the rest of the range by the strengths printed on each pack.

The Cisk range by strength

Simonds Farsons Cisk brews in Mrieħel, an inland town between Valletta and Attard rather than a coastal spot. That places the brewery outside the main visitor districts, so a Cisk on a Valletta or Sliema terrace has travelled a short distance from the centre of the island. Bear the location in mind if you are trying to place the brand geographically.

Cisk Lager: what to expect from the 4.2% original

The strengths published for the Cisk range run from a 0.0% alcohol-free beer and a 3% Session up through the 4.2% Lager and 4.2% Excel, then 5% Premium, 5.5% Pilsner and a 9% Strong. The fruit beers sit at 4%: Chill, Chill Lemon and Chill Melon. If you are choosing by strength rather than by label, that spread is the single most useful thing to know.

For a long lunch or an afternoon in the heat, the 3% Session or the 0.0% version lets you keep pace with the table without the strength of the standard lager. The 5% Premium, 5.5% Pilsner and 9% Strong are the stronger end of the range, so check the figure before a round rather than ordering by habit.

Cisk Excel at 4.2%: how it differs from the standard lager

Cisk Lager is the benchmark: a 4.2% golden lager that pours with a short-lived white head. A 2013 blog tasting note describes a malty, grainy aroma and a fairly light, sweet palate with little hop bitterness in the aftertaste. Read that as one drinker's description rather than an official tasting note, and expect a canned or draft pour to vary from it.

If you normally drink crisp, hop-forward lagers, expect something softer and sweeter from the standard Cisk, which that tasting note frames as easy-drinking in warm weather.

Cisk Chill: the lemon and melon variants

Cisk Excel is listed at 4.2% alongside the standard Lager, while the Session beer carries 3%. That means Excel is not the low-alcohol option in the range, whatever its lighter-sounding name suggests. If you want the weaker pour, look for Session rather than Excel.

Because Lager and Excel share a stated strength, the practical difference between them comes down to recipe and character rather than alcohol, so the choice is a matter of taste.

Buying Cisk in the UK

Cisk Chill is the fruit-flavoured branch of the range, sold as plain Chill and as Chill Lemon and Chill Melon, all listed at 4%. These are flavoured beers rather than the plain lagers, so if you dislike sweetness in beer, stay with the Lager or the Pilsner.

For a non-alcoholic soft drink in the same local-drinks territory, Kinnie is the bitter-orange alternative that many Maltese tables carry alongside beer. The Kinnie explainer covers what it tastes like and why it reads differently from the fruit beers.

How to order Cisk in Malta

Cisk is exported, so you do not have to be in Malta to drink it: a UK retailer lists Cisk Session lager in 24 x 330ml 3% cans at a set case price. Use that as an example of what an imported case looks like, not as a guide to the going rate, which moves with retailer and shipping.

Availability in the UK varies by shop and by importer, and a beer that appears one month can vanish the next. Check the stock line on a specialist beer retailer's page before planning a purchase, and expect the choice of strengths to be far narrower than on Malta.

Other Maltese drinks to try alongside Cisk

In Malta, ask for the beer by name and strength: say Cisk Lager, Cisk Excel, Session or Chill Lemon, and confirm whether you are getting a glass or a bottle. A 9% Strong and a 3% Session are very different drinks, and staff will not assume which you want.

Cisk goes with the sort of food you find at lunchtime: a Ġbejna cheeselet with pepper, or Ħobż biż-Żejt, the tomato and olive-oil sandwich. A lighter lager suits the bread, while the stronger end of the range stands up to the cheese.

Other Maltese beers to try alongside Cisk

If you want a different local drink after the beer, explore the broader Maltese Drinks overview alongside the Cisk range before you order.

If you want a local digestif after the beer, Bajtra is the prickly-pear liqueur to look out for. The Bajtra explainer covers what it is and how it is served.

Which Cisk should you order first?

Start with the 4.2% Cisk Lager to establish the baseline, then move to Excel, also 4.2%, if you want a different character, and to Session at 3% or the 0.0% version if you want a lower-strength pour. Keep the 9% Strong for a slower drink and the Chill variants for a hot afternoon when sweetness suits.

If you are drinking at home, check a specialist retailer's stock rather than assuming the full range is available, and compare the strength printed on the pack with the list above.