Why are we reviewing Cisk? Well, this is a story of when a wedding, a gaming friendship, and a lager all collide.
Many years ago, I made a friend from Malta through a gaming site. We ended up playing a lot of Destiny together, then in around 2017, he and his girlfriend came over to the UK and we finally met in person. Fast forward to this year, and I was out in Malta for their wedding. Lovely stuff. Genuinely. A beautiful occasion, a cracking excuse to travel, and a nice reminder that online gaming friendships can sometimes turn into very real, very meaningful things.
While we were out there doing the usual wandering, sightseeing, and occasional standing around pretending we knew where we were going, one phrase kept popping up all over the place: Cisk Frisk.
You could not really miss it.
Eventually I tracked down a couple of cans for myself, the original Cisk Lager and Cisk Excel, and once I realised the brewery behind them was an independent Maltese outfit rather than some faceless global beer blob, it felt like exactly the sort of thing worth writing about here.
Because if we are happy to shine a light on independent mead in Lancashire, why not give some Maltese lager its moment too?
A little bit of background before we crack the cans
Cisk is not some trendy new craft upstart trying to look older than it is. It has proper roots. The brand’s story goes back to Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna and Scicluna’s Bank, which introduced cheque payments to Malta. The word “cheques” apparently got mangled into “cisk” by locals, Scicluna picked up the nickname, and the beer ended up inheriting it too. The Cisk brand launched in 1929, and after a 1948 merger it became part of Simonds Farsons Cisk, which today describes itself as Malta’s leading independent brewer.
That alone gave the whole thing a bit more charm for me. There is something pleasing about drinking a beer that is not only tied closely to the place you are visiting, but basically woven into its history as well.
Cisk Lager is not trying to be clever, and that is exactly why it works
The original Cisk Lager sits at 4.2% ABV and is still pitched by the brand as the classic standard-bearer of the range. It is the one that feels most obviously tied to the island’s identity, and it has been brewed to that same original recipe since 1929.
And honestly, it tastes like it knows exactly what job it has been hired to do.
This is not one of those lagers that shows up trying to reinvent beer. It is not here to slap you with hops, confuse you with tasting notes, or make you pretend you can detect twelve different flavours while squinting into the middle distance. It is just light, crisp, clean, and very, very easy to drink.
Which, in Malta, feels like exactly the right move.
Sat looking out at all that bright blue water while the sun does its absolute best to melt your face off, Cisk makes immediate sense. It is refreshing without feeling watery, simple without feeling cheap, and straightforward without being boring. There is a reason it is everywhere. It just fits the place.
Cisk Excel is the one that sounds less exciting than it actually is
Then there is Cisk Excel, which on paper might sound like the one you politely tolerate rather than actively want. It is the low-carb sibling, still 4.2% ABV, with the brand saying it keeps the same Cisk Lager character while cutting the carbs by 50%. It has also picked up a decent run of awards over the years and is positioned as a lighter, crisp alternative that still delivers on flavour.
That all sounds a bit sensible. Potentially suspiciously sensible.
In practice, though, I liked it.
A lot, actually.
Excel still has that same easy-going, sun-friendly character, but it feels a touch sharper and a little leaner on the palate. It goes down very easily, which is either a compliment or a warning depending on how long you have been sat outside. It never felt like a compromise beer to me. It felt like a warm-weather beer that understood the assignment.
If the regular Cisk is the one you grab because it is the local icon, Excel is the one you end up pleasantly surprised by because it has no right being as enjoyable as it is.
The best kind of holiday drink is the one that suits the place
That is probably the key thing with both of these. If I had cracked them open on a rainy Tuesday at home and sat there expecting revelation, I might have come away a bit less smitten. But in Malta, with the heat, the sea, the slower pace, and that lovely sense that you should probably be doing absolutely nothing more strenuous than finding a nice spot to sit down, both lagers felt spot on.
Cisk Lager was the more traditional, dependable option. Cisk Excel felt a little brisker and arguably a little more crushable. Neither one blew my socks off in a dramatic, life-changing way, but both did exactly what I wanted them to do, and sometimes that matters more than being flashy.
Final thoughts
There is something very easy to like about Cisk.
Part of that is the story. Part of it is the setting. Part of it is definitely the fact I was in Malta for a genuinely lovely reason and probably in the ideal mood to enjoy a cold local beer. But even allowing for all of that, I still think both Cisk Lager and Cisk Excel are solid, refreshing, enjoyable drinks.
They are not trying to be the loudest beers in the room. They are not trying to impress you with gimmicks. They are just built for sunshine, good company, and that specific sort of contented silence that comes from staring out at the sea with something cold in your hand.
And you know what? That is more than enough.
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