What better way to bring in the New Year than with a beer review. This brew hails from the Motherland of Russia and is probably going to be the quickest review for a beer ever. It’s easy because it is your standard, skunky Euro lager. The only thing going for this beer is the bottle. It had a pull off tab cap like a can of chicken soup and when poured look just like every other light lager. There was a decent head which faded quickly, but is being maintained by a ridiculous about of carbonation. It literally looks like the champagne I toasted at 12am. You get a slight aroma of light malts, but it is so mediocre it’s not worth spending time on. The taste is very light and super bubbly on the tongue. I’m not 100% sure, but I felt like I could taste corn and adjunct grist used in a majority of cheap lagers. The aftertaste was basically non existent and nothing to write home about. So…
ABV: 5.4%
Grade: D-
Well I see what you mean, but on a full stomach and wanting something for a person who isn’t much of a beer drinker I highly enjoyed it. It wasn’t like the sorry for the bad comment piss water Corona, but it went down smooth, and for the uneducated beer drinker didn’t disappoint my tastes. That and I’m probably giving it more credit because I enjoy things from Russia…But I can add that as something I’ve drank. Agreed it’s nothing to write home about, it’s not the best beer I’ve ever had but it’s not the worst I’ve had, I do agree there was some taste of corn or something of the sort, but mass produced beers always have a different taste from small batch brewers… it’s mostly just a quality and cutting corners tactic.
Thanks for your comments Spectrum. A buddy of mine had Baltika #5 or 6 and said he enjoyed it. I plan on sampling a couple more beers in thier line-up. Maybe this beer is not the best one they offer? We’ll see…
Cheers!
Sounds like Spectrum is saying “I tolerated it because I don’t know any better”. He says that “mass produced beers always have a different taste from small batch brewers”, and it sounds as if he wrote that to kind of stick up for this beer after Tom said he thought he tasted corn. Well Spectrum, the reason one might taste corn in a mass-produced beer (and not a craft beer) is because macro breweries USE CORN! Yes, they actually brew their “fine lagers” with corn, either instead of or in addition to barley.
I’ve tried multiple beers from this brewery when I was younger, because the eastern-European market across the street from me sold to minors and that’s all they carried. Every one of them are what I’d classify as swill.
Thanks to the owner/contributors of this site for helping to spread the word about craft beer! Cheers!
John, you are a gentleman and a scholar.
I think part of spreading the word about craft beer is giving people room to grow, try new beers, and express their findings. I appreciate Spectrum’s thoughtful comments and hope this beer will be a launching point into the wider world of craft beer. John, it sounds like you are well on your way to sampling a variety of beers. Thank you for your commmets and support.