Baltika 4 Originalnoe (Original)

Brewed by Baltika Brewery (Baltic Beverages Holding - Carlsberg)
Style: Dunkel
St. Petersburg, Russia

Poured from bottle, a very dark amber-red color, with a creamy tan head, but not very cloudy. Aromas of sweet caramel malt, and a sour-bitter flavor; the bread flavors were detectable too. Average carbonation, slightly thin and dry. An unusual beer, that did not quite live up to my expectations.

500ml bottle serving it chilled. A bit of toffee and coffee on the nose, some brown sugar possible, as well as some odd grainy quality. Pours a clean dark amber body with a bit of tan lace. Toasty bready malt flavour is quite dominant, sweetish hint of brown sugar/toffee comes through. Palate is slightly thin. Finish is pretty dry with a hint of earthy hop flavour. Something odd about it overall though.

The aroma had me kind of worried at first. It smelled like a paper bag soaked in caramel but after awhile didn’t seem bad. The appearance was medium red brown with a small head and seemed on par for the style. But, the flavor was not as bad as I was expecting. It was simple with just caramel, toasted malt, and an astringent hop bitterness. The palate was a tad thin. There really isn’t much to add other than it’s drinkable but that’s it.

Colour quite red, almost pink actually. Thick head which disappears quite soon. The aroma if full of sugar, maybe some toffee and butter as well. The taste is not as sweet, it’s more of a harsch maltyness.

malt in the aroma and bread crusts, amber highlights, low bitterness, very easy to drink yet nothing reaaly stood out to compliment

I am not a great fan of many of the Baltikas; when I lived in Russia we mostly drank whatever the local Iaroslavlsky brewery was offering that day. This was surprisingly much better than I remembered. Caramel colored and flavored, balanced and easy to drink.

Poured a medium borwn amber hue with a thin off white head. Sweet malt notes and wheat bread note make up a nice aroma. A good malty balance on the flavor sweet caramel and bread notes. Really smooth and enjoyable.

Big Bottle. Thank you to Vance W. I wasn’t expecting this beer to be this good because of all the mediocre ratings. Great looking, creamy, white head. Roasted caramel, an almost burnt smell and taste. Fairly sweet aroma. Smooth, rich maltiness. Very nice beer. My full rec.