Baltika 4 Originalnoe (Original)

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

Medium brown with a tan head. Smells and tastes a bit sweet and nutty, with a some cola and maybe even a bit of coffee. Pretty light body, easy to drink. Not much bitterness, and I’m not really getting any hop flavor. Not the kind of thing I typically enjoy, it’s really a bit too sweet, but I like it.

Pours a copper/amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is of dark fruits, caramel malts, and toffee. Flavor is sweet with the dark fruits, toffee, and caramel malts. Not much on the finish of this one.

500ml bottle. Poured a copper colour with a medium frothy tan head. Aroma of burnt toffee and chocolate. Sweet fizz mouthfeel.

16.9 fl oz bottle. A deep ruby color, thin white head that disappears quickly, the aroma is not overpowering, nor is the taste. It does however go down smooth, and because I like the Baltika Porter 6 so much, I’m willing to give this the benefit of the doubt. Not bad, but not this brewery’s best.

Bottle. Pours a rusty brown color with a frothy beige head. Moderate carbonation. Aroma is of malt, chocolate, oat, and dark fruit. Smells very earthy. Taste is of malt, caramel, chocolate, dark fruit, and oat. Way too much goddamn oat. Very light mouthfeel. This tastes like the pellets you feed to animals at the petting zoo. Bitter for all the wrong reasons. Yeah, it sucks.

Reviewed 1/31/2009 (bottle): Pours a clear reddish brown colored body with an off-white head, big and lasting. Has an aroma of roasted and chocolate notes. A malty grainy nose too. Some strawberry fruitiness too. Fruity grainy roasted taste. Strawberry and some chocolate too, creaminess too. Some hotness. Lagery tasting. Not bad tasting. Somewhat refreshing.

Appearance: Pours a reddish-brown body with great clarity and a large, expansive, off-white head. Smell: A bit of an oddball nose, smelling of charred sugar, toasted grains, a Sugar Daddy (the candy, you knuckleheads), and a vague, background fruitiness. Taste: Bread maltiness coming across as flavors of nutty, burnt sugar and (again) Sugar Daddy candies. Hint of raisin fruitiness. Splash of cola. Indistinct hop character with a light bitterness at first, but, upon warming, it exhibits some spiciness. The finish begins sweet but dries out and has a peculiar aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium-plus carbonation. Drinkability: Not the most elegant, graceful beer around, but it’s a reasonably tasty Eastern Europe brew and one of the standouts in the rogues gallery that is the Baltika line.

Bottle thanks to my neo-geo.com secret santa Kiselgof. Red with orange hints, a finger of creamy off white head. Nice burnt caramel aroma, chocolate. Taste is the same burnt sugar, chocolate, and a nice caramel finish.