Baltika 9 Krepkoe (Strong)

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

Can. Yellow color with a medium, quickly-diminishing, white head. Grainy, malty aroma, with some alcohol. Flavor is cloying sweetness with lots of alcohol all the way from the beginning to the finish. Thin-bodied. I’m still very close to the 0.5l line of my glass, but a few sips of this stuff were already a bit too much. This is just awful.

Oct. 2005 - I don’t know what to make of this, honestly. Poured light yellow...lookin’ like Corona...crystal clear. Aroma was very strong...light and...I don’t know what. Not really fruity. I have no idea. Taste was light, but sweet...enjoyable, but I don’t really know how to describe it.

In comparison to the other Baltika brews, this one has more body and a little more flavor. If it weren’t held back by mass produced brew qualities, this one would be well respected. I think it’s flaw (or at least one of them) lies in it’s 8% alcohol volume. It’s just enough that you taste the alcohol on your tongue a bit too much. Other than that, it gives full, frothy flavoring on the palate and finishes in a stable fashion.

Aroma is malty, with some corn and definitely a hint of alcohol. The appearance is a light yellow color, typical to pale lagers. The flavor is like a pale lager, only a little sweeter, and a little more malt in the taste. This is a light to medium thickness, thin to slightly oily texture, not much on the finish. Not bad at all, defintely one of the better Baltikas, other than the porter.

Name: 9 Krepkoe (Strong)
Date: December 04, 2003
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
Appearance: clear yellow, thin fine head
Aroma: sweet candy aroma
Body: thin body
Flavor: sweet flavor, corny, no hops

Name: 9 Krepkoe (Strong)
Date: January 26, 2005
Aroma: still the sweet aroma
Flavor: but not the corn flavor
Overall: an improvement, from bad to boring

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 3/10; Flavor: 2/10; Palate: 2/10; Overall: 5/20
Rating: 1.6/5.0
Score: 4

The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

16.9 oz bottle, labeled Baltika 9 Extra Lager, bottled on 020306, best by 020307. Oops - a bit past the "best by" date. Judging by my previous experience with Baltika beers, it won’t matter much, but we shall see. Honey gold with a big bubbly white head that descends rapidly. Corny grain nose, lightly sweet yet astringent, a bit of a chemically scent that I have found common to this brand. Sweet graininess with a distinct alcohol flavor. Slick maltiness. Ugh. Not good. I see from other ratings this used to be listed as a malt likka - seems more appropriate. Boozy, rough and useless, unless alcohol delivery is the only goal.

Nice malty nose, golden, has a small white head. Mild malt flavour. light bodied, sweet. Fair. Thanks Radek Kliber.

Expiration date 24 Apr 08. Poured yellow-gold with a creamy head. It looked like any of the U.S.A. macros. The stench of alcohol was all over it (8%). A lot of carbonation. I really didn’t care for the taste but I thought the label was kind of cool.