Baltika 9 Krepkoe (Strong)

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

Russian malt liquor - now that just fuels the imagination. The kind of beer you drink to forget - and the Russians have lots to forget. Sampled from a 16.9 oz can this beer poured a very pale yellow with a huge soapy white head. The aroma was light sour and tangy malts with a hint of spicy hops. The flavor was rather typical for a malt liquor - a bit tangy, a bit sour with an almost corny undertone. The beer had a better mouthfeel than I would have expected and hid the hight alcohol content rather well.

"Pale Pale yellow color with almost no head. Different aroma then i expected sweet. Only flavor i got out of this was corn and grass. Not impressed. "

Doesn’t look like how it tastes. Looks like water barely yellow flavorless beer. Actually has some malt flavor. Only problem is the malt flavor is fruity/chalky like a purple Tums EX. Tastes better than Steel Reserve, and has plenty of alcohol.

This was good - not expedition stout good - and interesting. Very malty (it is a malt liqour afterall) with an odd finish that reminded me of vodka. I was surprised to see that this was a malt liqour, but also glad that I was able to graba beer in the style without having to down something nasty.

Poured a golden yellow, small white head. Malty almost medicinal smell. Malt flavored with a little spiciness near the end.

Smells like Budweiser, looks like Budweiser. A better malt flavor and the warm feeling in my belly make it an improvement over the popular American corn beers, but there’s not much good to say about this one. It is not, however, a foul brew. Its just unremarkable.

So I haven’t tried many malt liquors. I have had the Americans- Old Einglish, Schlitz, Colt 45, etc.. When I was 16 years old, taste did not matter in beer. The aroma brought back memories. Bad ones. I must admit it tastes alittle better than it smells. The best malt liquor I have had, and hopefully, the last.

Bottle: Poured a clear golden color ale with a big bubbly white head with average retention. Aroma of sweet malt with a dose of cough medicine. Taste is more enjoyable then I was expecting with a nice base of sweet malt, limited amount of corn or adjunct is detectable and then cough medicine appears at the end to ruin it all. Could have been worse but could have been a lot better.