Baltika 9 Krepkoe (Strong)

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

tried this a second time the russians must’ve improved the formula b/c the 1st time it sucked but yesterday i tried it and it was way better excellent even!

Yellow pour with a white head. Aroma of pale malts and corn. Flavor is extremely light. Corn and alcohol. Not enjoyable at all. Doesn’t hide the alcohol in any way at all.

This was a bottle of the Extra Lager 9. It poured a clear golden amber color, which doesn’t agree with some of the ratings here. There was a tall white head and plenty of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. There was a mild citrus hops aroma. There was a strong flavor with a bit of sweetness and a good amount of bitterness that developed and lasted well into the finish. There was some alcohol warmth towards the finish as well.

First off, on a violent pour, the head dances beautifuly- ascending and descending as if undulating in an ocean (despite an ugly unnatural champagne color, Hence the 3 for appearance). Smell is of sulfur, malt and other unnatural demon-inspired insipidness. Flavor is of a shameful chemistry accident with some corn. The best part of this beer is getting sufficiently drunk on a $1.89. I am so glad that I am over 21. Aside from that, the feeling I get from drinking this is a bit like the feeling you get when you watch 2 girls 1 cup.

Working very hard at trying to complete the Baltika gallery of beers, this one had been staring at me for awhile. So with nothing better to drink (ok, so I had better stuff, but I had to drink this sometime) I went ahead and got down to business. And I’m glad I did. Sure, this beer won’t set the world on fire for its greatness. But it’s damn drinkable, and it’s damned tasty, considering the style. Most malt likka’s are crappola. This was pretty damned good. An aroma of light apple juice, sweet malt, a bit of white wine and a touch corny. It pours out a light yellow color, clear with a few small bubbles here and there, and it all took place under a nice two-finger soap bubble cap. Flavor was smooth, suprisingly sweet almost like some kind of beer/sparkling cider combo. I really couldn’t pick up anything wrong with it, and I drank it at the damned near perfect temp for it. So I guess what you can take out of this review, is that if you are ever in Russia and you need a malt likka to fit in with you Russian homies, then this can fill the void nicely.

Pours a pale, cloudy golden with a white head. A syrupy alcohol dominates the nose, with a slight malt aroma also. Overly sweet in flavour, with syrupy alcohol, sweet malt, artificial banana and caramel all far too strong. Sweet malt, banana and alcohol on the finish, not very pleasant to drink. Malt liquor all over.

Gold coloured lager head receding quick to okay cover good carbonation aroma grassy alcohol sweetness malt flavour very sweet okay bitter high alcohol content few tastes peppery sugar finish sweet bitter

Pours golden, white head. Aroma is sweet and grainy. Corn pervades, and it quite alcoholic. Flavour is sweet, corny - slight lemon. Hops show at end. I can feel the alcohol in my mouth, but can’t taste it. But overall it tastes like a cheap malt liquor.