In
2000, I began
a series of reviews on Baltic porters.
That winter, I reviewed six, including Saku, Carnegie, Sinebrychoff,
Okocim, Zywiec, and Kozlak. A year later, I added a review of
Dojlidy, not long after I moved to Holland. A few months ago, while
shopping at Amsterdam's Bierkoning, I found this beer. The main
label was entirely in Cyrillic, although on the reverse there was some
German that I was able to piece together. It appeared that I had
found an additional beer that qualifies as a Baltic Porter. Since
buying this beer, I have learned through a well-positioned source in
Brooklyn that parts of this brewery's range have received very limited
distribution in the United States. This brewery makes a range of
beers according to their web site www.baltika.ru, many
of which should hold little interest to the beer geek. Several of
these appear to be variations on the vodka replacement theme (I once had a
can of an exceptionally strong Grolsch product designed exclusively for
the Russian market. It was about 12% ABV and shite). Several
have potential, including this porter.
While
I claimed that my review of Dojlidy "closes out my series on Baltic
porters," I was quite obviously wrong. Since I became quite
fond of this style, I now intend to buy and review whatever examples I
come across in my travels. The
notes below represent a sampling of just one bottle of this beer.
The beer pours a dark opaque in the glass,
with a dense tan head, and excellent head retention.
The profile opens with a moderate roast
note, then a larger, more dominant chocolate flavor. This is
summarily destroyed by a sharp astringency, which fortunately does not
last. The beer finishes with a lingering coffee affect, which
assuaged my fears of living with that astringency for the remainder of the
day. In the background to all of
this is a treacle like sweetness that is somewhat unappreciated.
This
is not a bad beer, certainly worth trying. While not in the league
of the great Baltics, this beer is a decent effort, and one I would not
hesitate to drink again. The beer would be better if that
astringency could be controlled, and the influence of the treacle
undermined.
