Notes from 12/28/2008. 500ml can purchased from the corner Korean market for 79 cents. I note the ever growing BA effect by the label stuck to the back of the can: BALTIKA #1 - Premium ale, crafted with the finest ingredients, is brewed to meet the standards of the most discerning ale enthusiasts. Pours into my pint glass a shade lighter then ginger ale. A floating wispy bleached head reaches & dies just like champagne would. The lightest of remnants floating in between the rush of traffic to the top. Smell is surprisingly pleasant, hinting with wheaty esters of banana & bubblegum. A very faint metallic tone, with a zest-like sense of sweetness overlaying a sparse layer of grain. Taste & feel is seltzer-ish. Ever so slight citric bitterness tarts the grain, numbing my palate a bit, but instills an image of a very refreshing & tolerant beer. Slight, slight caramelization as it warms. It positively lacks much of the headache inducing phenols I find in most low priced Euro lagers. Satisfying. :)

Fogged deep brown with a decent beige head. Aroma and taste: Dark malts, chocolate & orange peel, the rest is lost behind the flavouring. Light sweet, low bitterness. Mouth feel: Medium minus body, average carbonation. Summary: Nothing interesting.

Bottle 0,5ltr: This was brewed for the German market, very strong alcoholic dark lager, very sweet.

Bottle 0,5ltr: Number Three from Russia. Golden coloured lager with a little bit grainy taste.

Bottle 0,5ltr: I can’t read Russian but with the first taste i realised they can brew wheatbeer. Not bad at all this number eight.

Bottle 0,5ltr: Clear brown coloured brew with an lot of caramel malts taste, and there is not much bitter aftertaste. Like this Russian Dunkel a lot.