Look east

Borefts is pretty much the only place I get to drink Russian beer. This year there were two breweries from the Motherland on the roster.

Zagovor is from the capital and they had produced a special version of their Egor imperial stout for the festival. At 10.5% ABV it was far from the strongest one at the gig, but it smelled like it, with its hot Tia Maria aroma. The flavour is an intense mix of that coffee and alcohol with a big bag of bitter herbs thrown in too. Cough mixture, Jagermeister, espresso and liquorice all feature in my notes on it. It's fun and bouncy and loud, and while quite unapologetic about its lack of subtlety is just not in the same league as the more softly spoken and complex imperial stouts available.

The other Zagovor beer I tried was called Sticker, billed as an "imperial gose" and 7% ABV. It's a bright pink colour with a broadly berryish aroma and a flavour distinctly and strongly of raspberries. The texture is thin and it all amounts to a very generic fruited sour beer that isn't very sour. There's not a thing imperial or gose-like about it.

The other Russians were the St Petersburgers AF Brew and they had a bourbon-barrel imperial stout called Lobotomy Frontal. We're going for coffee, alcohol and viscosity in a big way again, this time pushing the ABV up to 12.8%. Unlike bitter Egor, however, this one is extremely sweet. The first sip brought an intense golden syrup taste, gradually flowering into Marsala wine and sweet vermouth before finishing on chocolate sauce. There's no trace of roast or bitterness at any point along the way, which I found disappointing. This is another beast of a beer, as the name makes clear, and too much of a nerve-jangler for my liking.

Eastern Europe was otherwise solely represented by Hungary, again with a pair of breweries in the line-up. Reketye was new to me. I began with their Guaran Ale, an amber-coloured American-style pale ale of 6% ABV enhanced with guarana and goji berries. Despite the dense appearance and substantial strength this is quite light and lagery with a base of crisp grain and a non-specific berry sweetness. It certainly wasn't the novelty beer I expected but there's not a thing wrong with it and down the hatch it went.

There was also a sour stout from the same crowd, delighting in the name of Fuck Mango. I don't know what their problem with mango is. It's 7% ABV and smells of burnt grains. Though lightly tangy it's not what I'd called sour, nor is it full-on fruity. Concentrate and maybe there's a little indistinct tropical fruit pulp behind the charcoal dryness, but not enough to make a real contribution. This turned out rather less than the sum of its parts.

Last up for today is Budapest's Monyo. Afterparty, a collaboration with La Pirata, is a saison with added cucumber and kaffir lime leaves. Cucumber is one of those flavourings that tends to dominate any beer it's added to but I found it quite hard to spot here, only really identifying it once I knew it was there. This pale hazy yellow affair smells primarily of lemon and banana: witbier meets weissbier. It's spritzy and fun, a modest 5.6% ABV, another pleasant change of gear from all the heavy and strong ones.

Speaking of which, we finish on a strong spiced scotch ale from Monyo called The Ginger Unicorn Licks My Bagpipe. What larks! It's 8.6% ABV and a murky garnet colour. The promise of rich toffee studded with sharp ginger was at the front of my mind when I took the first sip but that's not what landed in my mouth. It's hot and sticky with a cloying strawberry jamminess and absolutely no spice. Somehow it also manages to be savoury, grainy and stale at the same time. Nice concept, maybe, but very poor execution.

We bring things closer to home for tomorrow's final Borefts post.