Eyes down, ladies and gentlemen. First out it's... Baltika 4. Number 4 is the St. Petersburg brewer's dark lager and is a heavy, sticky ale with very little carbonation. The colour is a startlingly bright shade of red and there's that weird mushroomy flavour I found with Árainn Mhór Rua. It's not at all unpleasant, and the sheer weight of flavour means it can be enjoyed very cold. You wouldn't want more than one, however.
And next out... Baltika 6. This is their Baltic porter, and quite a sour one. It's a full 7% though tastes much lighter and has a lot of the earthiness of Baltika 4. Instead of the caramel, however, there's a dry, burnt toast effect. Not, generally speaking, what I'm after in a porter. But that's the luck of the draw.
Baltika bingo: marginally more fun than Russian roulette.
2 months ago
