Slavutich Mitzne
Slavutych Brewery

Slavutich MitzneSlavutich Mitzne
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Slavutych Brewery
 
Ukraine
Style:
European Strong Lager
ABV:
7.2%
Score:
70
Avg:
2.77 | pDev: 24.19%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
31
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 14, 2014
Added:
Jun 17, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 1.5 by MattM from Illinois

Nov 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Latarnik from New Jersey

May 25, 2014
 
Rated: 1.75 by matjack85 from Illinois

Jan 28, 2013
Photo of jwc215
Reviewed by jwc215 from Arizona

3.2/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Pours chill-hazed golden amber. A thin white head has decent retention, leaving some wispy lacing.

The smell is of bread, lime and some grass. The obvious alcohol adds a fruity (pineapple) and peppery character.

The taste is sweet, but some virtually tasteless hops keep it from being too sweet. Grainy, and bready, it is like carmelized bread. It has some grassy notes. The alcohol is obvious in a malt liquor type of way, but adds fruity and peppery notes. Rather abrupt finish, with some residual sugar sticking to the mouth.

It is mildly carbonated, but enough to push it down. It is a bit slick from the solvent alcohol.

Alcohol plays a big role here, but adds flavor more than detracts. There are better and worse high-alcohol beers from Eastern Europe. I would take this over typical American Malt Liquors. Not bad for what it is. It does have some character to it.
Oct 25, 2012
Photo of thekevlarkid
Reviewed by thekevlarkid from Maryland

2.72/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Out of a bottle this beer was a hazy dark golden color with some tangerine highlights. The head was a finger of slightly yellow foam that retained well at first as a cap and then as a collar. The aroma was of… booze. Additionally there was some skunky notes and generic malt along with a hint of sweet malt. The flavors were more pleasant than the aroma suggested but it still was dominated by booze in tandem with the generic malt and a touch of citrusy hops lurking behind it all. Totally Euro-malt liquor. The mouthfeel was creamy, the body medium and the carbonation delicate. As a beer, it reminded me of my college girlfriend in Colorado; it felt good and looked good, but I wouldn’t want to be stuck with it.
Feb 04, 2012
Photo of TMoney2591
Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois

2.23/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Served in a Walter Payton shaker pint glass.

Gotta love the random Ukrainian ticks, amiright? This one pours a clear straw topped by a short finger of slightly off-white foam. The nose comprises slightly sour wheat, light grass, light sweet flowers, and a few drops of lemon juice. The taste holds notes of cloyingly sweet corn syrup, straight chlorophyll, powdered sugar, and light wheat. Wow, this stuff almost comes across as an American malt lickah (one of the crappier ones...) in terms of flavor. The body is a hefty light, with a light moderate carbonation and a fairly watery feel. Overall, I could not stand much of this beer at all. It seriously hurt me a little bit to drink. Boo this.
Nov 30, 2011
Photo of Lauthaha
Reviewed by Lauthaha from Michigan

2.75/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Poured from a 16.9 ounce bottle into a 4 oz wine glass.

Appearance: A very champagne-like quality to this beer during the pour. High carbonation is visible through the pale amber/autumn yellow veil. Head retention is on the low end, but there is a thick ring of foam around the edge of the glass, receding and leaving behind heavy lacing.

Smell: Faint, but intriguing. Lemon zest or maybe grapefruit scents are the strongest. Wheat comes in with further inhalation. Can't say anything bad about the scent; just a little better than average.

Taste: Glad I started with this beer tonight...things can only get better. Absolutely none of the fruitiness my nose would have led me to believe this beer was filled with. Heavy bitter bread-like taste layered with rubbing alcohol followed by a mild laundry detergent taste. I would have expected this from a malt liquor, but not a Ukrainian international brewery. Disappointed that I paid $2.79 for this pint-plus. It MIGHT be worth half of that.

Mouthfeel: Great. Washes down smoothly, doesn't sit heavily on the tongue, heavy carbonation at first gives way to mellow malt feeling during the aftertaste. By far the best attribute of this beer.

Drinkability: Aside from the taste, this would be a highly drinkable beer. Keeping taste in mind, I would say this probably ranks with Mickey's or Olde English. The higher-than-usual ABV makes it a good drink to get "&$*% Up On" but not a good drink to enjoy. Save it for the BYOB frat parties and pretentious country club beer tastings.

This one was not horrible...but I won't remember the name of this beer in two weeks. Just so-so.
Aug 16, 2010
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +26.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 16.9 oz. bottle. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of malts and alcohol. Taste is crisp, slightly sweet, malts and alcohol. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and has good drinkability. Overall I was fairly impressed with this beer.
Feb 05, 2010
Photo of wheatyweiss
Reviewed by wheatyweiss from Wisconsin

2.92/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Poured from a 16.9 oz bottle into a pils glass. I should note that after a bit of Ukranian to English and English to Ukranian translation websites, I have found out I have a bottle of Mitzne as that is how the word on the front would be pronounced. Saying that, my label looks nothing like the one in the photo, and it is referred to in english on the back as Slavutich Special. The only thing that clued me in to a possible match was the ABV, and pictures from the Slavutich site.

Moving on; pours a light straw with a moderate cloud and a decent head that settles to a cap. Pretty cloudy for lager yeast, I might be worried. I only say that because of my local guy's tendencies to order high ABV, crappy imports because they sell well, see Lobster Lovers and the Wolf? beer.

Anyway aroma is of light grain and booze. Astringent alcohol and light, adjunct smelling grain. It may not be corn, but it sure smells like Colt 45.

Flavor is sweet and very boozey. Grain enters on the front with a bready, sweet and slightly fruity flavor. Booze creeps in the middle,astringent and hot, followed by honey and dusty yeast flavors. Slight floral hop flavor is barely discernable but is there. Finishes sweet, bordering on cloyingly sweet and leaving a huge booze hit on the exhale.

Mouthfeel is medium, with soft bubbles and a creamy consistency. There is a chewy quality to the mouthfeel that would make you think this is an ale, but. Heavy and substantial enough to get cloying after a while given the flavor, but not bad.

I was VERY surprised by the nice mouthfeel and abundant malt flavor in this beer. Sadly I will say I was expecting much worse. Not great, but not horrible like some American Malt Liquor that makes me want to retch.
Aug 07, 2009
Photo of diabecktic
Reviewed by diabecktic from Illinois

2.92/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Appearance:
A ~2-finger-thick head forms and dissipates quickly to yield a thin, creamy portion that remains. The beer is a moderately cloudy shade of a somewhat darker shade of gold. There is plenty of visible, rising carbonation and a little bit of lacing.

Smell:
You can definately smell the alcohol in this beer. The nose has a bit of spice and a mild, fruity malt resembling something along the lines of a pear. The alcohol definately overpowers everything else.

Taste:
Again, you mainly taste the alcohol above everything else; hence matching the nose for the most part. It's a strong, sharp flavor at first, but it shifts just as abruptly into the malted "pear" taste. Alcohol lingers in the aftertaste. The spiciness is manifest here, but it is very subtle (I think it's representative of the hop character).

Mouthfeel:
The alcohol has a strong effect here. This beer dehydrates the tongue along with the rest of your mouth after the first sip. It's a bit on the sticky side. Is this perhaps due to the malt? It's not particularly sugary or dense, per se, but I would rate the body as somewhere between medium and medium heavy.

Drinkability:
If you want to get blitzed, I'm sure you could drink these fairly quickly if you really wanted to do so. However, I would abstain from doing so as the body isn't quite conducive to that type of consumption. There might be a bit too much alcohol in this beer to classify it as a "session."

Summary:
As if you couldn't already infer, this beer's alcohol content (7.2% ABV) seems to define most aspects of the finished product. It's more malty, so I think it lacks balance, but I suppose you should expect that for such a cheap beer. There is hardly any English on the label and it cost me about ~$1.50 for 0.5 L. I think some other reviewers have commented on this below me, but I suppose you could think of it as a "glorified 40." For the price it's alright, but I wouldn't go out of my way to try this beer again unless I'm looking to get really, really drunk.
Jul 30, 2009
Photo of foamee
Reviewed by foamee from Maryland

3.26/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
The label of my Slavutich half liter bottle is all in English. My beer store has the whole line with english as well as some leftovers that aren't.
I find this to be similar to the regular american lagers, but with a bit more flavor. It is a bit darker than BMC and retains its head longer. I can't really taste alcohol, but I'm aware that it is stronger.
As an import it is very cheap. But it is better than average; a good value. I'd buy it again.
Mar 16, 2009
Photo of mjsarch
Reviewed by mjsarch from Wisconsin

4.01/5  rDev +44.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I'm reviewing this after a palate cleanser of the superb Carr Valley Mobay cheese:

A: Color is somewhere between yellow to amber (i.e 5-10 lovibond), with abundant carbonation. While not fizzy, this beer persists with the bubbles throughout my lengthy review session. Thin head throughout,
S: A bit grainy, like what you'd expect from a traditional American lager,
T: A tad astringent, with a little DMS, and fairly strong alcohol overtones. Reminds me most of a German-style Maibock,
M: Midrange in terms of maltiness,
D: I've always liked this beer. Having spent an extended time in Ukraine, I believe this beer is one of their best offerings to the rest of the free world. (Too bad I can't buy it for $0.45 like there.)
Jan 27, 2007
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

3.6/5  rDev +30%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A stronger lager that seems a little like a German Bock.

Pours a hazy orange, several fingers of foam at first, that dies down in a couple minutes. Tiny streams of carbonation rise like capillaries.

Smell is faintly sweet, nothing to write home about really.

Taste is sweet, not cloying, and firmly malty. Sort of dry and crackerish in the aftertaste. Passable for a bock almost, due to the strength and maltiness. No "off" or unpleasant flavors noticeable.

Alcohol is there in the taste, but integrated in a way that seems *almost* Belgian (see Piraat, Brigand, etc. for a better example) This is a little rougher, think Belgian malt liquor.

Even and full mouthfeel, dry finish increases the drinkability somewhat.

Overall, this is a pretty decent yet unremarkable Ukranian brew. This brewery seems to have a couple solid lagers in their stable...others from this region haven't been so good. Recommended if you are into German & Polish beer.
Dec 18, 2006
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

3.45/5  rDev +24.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Man talk about one hard to decipher label you almost need to speak Russian to figure out who made this.

This is a chill hazed amberish goldish colored ale with a tall white head.

Smell is quite a lot like fresh baked bread, very grainy and some fruity yeast aroma with a very slight tea aroma.

Taste is not much at first just some rye grain bread taste and slight sourness in the finish. Rye like tartness this tastes very much like a Roggenbier. Bitterness is medium in this beer. This tastes EXACTLY like Russian brown bread, basically rye bread with no caraway seeds.

Mouthfeel is good.

OK I might be in the minority here but I actually like this stuff. Might be because I like Russian brown bread a lot and this tastes exactly like that to me.
Dec 04, 2006
Photo of Rudgers73
Reviewed by Rudgers73 from New York

2.96/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
This is a russian beer that packs a punch, 7.2 ABV. It is light colored, bubbly, and rather dry. The first taste is sweet and strong, the last sip is dry and strong. No frills, really. A little bit more fruity as it warms up, but not easier to drink.

The one thing I can say about this beer is drink it if you want to get drunk. Similar to Molson XXX but better made. Smoother, a little more flavor and body along with the tongue-numbing alcohol.
Sep 02, 2006
Photo of gueuzeonhigh
Reviewed by gueuzeonhigh from Maine

2.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Nice foamy head
Mild nose
Starts with a slap of hops bitterness and a tinge of malt.
Curt finish with a clean abrupt ending.

It's a simple beer; drinkable but not a benchmark that adheres to my beer tasting memory.

Overall in the parade of beers-- I'd call it average.


Ho hum...
Dec 13, 2005
Photo of RoyalT
Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

2.06/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Appearance – This one poured a nice-looking orange in color with some good carbonation and a thick, luscious head.

Smell – The stale grain and orange Pixie Stix are laced with some boozy Ukrainian vwodka.

Taste – If Willy Wonka made malt liquor, this is what it would taste like. The straight booze, rotten grain, and sickly sweetness remind me of a glass of cheap triple sec with a cigarette butt in it.

Mouthfeel – This is light bodied and lacks the promised carbonation from the Appearance.

Sinkability – This could give a horse gingivitis.
Nov 28, 2005
Photo of TastyTaste
Reviewed by TastyTaste from Minnesota

1.86/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5
Ahh ukranian beer. Anything better? 500 mL brown bottle.

Appearance: medium/light gold, head is good enough. Visible carbonation.

Smell: It's been a while since I have encountered a beer that smells like this, a rotten cabbage/sweatsock kind of smell. Also light malt. Not very good, though.

Taste: ABV is very up front and poorly hidden. Hops are absent. Diacetyl, light maltiness, and adjunct are about all I get from this beer.

Mouthfeel: OK, I guess, but this beer is pretty bad all around.

Drinkability: Skip it.
Oct 10, 2005
Photo of ypsifly
Reviewed by ypsifly from Michigan

3.48/5  rDev +25.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
16.9oz with no dates, poured into a pilsner.

Clear, pale gold with a huge white head that is supported by a maelstrom of tiny bubbles. It takes a while to even begin to recede leaving good lace in its wake.

Sweet corn, a somewhat spicey yeast, and alcohol make up the nose. Also has a suggestion of apples underneath. Weak nose overall.

Tastes grainy with some malt sweetness, a quick jolt of alcohol with some bitterness. Brief suggestion of green apple in the finish. A bit awkward in the way the flavors change, but not bad at all.

The mouth is nothing special. I could order another, maybe two before moving on.
Aug 27, 2005
Photo of UncleJimbo
Reviewed by UncleJimbo from Massachusetts

2.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
500 mL brown bottle, capped, no date.

This lager poured a hazy, golden/light amber color with tall, creamy, slightly off-white foam that slowly settled. The smell was slightly sweetish malty with a touch of biscuit and hops. There was also a bit of a corn-like aroma. The taste was sweet like corn syrup with some malt. It was decently hoppy, especially in the finish. There was the lightest hint of alcohol. The mouthfeel was slick and smooth with medium body and good carbonation. The sticky adjunct(?) sweetness lingered. This beer was not horrible, but it was not very good, and I would rather not drink another.
Feb 26, 2005
Slavutich Mitzne from Slavutych Brewery
Beer rating: 70 out of 100 with 31 ratings