Pshenichnye Etalon
Ridna Marka

Thanks to Duff for bringing back. The ratings on this are divided with slightly different spelling but it is I am sure the same beer. This 2003 edition expires remarkably in October 2007. A beigish tinge with a good initial head. I am divided on the aroma, it is a bit sour and wheaty, and there is a bit of lace on the way down. It is a good carbonation and drinkable, with some creaminess in the mouth.

500ml bottle bought from Tesco...

Poured a hazy golden lemony colour... White head poured thick and foamy and a nice thickish layer lasted until near the end...

Aroma - Pretty typical Hefe smells... spicy cloves, lemony, peppery some banana notes, floral, light sweet malts... maybe all a bit on the faint side...

Taste – Lemony, spicy / peppery, light cloves, some banana hints, some light bubblegum, some creamy maltiness...

Feel - Pretty sharp and dry. Light body. Very drinkable...

Overall - A pretty good beer.... a nice find... Recommended...

Got this beer from a Tesco supermarket. What first appealed to me was this Weissbier’s origin "Ukraine", and its boasting of World Beer Cup Champion and Gold Medal at Brewing Industry Int’l Awards 2004 is quite interesting too. At 5.0%abv., the BB date is 09/05/06.

A: served in a weissbier glass, it pours a slightly hazy straw colour, with a tight white beer head only slowly dissipating, retaining up to 1-cm thickness throughout the drink. Thin and tight lace decorates the glass just as well, against a mildly-carbonated body.
S: typical aroma of hefe-weizen upfront--fruit-flavoured bubble-gums, slightly stinky edge of banana skins, some soft lemony note, covering a bed of wheatish grains; an underlying hint of raw-leather, clove, along with the sour edge of malted-wheat is also there, somewhat subdued by the main theme. Overall quite straight-forward, not overly rich nor complex, but pleasant.
T: for the first pour, incoming on the palate upfront is a profound malted-wheat’s grainy flavour, but quickly bringing on board an exotic, “clam”-like fresh-shellfish’s savoury-sweetness, mixed with semi-thick bready texture of wheats and wild-floral blossom’s semi-sweetness (making sense to anyone?)—quite interesting finish as well, with more banana skin’s oily flavour, root-vegetable’s aftertaste, and a mildly spicy bitterness and slightly dryish hoppyness in the very end, free from influence of much wheat or too much spice. Overall the flavour, esp. mid-flavour, shows quite different and unexpected characters from its rather safe aroma—not so much as brilliant as unconventional. (note: I’ve noticed that the shell-fish like savoury-sweetness dissipates fast during the second pour, supposing the yeasty flavour gets in the way?)
M: very lively mouthfeel throughout given the constant and mild carbonation, at the same time remaining creamy and soft wheatish-grainy, while the finishing touch is semi-clean and soft, not quickly turning thinner/watery/wheatish-sour as some weissbiers do.
D: a distinctive hefe-weizen to enjoy. The body is balanced IMO, and the slightly seafood-like savoury-sweet flavour makes it good company to simple shell-fish dishes (steamed, or quick pan-fried, without much sauce), esp. made of fresh Pacific-species clams of all sizes. Nice brew to bump into~~

Hand-delivered from the Ukraine by my housekeeper, she threw away the empty bottle before I could properly note its characteristics. Ingredients conform to the purity law. The label makes a big deal about beating the Germans in the Weissbier category at the 2004 World Beer Cup. Not sure what the competition was, but doubt that Kapuziner was in the area...

Pours a cloudy yellow under a mountainous two finger white head with a very nice crown above the glass. The head is firm and cloud-like and slow to dissipate, leaving some nice lace. Very lemony nose, with strong bready wheat tones as well. The mouth is very prickly but a bit viscous in the mouth, leaving a flat impression despite the sufficient carbonation. There's a decent wheat taste, with a touch of lemon, but the overall impression is a bit watery. There is no hops profile. Wheat lingers into the aftertaste, becoming a bit ricey in the jowls. It's OK, but no gold medal winner in my book.