Kalinkin
Stepan Razin Brewery

 

A - This poured a slightly hazy orange until I dumped the last 1/4 of the bottle into the glass; the point at which 500 big chunks of yeast shat into the glass like the semi-solid, morning after "too much beer and tacos shits." The head is about a quarter of an inch of white foam above a glass that's teeming with chunky yeast monkeys. It looks good, and I appreciate some yeast in a glass of beer, but this is unreal! There are seriously TONS of chunks of brownish-gray stuff in the glass... it's too much.

S - Hey! It smells good though! Definitely a yeast-oriented aroma (what a surprise), with sweet doughy doughnut notes, some Worther's Original caramel hard candy, and really fresh yeasty bakery notes. This is honestly a complete 180 from the slightly disgusting appearance.

T - Tastes much like the aroma... lots of fresh glazed doughnuts, gooey caramel, mildly fruity hops, drier grassy hops, and a touch of ethanol. This is pretty good stuff!

M - This is initially very, very sweet and ridiculously thick; but, a progressive dryness and a little prickle of alcohol save the day and rescue this one from the depths of the malt/sugar mire.

D - Despite the dry finish, this is a little too honey-sweet for sessioning. I like this one despite the poopy appearance. This one would do well with toffee and caramel candy or maybe caramel drizzled ice cream.

Pours a clouded gold with a very small off white head. Nose is of old orange peels, some alcohol, and a lot of dough. Flavor is outspoken and full. Orange citrus, a pretty noticeable alcohol (though not nastily so), and a pervasive sweetness are all there. Feel is thin. Not a lot of carbonation going on here. Definitely drinkable. I had no-to-low expectations of this bottle and was pleasantly surprised. Worth trying. Possibly worth trying again. Might even be interesting to see this paired with food in some way (something other than German).

Poured from a 12oz bottle. Picked up at the Sam's Wine & Liqours on Butterfield Rd in their discount bin for $1.45 a bottle.

Appearance- A cool loking beer when poured. When you watch the carbonation create a whirlwind of foam in bubbles second after you finish the perfect pour. The color was a wheat like amber, slightly coppery with nominal lacing.

Smell- A good mix of somwhat salty sweet hawaiian bread with a light aromatic only hopping.

Taste- I first thought a Euro Strong Lager, but thought I tasted a little wheat. Plus a flavor that makes me think of the meticulous way Germans brew and cellar their lagers. If we could age or ripen a bread like cheese. That is what this beer would taste like, In a good way of course.

Mouthfeel- Almost as refresing as a pils, but beautifully bocky. Light, but with a little mineral twang mixed with an overall barley feel.

Pours a very hazy amber, big white head forms, good retention and lots of lace. Smell is strange, sweet with toffee, honey, citrus fruits, grapes, something like minor skunkage. Taste is strange as well, very malty, fruity, with some vanilla, caramel, grapes, grass and some skunk, bitter finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium to low carbonation, very smooth. I would not have guessed this was 7%.

16.9 oz bottle, Lot 99 (maybe 89, print is hard to read)

Violent burst of CO2 when cracked open. Pours out pale gold and sits a light, bright amber in the glass with a small white head, fading to a light skimming.

Smells lightly sweet, apples, honey, grapes and has a bit of herbal spiciness. Nice and malty, but fairly average.

Tastes strangely sweet at first, weird concoction of honey, apple juice and sharp, peppery hops. Malt backing is definative and assertive. Alcohol is easily detected and clouds around inside your mouth. Hops flavor is stale and old. Finish is nicely bittered, but not dry.

Quite smooth and rich in the mouth, larger body than I had expected. Carbonation is also far less that I was preparing for after the bid rush when I opened the bottle.

Not a bad tasting beer, just a bit weird. I could see how a few of these would suit you well on a cold Russian evening, forget the parkas.

This much better than average Russian lager is a delightful surprise! The 17oz. brew poured nice and vigorous, with a deep golden color, creamy off-white head, and the co2 lasted well through the drink.

The smell was most certainly 'bockish' -- strong malt nose, but also with a nice aromatic hop character. Very pleasant.

The taste was of a powerful malty sweetness, another of its bockish qualities, but there was a slight bitterness in the finish which shows that these good Russian brewers aren't just one-dimensional with their strong beer. The hop presence is felt nicely, and it certainly deserves some praise.

The mouthfeel was very good. There was just enough body to let me know that the brewers want to convey a sense of fullness, yet paradoxically the finish is pleasantly light and crisp, and with a dryness that begs for another sip. You definitely want another drink with each passing sip.

Good drinkability factor here. Just the tune for a early and mild summer evening. Wish I had more than just the one bottle!

Kalinkin: from the Russian Federation, I note that site lists this as a Maibock, and I was a little surprised. The aroma when the bottle was opened, a caught a fairly quick blast of skunk. It pours a deep yellow/golden, with a very large/thick/white head. The head has great stickiness, and leaves a nice covering on the side of the glass. The taste is very unusual, very sweet and malty, with a noticeable taste of alcohol, clearly this is not a light sipping brew. Smooth creamy mouthfeel, but it burns a little bit going down. Odd, not bad, but definitely odd.

Not a bad bock, really. It pours a clear but slightly darkish gold, with a white head that dissipates quickly. No lace, only a bit of collar for a while. The smell is malty sweet, with a hint of alcohol. The mouthfeel is definitely sweet and a bit heavy. The taste has the distinct sweet malt flavor typical of a bock. There's definitely alcohol here, which tends to overwhelm whatever hops flavor tries to break through. There's also just a touch of sour. The aftertaste is almost pure malt, with little bite.

Appearance: bright golden color, with a short, bubbly head.
Aroma: clean and airy, brisk, and a little menerally.
Taste: sweet, and rounded, with a candyish feel at the back of the throat. Long, soft finish, that actually feels a bit cloying toward the end. Light body, fullish malt, little hops.
At the end of the 500 ml bottle, it felt like too much, with the sweetness persisting.
Not a bad lager at all, though. And hard to stand up against their porter, which impressed me so much. Que sera sera.

Pours a crystal clear, deep-gold with a foamy white head that dissipates readily. The nose expresses a touch of rich malt alongside a fair amount of alcohol that's not unpleasant, but not welcoming either. Its full body combines with its very fine-bubbled, mild carbonation to leave it fairly viscous, creamy and smooth in the mouth; and yet, it's somewhat dull. The flavor displays a clean, rich malt that's infused with spicy hop flavor, and solidly supported by bold bitterness. It finishes with a lingering combination of sticky sweet malt and bitterness that quickly dries to reveal another round of light hop flavor and more gently lingering bitterness. A fairly enjoyable lager done in the helles bock style.