Bochkarev Krepkoye (Strong)
Heineken St. Petersburg Brewery Ltd.

Note: It seems as if all of the Bochkarev beers have improved recently. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting fresher examples, but I've clearly noted the difference in quality. And as a side note, this has more alcohol and a better flavor than most of the American malt liquors out there; and at a somewhat comprable price... I wouldn't be surprised if we started to see more of these on the streets! That said...

The Bochkarev Krepkoe is a typical strong Russian lager with a little bit more grain and hops than usual. Its just slightly hazy golden body rests stoicly beneath a frothy head of bright-white foam. The retention is OK, and actually a bit better than average considering it's 8% alcohol by volume; and it even leaves some nice lace throughout the glass. The nose is bright with floral and grassy hops (which is unusual for strong Russian beers), a sweetish malt, and waft of alcohol. And in the mouth it's just lightly crisp, smooth, dextrinous, and somewhat creamy with a medium-full body and somewhat restained, fine-bubbled carbonation. The malt, although clearly containing some adjunct, is actually a fair bit grainy (as opposed to just sugary); and it's well laced with floral and grassy hops and a touch of spicy alcohol. It's solid bitterness initially nestles down into its rich maltiness, but comes through in the end with enough power to force its rich sweetness back into place. It lingers on the palate with a thin film of sweet malt, a sprinkling of hops, and a light wash of alcohol. As far as strong Russian lagers go, this is one of the best!

This is pretty close to an American Malt Liquor. Gold body with fast fading head. Smell is straight alcohol and graininess. This is a very powerful, hard to drink beer. The flavors are all off, alcohol is the primary flavor here. This was a very hard to finish 500mL bottle. I'll pass on the Russian strong lagers next time.

Poured into a pilsner glass with an earthy orange color and a tall white head that settles right away. There is some thin lacing on the glass. Bubbly is very active in the glass.

A slightly estery rasberry smell gets my attention, along with a mellow malt aroma. The taste is like shortbread (a favorite of mine), though there is also a true maltiness to it as well. It's somehwat sweet, not outright sticky, but a bit dessertish. And with that line of thought, it is very warming to the palate and belly. A very GOOD springtime digestif.

Pours with a one-finger head that fades slowly leaving a little lace. Light clear amber color. Low carbonation. Nose is sweet orange. Medium bodied. Starts sweet, very smooth, the high ABV is not noticable. Best of 8 beers I have had from Russia. $2.95 for a 500ml bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

yellow - not quite cristal clear - boiling, aerated white sugar texture to the foam
The aromas are admirable. Notes of caramel, butterscotch, toasted, mashed nuts and pure malt emanate from the goblet. Unfortunately the flavors are cloying. Saccharine, sugary and slick-textured, there is room for the development of some apply, pear and nougat fruit. All this sweetness encounters a rather finely-grained wall of green wood-flavored structure on the finish. Malt liquor has its limits I suppose.

Drank in the small rural town severial hours from Moscow.

Pours a hazy hazy hazy light light light brown with a light tan head. Tastes sweet, yet well balanced. This is, however, a strong beer and the alcohol flavors do sep through. Not great, but quite good none the less.

Appearance – This beer is a light, very pretty yellow with tremendous carbonation and a good, rising head that showed some retention and left a lot of lacing. I’m impressed.

Smell – Oh, not so impressed. This is cheap American grainy Gummi-Bear juice that offends the nostrils.

Taste – The bite is worse than the bark. The flavor here is utterly offensive. Add some rotten creamed corn to the grain and Gummi-Bears and toss in a few shots of $1.00 vodka.

Mouthfeel – This was light to medium in the body with a really cheap, fizzy mouthfeel.

Sinkability – This one’s for you, Jeff. Down the sink it goes.

At 8% alcohol by volume, this is a pilsener-style lager made for what only the Russians would call summer. Outside of a light solvent smell, reminiscent of the hodgepodge distillation of eisbock, the alcohol is undetectable. Smooth, crisp, and refreshing, this is everything you’d want in a lager, with a touch of warmth in the belly to boot. This is probably what a pint of pilsener would feel like if it were chasing a shot of vodka. Bochkarev Strong is one of the most flavorful pilseners on the market today -- sweet with malt, bright with grassy Saaz hops, and rounded with a backnote of grain and circus peanuts.

Relax, relax.
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Not quite what I was expecting at all. As far as appearences, it poured out a nice golden color, and I immediately had it pegged for just another pilsner. The smell, however, proved unusually sweet. The taste was just fantastic, sweet, a tad fruity, with perhaps just a bit of alcohol clinging on to the flavor.

The waiter at a Russian restaurant in Jacksonville brought this out to try to impress me with the wonders of Russian beer. Did his job, I think. I absolutely love this beer.

This beer looks good coming out of the bottle - nice clear gold hue with a firm white head that sticks around almost all the way down the glass. That's it for the good news. The smell is sweet, with just a bit of malt and some alcohol. The mouthfeel is thick like syrup, tingly and very sweet. The taste reminded me of a weak rum and coke. You can have this one.

16.9 oz brown bottle with a freshness date on the front label, no info about the beer.

Appearance: Tight white lacing with lots of big bubbles rising to the top of the pale yellowish golden brew.

Smell: Very clean with a faint whiff of solvent alcohol and grain.

Taste & Mouthfeel: The usual lager-like crispness is there as well as a sweet residual that is part of the medium body. The flexed solvent alcohol is quite clean and not as harsh as I expected, only a slight bite. Not much for malt other than the sweetness and a clinging dry pale grain. Hops are there but are bland and only provide some bitterness. Finishes with a warming alcohol and clean after taste.

Drinkability & Notes: Pretty good for a flavour lacking high octane brew. Do these not come in the 40oz size?