Afanasy Dobroe
Afanasy

It pours a deep milky brown in the glass, with a touch of yeast sediment in the bottom of the quirky octagon bottle. A soft pale brown head clings to the glass nicely, but the nose explodes with caramel and malt before you can even get your lips to the rim. Sweet and creamy, the flavors roll over the palate and open up tremendously as the glass warms, with huge notes of caramel, along with banana, almond, raisin and a light bitter bite in the back of the tongue.

Time has improved it tremendously from my recollection as the high octane burn has dissipated and the flavors have blended into a more subtle blend of softer notes, rather than the "bull in an antique market" experience of several years ago. On the negative, it did have a bit of earthy oxidation, probably a result of the beneficial aging.

Obviously, this is a difficult find, but it's certainly an interesting pour after a half dozen or more years. On my first few tries, I'd have probably given it a lower score score, but this aged sample was at least enough to recommend it.

Nostrovia!

"Dobroe" in Russian means nice, pleasant, kind, good. This beer is all of those. It pours a beautiful clear copper color (the label says "half dark") with a decent but thin off white head. The head disappeared fast, but I was surprised to find some decent lace on the glass anyway. This one has a wonderful distinctive smell of roasted grains. The flavor starts off just a bit smokey, with definite malt and hop undertones. The hops don't take long to "announce their presence with authority" (to borrow from Bull Durham), yet that marvelous roasted grain taste never quite goes away. This is perhaps the most interesting Russian beer I've tried so far.