Ak Bars
Krasny Vostok

The name means "white leopard" in Tatar, the native tongue of the region this beer comes from. The bottle is standard brown half-liter, but the label features a backdrop of high mountains and our friend the snow leopard lounging across the top of the banner proclaiming the name. Very cool. Ingredients include rice. Best before 2/22/04, I opened it to celebrate November 7, now officially Russia's "Day of Reconciliation and Understanding," but everyone really knows it as the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Pours a hazy (is this unfiltered? Doesn't claim to be.) gold with a very thin, short-lived white head that ends up as clumps of film across the top of the liquid. The nose is sweet, like fruity malt. The mouth is very prickly and medium-bodied. The taste is a bit like sweet grapes, without much malt. There are harsh metallic hops in the finish, leaving a mainly bitter - but also alcoholic - aftertaste. This beer is by no means great, despite the interesting name and attractive label.