Krasniy Vostok Yershistoe
Krasny Vostok

A: Slightly foggy golden wheat colored. A quickly receding head. Looks pretty light but the fogginess has me intrigued a bit.

S: Strawberry, cherry, bread, banana. Quite sweet - smells like dessert.

T: Sweet, wheat, a little honey. Some fruit. Easy to drink but interesting.

M: Just a tiny bit short on carbonation, but not bad. It has just enough thickness to it to give it a satisfying body.

O: A descent lager. I think the smell of this beer is a little more enticing than the flavor, which isn't really as dynamic. Still, it's quite good.

Clear golden coloured body with a thin white head. Aroma of pale malt, light sugar and not much else. Malty cardboardie flavour with some raisins and yeast - nothing too pleasant. Medium-bodied; Funky corn flavours with some yeast and alcohol coming through near the end. Aftertaste shows some malt and pale flavours - not much complexity. Overall, not such a great beer - worth trying to see the style - but that's more than enough. Very average at best.

Appearance: Pours out a clear, rich-looking, yellow body capped with a smallish, white head.

Smell: Simple, basic extra pale malts carry with them some sweet hints. There's a remarkably odd scent in there that's hard to place. It's kind of vegetal, it's kind of fruity, and just seem totally out of place in any beer. I'm part horrified and part intrigued!

Taste: Sweet, cheap-tasting maltiness with, blast, those hard to discern tastes. What IS that in there... Rose hips? Stale kiwi fruits sprayed with apple juice? Faint bitterness. The body begins to drastically thin out as you near the semi-sweet finish that leaves that curious flavor lingering into the aftertaste. I certainly had no problem finishing it, though more in an effort to identify those odd-ball notes, and not because I was truly enjoying myself.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Skip it. A beer that just smells and tastes odd, and not in a charming way. I don't readily recall the price of the 16.9 ounce bottle, but I do remember it being a very, very low price. I guess it's simply a case of "you get what you pay for."

Pours very yellow. Almost straw color. Decent forced head with some retention. Lots of carbonation clinging to the lower etchings of my glass.

Very sweet smelling. Banana bread and cream. Faint hop presence. Not bad, but not inspiring.

Lemony, slightly sugary hit. Malt body is better than expected. Finishes decently dry. Not a whole lot going on here. Clean enough, but again nothing to inspire. Lots of adjuncts present. I'm hoping rice, but not sure what kind of grain has made it into this one.

Easy to drink, but why when there are others out there that actually have a taste.

A: about a finger of white frothy head bubbles up and dissipates quickly. The lager is a golden straw hue. There's a small island of foam floating at the top as well as a ring clinging to the glass.
S: very sweet honey maltiness balanced out by a crisp grain and grass hop. Some light apple aromas in there as well.
T: metallic, sweet malt and ripe apple and other fruity esters to boot. A bit of corn syrup and grains.
M: medium body, crisp carbonation and a good deal of bitterswet residuals.
D: an easy drinking lager for a warm day. Bigger in body and flavor than others of the style.

Sampled on 3-20-09

Pours a slightly hazy golden color, no head, and no lacing. Very thick and boozy in appearance.

Smell is adjunct lager, smooth and and on the sweet side, but not at all harsh and rather pleasant.

Taste is sweet! Very strong flavor for a reasonable abv. Not much going on, so the sweetness gets old quickly.

Mouthfeel is good, carbonation is tart to counter the thickness and sweetness.

Drinkability isn't bad, but there are many things I'd rather drink.

Overall, tastes like a malt liquor with the booze, which is the best part.

The previous reviewer said it all. Mine poured a little darker than a Bud, but with less head. It smelled like beer, but I found it much too sweet. Perhaps it was this sweetness that gave it a nice body and a good mouthfeel. But it finished kinda sweet, and I'll bet several of these would give one a headache.

16.9oz bottle

Pours a clear golden straw colow with a creamy white head that thins. Mild lacing on the glass.

Adjunct laden aroma, lots of rice along with some light malt tones. Some light hop notes.

Tastes like it smells. Sweet upfront with a bit of malt and a bunch of rice. Mild bitterness, faint hop presence. Sweet finish.

Medium-full body, ample carbonation.

Russian malt liqour, plain and simple. Cheap (only $2 in Maryland, so imagine how cheap it must be in Russia) and easy enough to slug down if you're looking for nothing more than a quick buzz.