Zolotaya Pena
Pivzavod AO Hamovnikov /Gaven v Khamovnikakh

Typical bad Russian beer. Comes in a standard half-liter bottle with a very plain white and gold label. The name means "golden foam", and the label proclaims it "brewed using a special technology in honor of the 850th anniversary of Moscow." What an honor... Rice is an ingredient. The label includes a place to mark a 'best by" date, but there are no markings.

Pours a clear sickly orangish-gold under a thin white head full of bubbles. There is no head retention to speak of. The nose is sickly sweet, rather like day old cantelope rind in a paper bag. The mouth is lightly carbonated and heavy with sweetness. The taste is sickly sweet - definitely melon, but might be honey dew rather than cantelope. Definitely day old in any case. In contrast to this brewery's other products, this one actually has some hoppiness in the finish, and it isn't even the normal metallic hoppiness, but rather a pretty smooth bitter. Not enough, however, to overcome the sour malt. I won't be finishing mine...

A slightly hazy, yellow-gold body is capped by a short but creamy bright-white head that drops readily to a creamy collar and lacey surface covering. It does, however, leave some thin and spotty lace throughout the first part of the glass. The nose displays spicy/herbal hops and some higher alcohols/ethyl acetate over a moderate maltiness; leaving it a touch medicinal and somewhat off-putting. The body is light with a very fine carbonation that's restrained but still offers a light crispness in the mouth. The flavor reflects the aroma with some nice, lightly sweet and grainy maltiness upfront, followed by the ethyl acetate and some herbal/spicy hops, and then finishing dry with a lingering earthy and medicinal character. It appears that a high fermentation temperature has destroyed this beer, allowing higher alcohol esters to combine with herbal hops (which might have otherwise been very nice) to disasterous effect.