Yarpivo Porter
Baltika Breweries

This is one tough beer to find. One would think I'd found a Westy 12 the way I reacted when I saw this in a kiosk in the northeastern part of Moscow. One less holy grail to find... Comes in a standard brown half liter bottle with a dark blue and silver label featuring nothing but writing. Ingredients conform to the purity law. Best before 8/27/04, I opened it on 3/3/04.

Clear burgundy caramel color under a 1.5 finger beige head that displays excellent retention but fails to muster any lace. The nose is mainly caramel sweet, with a touch of roastiness. The mouth is mildly carbonated and crisply medium-bodied - no cloying. The flavor is quite mild - maybe a bit too mild - caramel at first, followed by a touch of hoppy bitterness, but not really enough to be a great porter. The aftertaste is domianted by the caramel sweetness. This might be closer to a dunkel than a porter, but it is certainly an enjoyable drink..