Triy Medvedya (3 Bears)
Pivovariya Ivana Taranova

Pours a very light straw color under a small but compace head that lingered surprisingly long for a strong beer. No lace, though, even at the beginning. There is malty alcohol in the nose - quite pronounced actually. The mouth is flat and slightly on the heavy side. The taste starts off bland and slightly metallic, chased by bitter (but not flowery) hops. There's actually very little of the usual alcohol taste. The aftertaste is, well, soapy, with a tiny bite at the back of the throat. Great by no stretch of the imagination.

Sugar is listed as the second ingredient after water, but there was not the usual sweet overtones associated with adjunct sugar.