Damskoye Korsakovskoye Tyemnoye
Severnaya Zvezda

This microbrewery on the southern tip of Sakhalin Island only uses 1.5 liter brown plastic bottles. No can, no glass, no kegs. The label features sea waves and a big tall ship at full sail. Ingredients conform to the purity law. The brewery does not filter or pasteurize its products, so the beer is only good for about ten days. Bottled on 9/17/03, hand delivered to Moscow by a colleague who works on Sakhalin, I opened mine on 9/23/03.

Pours a cloudy burgundy hue under very little head. There is a deep malt and caramel nose that whets the appetite, but the mouth is a bit flat, with a fairly heavy consistency. The taste opens with a symphony of dark malts and caramel, followed by just enough hoppy bitterness to keep things interesting. The aftertaste is sweet caramel. Good effort!