Barkhatnoye
Kolos OAO/ Ledyanoy Stakanchik

I liked everything about this beer, including the way in which I got it. As you pass the brewery in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, you come to a window in the brewery's wall. There you find people lined up to purchase the brewery's products, including plastic 1.5 liter bottles and half-liter plastic cups of the beer of the day. So much for open container laws. For about 25 U.S. cents you too can wander down the street sipping a lovely fresh brew.

The word "barkhatnoye" in Russian means something like velvet. This is a lovely dark, almost black brew with a fairly thin tan head that left nice lace even in my plastic cup. The nose was full of pleasant malts and grains, with a hint of hops. The mouth was smooth as silk, with just enough carbonation to emphasizes the sweet barley. The initial taste is sweet grains and just a touch of cocoa. Those sensations are quickly complemented by a marvelous hoppy bite that just kept coming on strong. The result was an aftertaste both bitter and sweet. This was a very fine beer!