Kyivske Draft
Obolon Brewery

 

 

The pour is straw colored with medium level of carbonation. The taste is white bread, malt, grains, herbal, & mild skunk. Cheers! B

 

I've had a few other beers from this brewery, but this is the first time trying this one. From a tall green bottle, it pours a clear golden color with a puffy white head. It's an attractive lager. The first scent in the aroma is a mildly lightstruck scent so common in European lagers from a green bottle. Behind that, though, is a soft malt and herbal hop aroma. The taste is straightforward...sweet balance with a pale malt flavor and a enough hops to balance. Medium-light body and drinkable.

Obolon Brewery "Kyivske Draft"
500 ml green glass bottle without production codes or freshness dating
$4.49 @ Total Wine & More, Claymont, DE

Notes via stream of consciousness: ... and the green bottle strikes once again! It's only lightly skunked but it's there. It's poured a clear golden body that's teeming with life as very tiny bubbles race towards the surface, bolstering its short but creamy white head. Beyond the light skunkiness in the aroma its grainy, herbal, and mineralish. The taste brings in a subtle fruitiness that's like apples and sweet berries, and just a hint of floral character. I thought it would be more grainy than it is, and I'm guessing that there's some sugar in play to thin it a bit. That's OK, it's still refreshing and enjoyable with a bit of a moderated bitterness level. The head has held up quite well, and there are rings of lace embedded in larger swaths of lacing. In the mouth it's medium bodied on the lower end, and crisp with a fine-bubbled, seemingly natural carbonation. So how to score this? The skunkiness is not bad but it does hurt the aroma. The malt could be fuller and more grainy but it's OK as it is, and it's nicely balanced. The body goes along with that and it's an overall decent enough Eastern European lager. It's well made but nothing spectacular, and I'm guessing that this beer is a little less expensive.
Review #9,285

Pours a clear gold with a bubbly one finger head that minimally laces the glass. The nose is faintly skunky. Flavor is fairly crisp--this beer can satisfy a thirst--featuring grain and a bit of green apple. It does have a bit of a skunky quality, similar to a Moosehead lager. Ultimately, the flimsy mouthfeel relegates this beer to peaking at "meh".

Poured from a green bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a clear golden amber color with a very small head of white foam. The head fades super-fast, leaving a trace of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – Being from a green bottle the skunk is rather pronounced. With this smell comes notes of caramel and cereal grains as well as some must and wheat.
Taste – The taste begins with a grainy malt flavor mixed with a caramel sweetness and some flavors of pear and apple. Other very light herbal and earthy flavors are there as well, with some hints of hay. As the taste advances the sweet fades a touch while the hay and some must increase. A touch of “skunk” comes on at the end and with the mix of flavors leaves one with a moderately grainy lager taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is rather light with a moderate carbonation level, making it rather easy drinking.
Overall – An OK Euro lager. Easy drinking and nice for warm summer days.