Stary Melnik Tyemnoye
Pivovariya Moskva-Efes ZAO

 

Sampled from a 22 oz bomber, poured into a pint glass at 40 degrees.

A - Pours a cola-brown color with a light beige head and good carbonation.

S - Some staleness detected, but more of a sweet malt.

T - To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to expect when the only piece of English on the bottle is "Strong". But that aside...a syrupy-malt flavor, but a little on the bland side; caramel notes come through with some spices towards the end.

M - Just a tad thin for the flavors...carbonation remained strong.

D - Not bad...I was lured by the thought of my first Russian beer. I'd like to try the other offerings.

Comes in a standard brown half-liter bottle with a dark label featuring the trademark windmill. Ingredients comply with the purity law. Bottled on 9/3/03, I opened it on 11/23/03.

Nice dark brown color under a small and fizzy light tan head that fades too quickly. The nose is full of caramel and malt. The mouth is somewhat prickly, and heavy with sweet caramel. That's definitely the opening taste, with some malt accompaniment. This is followed by a healthy dose of hops, adding a good bitterness to the sweet caramel. The aftertaste is a nice combination of sweet and bitter. Easily the best product in the line, this is a good session beer. Too bad it is only available for the six cold months of Moscow winter.