Svitle Traditziyne
Rogan Brewery

It has a light golden color and a thin head that quickly disappears. It has the aroma of malt and grain. The taste is very light and forgettable.

 

Very much like Monastyrske Svitle from the same brewery (see entry). Better than some Western mass-production lagers but very bland an uninspiring compared to other Ukrainian beers.

Pale yellow color, almost no head, minimum lace, high carbonation.

Smell faint but hoppy. Almost no hops in the taste but interplay between pale malts and yeast creates unwanted acidity. Body small, mouthfeel watery, aftertaste sour, chemical.

Unbalanced and probably immature beer. Quality may improve, let's see.

A colleague of mine went to Kiev recently, so naturally I asked him to bring me back some beer. This is one of several that made the trip. Comes in a brown plastic one liter bottle with a quite non-descript label featuring the brewery's name under a gold mug filled with foam. The slogan above the mug reads: "good natural beer." Everything is in Ukrainian. Ingredients include rice and sugar. Best before 3/27/04, I opened it on 1/23/04.

Pours clear gold under a two-fingered white head (from a hard pour) with some body and a bit of staying power. The nose is a touch sweet, with a hint of hops. The mouth is light and well carbonated. The taste is very mild, almost as non-descript as the label. There is a touch of grainy malt, followed by a whisper of hoppy bitterness. The aftertaste is ever so slightly bitter. This is not a drain pour, but it is very, very plain.