Tasties from the Motherland - Baltika (St. Petersburg, Russia)

The average person does not automatically equate the name "Russia" with "beer." Generally there are about one hundred other names that come to mind, normally along the lines of "vodka," "cold," "bears," "Commies," and "Putin." While there is certainly a great deal of validity to all of these stereotypes, I was convinced of several other self-evident truths about the Nazi-crushing, Napoleon-annihilating, and warmth-defying country in my year abroad which came to an end less than nine months ago.

Vodka is obviously king. Yet, apart from the shenanigans of various ex-patriots, drunks, and tourists, vodka is generally consumed on special occasions from what I witnessed. Although, as I say this, I can't help but think of the borderline absurd number of local and national holidays throughout the Russian calendar that by all means offer endless opportunities to enjoy the stereotypical national beverage. Interestingly, another beverage that is near and dear to the hearts of the Russian public is cognac, typically imported from Armenia. The French - adhering to the idea that only cognac from their country can be named as such - might disagree with me, but the Armenians aren't fooling around when it comes to this warm sweet liquor. Perhaps I'll review it sometime as a little digression.

Needless to say however, one doesn't simply walk around the Old Arbat in Moscow, or down St. Petersburg's Nevsky Prospekt, with an open bottle of Zelyenaya Marka vodka without expecting to get stopped by one of the several militsiya officers patrolling nearby (who would more than likely accept your bottle as a parting gift). Instead, there is beer. In fact, there is beer within 100 yards of about anything in Moscow and St. Petersburg, including revered monasteries, the Kremlin, and the inner-city estate of novelist Lev Tolstoy. People drink it constantly: I can't help but recall seeing a well-dressed business man walking to work at 8:00 am slugging down a Stella Artois. Hot weather, cold weather, snow, rain, sleet, holiday, holy day, etc. Not to mention it's cheap: you would typically pay anywhere from $1-2 USD for an ice cold half liter of the local brew, and $3-4 USD for some high quality Czech, Polish, and German beers. But, when it came down to it, there was one beer that was king: Baltika from St. Petersburg.

Baltika is a pretty unique brewing company when it comes down to it, and it's all a matter of simplicity. Apart from some clever recent beers such as Baltika "Kooler" (something akin to a Corona I've been told), the beers are named simply by the number, specifically 2-10. (There is also a "0" but it's a non-alcoholic which, unsurprisingly, rarely sells). These numbers are not terribly important; for instance, it does not indicate a grade of darkness or strength but simply a different style of beer. Here is the breakdown:
Baltika 2 - Pale beer
Baltika 3- Classic Pale Lager (4.8%)
Baltika 4- Original (Brown Lager) (5.6%)
Baltika 5- Gold Beer (5.0%)
Baltika 6 - Porter (7%)
Baltika 7 - Export Beer (Pale Lager) (5.4%)
Baltika 8 - Unfiltered Wheat Ale (5.0%)
Baltika 9 - Strong Lager (8%)
Baltika 10 - Jubilee (5.2%)

Of these, the only one I haven't had was Baltika 10. I'm not positive, but it may not even be produced regularly. Honestly, several of these beers taste pretty similar to one another (in particular 2, 3, and 7). Russians criticize Baltika 9 as being too sweet. But overall, I'm not too quick to hate on this line of beer. Sure, I'll admit that no one of them is mind-blowing, but Baltika is great with consistency. Each of these beers is very drinkable, even in the half-liter serving size. You don't fill up too quickly, and at the same time you're never left with an unpleasant aftertaste from any of them. Hell, Baltika 7 even tastes good from a can. Baltika 8 is a nice shot at a wheat beer, often enjoyed by those not so keen on German Heffeweissens (which, honestly, who isn't keen on those things?!). The porter holds its own as well. Overall, there is little room for disappointment with Baltika. Plus, for anyone who has made the trek to Russia, it holds a special place in their hearts always paired with a long series of great stories (I can't help but think of last Valentine's Day...).

So I'm going to give Baltika as a brewing company *** out of ***** (3 out of 5). It's a safe bet in my opinion, which admittedly, might be a bit biased due to my year abroad. But hey, when all else fails, there's always vodka...

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