Appearance – Pours a very clear amber, almost orange, color with a small white head and is gone in a jiff.

Smell – Sweet malts with some grains.

Taste – Starts off sweet like honey and then goes to a grainy and earthy hop taste and finishes off sweet again and with a little alcohol bite.

A nice gentleman named Gary recommended this one to me while I was in the store so I took him up on it.  I had never had a Russian beer before nor do I recall a lager at 8% ABV before.  This is not your normal lager though.  The sweet honey like taste made it very pleasant.  The alcohol bite had quite a warming effect to it and you could definitely feel it after a couple bottles.  Enjoy it but with caution or you might find yourself talking Russian to your friends by the end of the night.  And you don’t even know how to speak it!

Overall Grade – B