Baltika Number 2 Lager
October 12, 2006 – 5:15 pm
Kristin and Wolfe got me several bottles of the Russian beer Baltika for my birthday a few months back. Last week I had the Number 2 Lager with dinner, and all I have to say is “wow!” This lager and the Trumer Pils are numbers 1 and 2 on my list of all time favorite lagers, and I’m not sure which ranks higher. I know they both clearly rank higher than any other lager I have tried.
The Baltika number two lager had a golden, yellow-orange color. It had a medium-thick white head that disappeared fairly quickly. It looked more like a hefeweizen than a traditional lager to me when I first poured it.
The primary reason I liked Baltika’s number two lager so much was that it had the crispness one would expect from a premium lager without much of the bitterness. I can appreciate that this may be a feature only to me, as many beer drinkers like a bitter bite to accompany their crisp finish. I can do without that extra bitterness, and the Baltika pulls this off quite nicely.
One Response to “Baltika Number 2 Lager”
Baltika 3 (Classic), 6 (Porter), and 7 (Export) are the best from this St. Petersburg brewery. In fact, almost all Baltikas (I think they now range from 1-9, in order of alc. content) are quite good - except for a disgusting lemon-corriander-flavored one (or something like that) I tried once. #2 is OK, but a little weak.
By Smekhov on Jan 11, 2007