With most of the information in Russian this beer was a little and to research but we found that Baltika is part of the Carlsberg group of companies and began production in 1990. The beer originates from St Petersburg and is the leader in the Russian beer market owning around 40% of sales. They now have 11 breweries and brew 5.2 million hectolitres- which sounds a hell of a lot every month. They say that the Baltika brand is one of the top three most valuable brands in Russia and the biggest selling beer in sales term in Europe- which is pretty impressive. They export to over 70 countries. We have tasted quite a few of the Baltika beers, including the Classic, The Porter and the Pale Ale. The one we have photographed is the Wheat Beer No 8 had a thick dense foam, soft fruit aroma with spicy tinges and light sweetness. They started brewing this beer in 2001 and have won several prestigious Beer awards with it. The beer has a 5% alcohol volume and original wort gravity of 12.5%. Well worth looking out for when you want to try something different, it is a very nice beer.
Here’s a bit of a treat, we don’t usually get to see too much Russian TV. Here is a commercial for Ochakovo Beer which actually originates from Moscow and are the country’s third biggest brewer. They got into a bit of hot water a few years back after the trade ministry alleged they used banned chemicals in their brews, but this was quashed in the courts. The ministry was in the end forced to take out newspaper advertisements stating the beer was perfectly safe to drink. More recently the brewery has launched a non pasteurised beer that contains live yeast and more nutrients. It needs to be drunk fast as the beer will go off but it’s vitimins and minerals are meant to be good for you. The beer is delivered to the bottleshop in steel kegs then poured into plastic ready labeled plastic bottles when sold the beer can stay in the keg for up to 14 days and must be drunk within three days of being repackaged. Due to the need to keep this beer fresh it is not found outside Moscow and plans are a foot to expand to other Russian centres like Krasnodar and Penza.
When you think of driniking in Russia you think of Vodka and more vodka but Russia has a huge and thriving beer market. One of the best selling is Baltika which makes up about a quarter of the Russian market and is exported to many countries around the world. Now owned in a joint venture with Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle this beer originates from Balkita and is grewed in about 18 breweries throughout the region including 10 in Russia, and some in the Baltic countries, Ukrainane and even on in Kazakhstan. The breweries make a huge range of products, from dark beers, porters, light beers and even a 8% strong beer. Outside Russia the Export and sometimes the Wheat or Gold is available. The export has a clean European with a tangy taste similar to the Dutch / Western Germany style pilsners. While the wheat has a rich earthy taste.
