Back to work at the pub now. Which, while it may not be the job I want for ever, is at least a job in this climate. The reason I mention this is because I’m hoping it won’t impact how often I get to review beers because I’m really enjoying drinking and writing about all the weird and wonderful options out there. Today’s beer is a little different. Another gift from my friend this is the type of beer I like to call a ‘Corner Shop Classic’. I call them as such as these are the type of beers you can find in your local offie, usually from Eastern Europe, for a very cheap price usually. Perfect for a couple beers in the park! This Corner Shop Classic is Russian brewery Baltika’s 7 Export lager.

Pours a clear gold beer with a soft white head. There is very little on the nose but perhaps hints of malt in there. Taste wise the beer is fairly bland in all honesty. It is definitely smooth drinking and there is a decent carbonation level to it but it tastes of very little. Not even the malt is coming through for me at all.

A quick note on the bottle art: Simple branding with a textured wrap around the edge.

Naturally I wasn’t expecting this to be an incredible beer because that’s simply not what this is trying to be. It’s a cheap imported lager. However, what I did not expect was there to be so little flavour. You’d be better of getting one of the better corner shop beers like a Perla or simply stick to classic supermarket lagers like your Amstel or Kronenbourg. What prevents it from getting a very low score is that it is drinkable and not entirely unrefreshing. It just simply lacks any modicum of character. Shockingly, it is however vegan so it does have that going for it.

Score: 2.5/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: 14
• ABV: 5.4%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!