As a young kid growing up on a healthy diet of football, I started gaining a good knowledge of gegraphical locations by reading the league tables of various football leagues. By the time I was 10, I was able to point out where Santos was in Brazil or Zagreb in the Balkans.

While I still follow football, we’ve learnt to appreciate different cultures in a more fluid but educational method – beer. None of us at www.175proof.com have been to Russia but we’ve drunk their vodka and eaten their caviar. And we never thought of beer and Russia, it’s always vodka. Until our favourite beer travelogue, Three Sheets, visited Moscow and drank Baltika beer, we were finally convinced that every country has it’s own brew.

So when we were given a bottle of Baltika, we couldn’t wait to drink it. Baltika beer comes straight from St. Petersburg and is one of the most popular beers in Russia. There are a few varities available including a light and porter version. But the one we tried was Baltika No. 3, which is a 4.8% lager, also known as Klassicheskoe (Classic). It’s a simple beer, clear and golden yellow with good, white head. Easy to drink with a bitter finish. If you’re looking for an alternate classic tasting but new beer to try, this would be it.

You’ll be able to sample this at Beer Fest Asia 2010.