Things seem to be getting better in Russia. At least if beer is any barometer. Time was when it was pretty darned difficult to find a decent Russian beer in the United States. One of the most readily available was Zhiguliovskoye, or Zhiguly for short. It wasn’t usually very good, though; most of my samples usually reached me in terribly stale condition.

Of late, things seem to have improved. Likely that’s because European brewing giant Interbrew now has a stake in the brand and the Russian brewery that produces it. Zhiguliovskoye is a brand that dates back to the Soviet era, and some of the samples I tasted many years ago had the air of being brewed by Comrade Stalin himself. But since the involvement of Interbrew a few years ago, things seem to have improved.

Anyone who is familiar with the history of the Soviet Union is aware that the domestic consumer economy almost invariably went in the back seat. Foreign policy and defense considerations always came first. Brewers, like most other manufacturers of consumer goods, had to make do with raw material shortages all the time. So, if a brewer got more malt but less hops one month, you got a sweeter beer. Consistency was not the name of the game.

Zhiguliovskoye was brewed by a number of breweries across the Soviet Union. It was the most popular beer in the Soviet Union, which means very little since often it was the only beer you could get. Today, Zhiguly is being brewed for export and the domestic market by the Samara brewery in Samara, Russia.

This is the second pleasant experience I have had with Russian beer recently. I also very much enjoyed the Tver Brewery’s Afanasy Dark. Now, on to the Zhiguly.

Zhiguliovskoye pours to a light golden color with a thick creamy head formation and a crisp malty nose. A large amount of Brussels lace follows the beer down the glass. The crisp, biscuity malt palate is very refreshing and delicious. The wonderfully dry and quenching finish boasts a bitter, minty-grassy hop character that leaves a bitter buzz lingering on the tongue after sipping.

This is a surprisingly good pilsner with plenty of hop and malt character. They even package it in brown glass bottles. At 4% alcohol by volume, Zhiguly makes an excellent session beer too.



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