Today I picked up Baltika 9- This is the first beer I've tried from the Baltic brewers. Baltika 9 advertises itself as an extra lager or strong lager, which is like a whole other class of European style lagers. Kind of like a European version of a malt liquor. Baltika 9 contains 8% ABV, and taste wise, doesn't try to hide it either. This beer, to me, tastes like how I would think Russia... is. It is extremely strong, and finishes very bitter. In the nose, there is a lot of malt and very few hops. The taste follows the nose to the tee. I would also like to mention that I've seen this in a 51 oz plastic bottle version, which I thought was hilarious, because I could not see anyone drinking 51 ounces of this by themselves. I give Baltika 9 a neutral rating. Definitely not my style, but if you're trying to get shitfaced, Baltika 9 will definitely do the job.