Lvivske Premium Lager: A sign of hope?

Tonight I drank a beer from the Ukraine, and this post must go out tonight because tomorrow, the famous Ukrainian football club Dynamo Kiev is playing against my club, Borussia Mönchengladbach, in a Champions League qualifying match. Dynamo destroyed us in the first leg 3:1 in Mönchengladbach - thanks to some callous tactics, crafty skills, a well-organized defense, and two goals that were rather lucky. No matter, and while there seems little to play for in the return match for Borussia, anything is possible in football. I remember Dynamo Kiev from the 1970s with the great Oleg Blochin, who was coaching the Ukrainian side during this year's European Championship. It has been just about that long ago since Borussia has had any significant success, but the faithful stay loyal and it would be no shame to go out against Dynamo!

The beer I had is not from Kiev, but from Lviv, the main city in Western Ukraine, which the part of the country from which my wife's family came to Canada in the early parts of the 20th century and where Ukrainian rather than Russian is the main language. For a number of reasons, including my wife's heritage, I have a soft spot for Ukraine, and Lvivske Premium Lager is the first Ukrainian beer I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, being here in Canada means I only get those brands that have been gobbled up by large multinational breweries, this one belonging to the Carlsberg Group - not a good omen. Lvivske had a slightly skunky nose, which was not a big surprise given the green bottle, and a very pale golden colour that is visible in in the refraction of the background of the picture below. While the bubbles in the bottle (one even came out and stayed for some 20 seconds after the initial pouring) signal good malt quality, the head was quite fizzy and did not last very long. Taste-wise, the malt flavours were very dry, with some white bread notes up front and a middle palate that had gone AWOL. The mouthfeel was thin, and there were some faint grassy hops flavours. The back palate was clean, but with a lingering bitterness that made me think of ashtray. Overall, I take this as a signal that everything is not lost yet. While Lviv is not Kiev, Lvivske represents Ukraine, stirring in me the slight of fancy that the unsatisfactory character of this beer foreshadows the impossible!

A nice detail from the label and the bottle cap: