{"id":1848,"date":"2020-07-24T15:36:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T15:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=1848"},"modified":"2020-08-04T17:24:38","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T17:24:38","slug":"gold-mine-beer-in-kaliningrad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/gold-mine-beer-in-kaliningrad\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Mine Beer in Kaliningrad"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Mick Hart\u2019s totally biased review of bottled beers* in Kaliningrad (or how to live without British real ale!)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Article 4: <\/strong>Gold Mine Beer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Published: 24 July 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottled beer that I am reviewing today goes by the very enticing name of Gold Mine. As with all beers in this series of reviews, they are widely available throughout Kaliningrad, Russia, from most supermarkets, and, as with all of the beers that I intend to review here, they have been selected on an ad-hoc basis. Why did I choose Gold Mine? Because I liked the name and the label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous articles in this series:<\/strong>
Bottled Beer in Kaliningrad<\/a>
Variety of Beer in Kaliningrad<\/a>
Cedar Wood Beer in Kaliningrad<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labelling and product presentation plays a crucial role in leveraging purchasing decisions at every level, but is particularly important when it comes to impulse purchasing an unknown, untried and untested brand of, in this case, beer without recommendation or information to act as a guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seductability value of a bottled beer\u2019s label design is especially important if you are operating on a quick-decision buy-it-now basis.  Nowhere is this more true if you are buying a beer that is produced in a country that is not your home country, where you may have no knowledge of, or only an elementary grasp of, the written language of that country. In this case, your purchasing decision will almost certainly be made according to visual appeal. In my case, as my command of the Russian language is limited, as is the time that we have on this Earth, making a purchasing decision from what is written on the bottle would leave me little time to drink it before its sell by date expired. So, for me here in Russia, labelling, as well as beer strength (since even I can read the percentage on the bottle), are the two criteria that I use before parting with my rubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marketing wise, Gold Mine is great. The label has a retro feel to it, which is bound to be attractive to an old vintage and antique dealer like myself who has never moved out of the past. The label, which is unsurprisingly gold coloured, has an American bias. The words Gold Mine Beer (in English) romp brassily across the front of a dark-blue and gold-rimmed shield, reminiscent of a 1960s\u2019 US police officer\u2019s badge. The shield is surmounted by a New York City skyscape, a group of sketched skyscrapers and big city office blocks, one bearing the word \u2018Urban\u2019 written sideways and travelling vertically and another, in bold, \u2018Light\u2019. The US city design continues as a series of abstract shapes and line-drawn tower blocks that fade in and out of the golden background. The collar label above wears a complementary image, denoting skyscraper and suspension bridge together with the words \u2018100% Light Beer\u2019 and \u2018fresh\u2019, \u2018premium\u2019. What does all this mean? Well, nothing much, but the words are in different weights and scripts and as my Russian wife would say, when she gets her words in a mucking fuddle, it good looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do not buy beer to look at the label, do we? That is about as daft as suggesting that we buy anything with alcohol in it to drink sensibly, because if we wanted to do that we would confine ourselves to mineral water, but, at the risk of repeating myself and sounding vaguely sexist, when it comes to trying something new appearance is everything and a bit more besides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leering at it in the supermarket cooler it occurred to me that if the product delivered as much as the labelling, it would be a darn good drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I bought it. Took it home. Retired with it to my gentleman\u2019s drinking room, Mick\u2019s Place, secreted in the attic, and plumbed the depths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold Mine Beer in Kaliningrad<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Verdict: Gold Mine Beer does have a colour that lives up to its name. It is a light, golden, lager beer. I have seen it described as crisp, but I would disagree with that: it has a soft, mellow taste with a standard, traditional lager finish. There is also a faint after taste, but not exciting enough for me to want to write home about it. Having said that, the texture is quite full bodied. It suits my palate in that its carbonation soon gives out, so it does not fizz up one\u2019s nose like a glass of Andrew\u2019s Liver Salts (sorry for mentioning the liver in a beer review).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would I drink it again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. A 1.35 litre bottle retails in our local store for about 90 rubles (just over a quid). It is not the bees\u2019 knees of beers but then neither is it the roadman\u2019s wellingtons. It is drinkable and more. Real ale connoisseurs may well have a problem with it, but I suspect seasoned lager drinkers used to finding less \u2018gold in them thar pilsners\u2019 than they would like, might reasonably discover when prospecting this brand that it was good enough to bottle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude01TRAINSPOTTING & ANORAKS<\/strong>
Name of Beer:<\/strong> Gold Mine Beer
Brewer:<\/strong> World Beers
Where it is brewed:<\/strong> California, USA
Bottle capacity:<\/strong> 1.35 litres
Strength:<\/strong> 4.5%
Price:<\/strong> It cost me about 90 rubles (98 pence)
Appearance:<\/strong> You won’t believe it ~ Gold
Aroma:<\/strong> Corny
Taste:<\/strong> Soft, traditional, light-coloured lager tang with one or two hops struggling to the surface
Fizz amplitude:<\/strong> 6\/10
Label\/Marketing:<\/strong> As good as, if not better than, gold
Would you buy it again?<\/strong> Yes. But I wouldn’t go looking for it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gold<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

*Note that the beers that feature in this review series only include bottled beer types that are routinely sold through supermarket outlets and in no way reflect the variety of beer and\/or quality available in Kaliningrad from speciality outlets and\/or through bars and restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2018-2020 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mick Hart\u2019s totally biased review of bottled beers* in Kaliningrad (or how to live without British real ale!) Article 4: Gold Mine Beer Published: 24 July 2020 The bottled beer that I am reviewing today goes by the very enticing name of Gold Mine. As with all beers in this series of reviews, they are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[480,499,498,479,521,483,524,482,500,501,497],"class_list":["post-1848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-life-in-kaliningrad","tag-beer-drinking-kaliningrad","tag-beer-is-a-popular-drink-in-russia","tag-beer-kaliningrad","tag-bottled-beer-in-kaliningrad","tag-cedar-wood-beer-in-kaliningrad","tag-englishman-beer-kaliningrad","tag-gold-mine-beer-in-kaliningrad","tag-mick-harts-guide-bottled-beers-kaliningrad","tag-supermarket-beer-kaliningrad","tag-supermarket-beer-russia","tag-variety-of-beer-in-kaliningrad"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Gold-Mine-Lable-Close-Rz.jpg?fit=1090%2C1260&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1665,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/variety-of-beer-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":1848,"position":0},"title":"Variety of Beer in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"30 \u0438\u044e\u043d\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mick Hart\u2019s totally biased review of bottled beers in Kaliningrad (or how to live without British real ale!) 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