Gambrinus Svetlý 10° (Desítka)

Brewed by Plzensky Prazdroj (SABMiller)
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Plzen, Czech Republic

Canned. Golden colour, medumsized fluffy head. Aroma is strong malts and hops along with some mild butteryness. Flavour is strong malts and hops along with some very saltwatery notes. OK and refreshing.

Back from a Czech Republic pub-crawl this is part of my express ratings for the “typical” Světlý 11°- (Czech light Pils), Světlý 12°+ (Czech Pils), Polotmavý (Czech Amber Lagers) and Tmavý (Czech Black Lagers). Non-typical beers will receive personalized descriptions after the express ratings.
-------- /> How: Tap in some non-beer-geek restaurant in Keb, Czech Republic
The look: Clear blonde body with a medium white head
To me a typical Czech Světlý 11° and below is: Well malted body with lots of smooth cereals and a light fresh honey sweetness flavour. Some fruity notes (more fruity notes than in the 12°+) with mostly citrus fruits and a little lemon. The finish is somewhat herbal and citrusy with but unlike the 12°+ there is only a hint of the dry grassy bitterness usually associated with noble/Saaz hops. Bitterness is mild and does not really play a big role in the overall flavours spectrum. A light meringue sensation and an overall freshness impression.. Carbonation is typically very soft. These beers are low in intensity but very refreshing and drinkable in scarily large quantities.
This one: Watered-down version of the above deprived of all character. Most North-American macros have more edge than this. Offensively flavourless.

En fût. Pinte dégustée chez U Kocek (Cheb, Rép. Tchèque). Arôme: Légère odeur d’houblon et de fruité. Apparence: La couleur est dorée. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Très léger goût d’houblon et de céréale. Courte durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est mince avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût fruité. (Rating #1573)

Canned from Slovakian supermarket. Golden color, small head. very characteristic pils nose. Aroma is very soft, a bit grassy, smells like bread’nbutter when poured to sauna stones. :-) Bitterness could be more but not bad for a lower shelf mass market brew.

Can, courtesy of an acquaintance who brought it from Prague (thanks Tomislav!), shared with heavy.
Golden colour, medium to small, somewhat persistent head. The nose was malty, oily, a bit herbal. Starts off bitterish, but that dominating bitterness feels too generic. A nice fruity maltiness pops up from time to time. A bit papery and a bit acidic. Not offensive. A featureless but passable industrial desitka.

0.5 l can courtesy of Doggythedog, thanks a lot for sharing! Poured golden body with medium head. Quite weak malty aroma, honey and flowers with some hoppy notes and dust. Nothing too much in it. Flavor slightly sweetish but quite bland, although pleasant and easily drinkable. Medium long sweetish finish, unfortunately, some notes of vegetables here. I’ve excpected more of this one, it’s just an ordinary, rather boring beer...

long live desitkas! to hell with "high alcohol content required" beer snobbery. gambac is an awesome everyday beer with the best chance of no hangover, even when passing the 10 pint mark. ok, one negative aspect acknowledged. it has gotten a little worse then it used to be, as far as i know, prazdroj is not using well water for their gambrinus production any longer, it certainly seems to taste not quite as great as it used to.

Can (BB 06/2008)
Golden honey color, small firm head. Typical Czech grassy-woody hoppy and buttery nose. Watery, weak malt profile - 10 plato is too little for gravity. Hops are typical grassy and tasty Bohemian ones. Some diacetylic notes too. Light Czech pils.