Herold Cerny Lezák (Bohemian Black Lager) 13°

Brewed by Pivovar Herold
Style: Schwarzbier
Breznice, Czech Republic

Dark, reddish brown with a thick, fluffy tan head. Subtle, malty nose with loads of chocolate, dry, roasted grains, caramel, bitter coffee and a touch of biscuit-like dryness. Creamy carbonation leaves the tongue happy, but the body isn’t quite as thick as I’d like. The flavor is quite bitter dominated by the roasted, burnt malt. Blackened whole-grain toast dipped in burnt Turkish coffee. More like a dry stout in flavor, this is much more bitter than I’m used to in my experience with Schwarzbier. Good, but not great.

03.05.05 500ml bottle Not as black as advertised, but a thick and lasting tan head. Aroma is mineral, grassy, saazy with watered down coffee hints and slight funk. Light flavors of thin coffee, more mineral, salty, dried berries. Refreshing finish is quenching, slightly dry but also a touch sweet and ’wet’. Even bitterness fits with hints of cocoa and more coffee aftertastes. Good stuff but I bet I would have hated this beer a few years ago.

Bottle. Large sized tan head that was mostly lasting, fair lacing, fine-small sized bubbles, opaque, no visible carbonation, and a black hue. Aroma was malty, roasty, burnt, and a hint of coffee. Malty and some coffee in the flavor. Smooth mouthfeel. Medium body.

Extremely well done lager. Nice balance of flavors and drinkability. Coffee and almonds with figs and light chocalate. finishes so clean it is amazing.

a sweet looking label and even sweeter presentation: a shimmering sable ebony akin to a panther by firelight; the head meanwhile assumed the softer tones of a mourning dove’s desert tan. entirely opaque with edges of ebbing embers, one can quickly surmise that this lager is amazingly stout-like . the aroma affirms it: luxuriantly supple leather, roasted chicory, anise, dates and fine mudurro leaf cigar tobacco. sweet grains dominate the flavor, the caramel sugars toasted to a brown as dark as the edges of a pie crust; a touch of zest offers a taste of bitterness. the feel is watery, carbonation moderate, but the strength of the malts and adequate late bitterness give it a medium body-- say-- along the lines of an oatmeal stout. if it were just an ordinary domestic stout, i doubt i’d give it much notice, but as an exotic looking czech schwarz, i couldn’t help but give it extra notice and appreciation.

This bottled brew poured a large sized head of foamy finely sized mostly lasting dark brown colored bubbles that left behind a poor lacing. The body contained no visible carbonation, was opaque except around the edges and dark brown in color. Its aroma contained notes of malts and was very mild. Its mouth feel is initially tingly with a smooth palate and a nice malty aftertaste. Its flavor contained dark beer brown malty notes and was tasty. An above average brew.

Pours dark brown with off-white head. Malty, roasted aroma. First hit with the flavor is also malty and roasty, but fades to being pretty thin in the finish. Much lighter than some of the German Schwarzbiers I have had, but still pretty decent.

Sweet, roasty, simple aroma. Black with a surprisingly light, off-white head. Red against the light. Tastes like a plain lager yeast was used in a porter; crisp. Thin, crisp palate, but under-carbonated. Boring, but tasty