U Fleku Tmavy Lezák 13°

Brewed by Pivovar U Fleku
Style: Dunkel
Prague, Czech Republic

One of the mosty hyped rare beers one can try, I found it fine as a session Dunkel, somewhat light in body like Porters as mentioned. Bready and sweet flavor notes, collapsing head, ale-like fruit aroma notes, fine stuff to chase with a Becherovka. All Czech waiters should be shot.

On tap at the brewpub in 2005:

The Lure:
Tart fruitiness is easily predicted, as berries sprouting from wet earth attempt a show of wealth. Molasses seep in, but forget most of their richness. Head is large at first, but diminishes quickly.

The Festivities:
Spicy roastiness and fruity vanilla aren’t helped into fulfillment by the light and quenching body. Nagging sourness sits at the forefront, while mild caramel undermines the quiet finish. Burnt bread comes sporadically, but can’t stick because of the lack of malty rotundity. 3.2/5

Transcendence:
An intriguing rock formation.

On tap at the brewpub in 2008:
No hint of tartness this time around, just a nice chocolate bread in a round body conveying subtle fruitiness and cozy malt flavors. Much better than the first time around. 3.5/5

Opaque brown color like a porter, with a bubbly brown head. Sweet flavors of licorice, burnt caramel, and some spice in front, but ends awkwardly bready. Very good overall, but doesn’t live up to the hype.

Bottle. Dark brown colour, a little muddy looking. Sourish aroma. Smooth liquorice flavour. Aftertaste is a little bready. IIRC, this is a lot better fresh from the tap.

Draught at the brewpub. Black colour. Good stable light brown head. The flavour is OK roasted. Mildly caramelly, quite nice. Thin but nice. 7 3 7 3 17

(Draught at pivovar U Fleku, Prague.) Almost black with a thick beige head. Hoppy nose with some sweetness. Sweet caramelly flavour with roasted hints. Somewhat chewy mouthfeel. Medium bitterness. Medium bodied. Coffee taste in the finish.

Right from the tap in the tourist’s trap called U Fleků: very dark amber coloured, almost as black as the furniture in the old beer-hall, firm, lasting brown foamy head,malty nose with a sourish tinge from far behind, taste: roasted malts, a tinge of sweetness only in the beginning, dry malty lasting finish with a shy bitterness. O.K., but this beer is exclusively brewed for bloody tourists, only a foolish czech beer-enthusiast would pay for less than 0,5 l twice as much as in an excellent but normal Prague pub....

Draught at U Fleku (with dortmunder). Served too cold. Very dark brown, nearly black colour - impenetrable for light. Moderate creamy tan head. Lovely aroma of leather and oak, dark chocolate and liquorice. Flavour is malty and moderately roasty, notes of dark chocolate and coffee. Never mind the inflated prices (by Czech standards), this beer is a must (at least once). And the liqueur we were forced to buy (which I drank AFTER the beer) actually tasted not-too-bad.

Draft at Pilsner Urquell Brauereiausschank in Düsseldorf. Black colour. Big, lasting, foamy head with a good lace. Strong malty, caramelly aroma with hints of cinnamon.Roastmalty, spicy taste, with some caramel and cinnamon notes. Sweet and malty in the beginning, ending in a spicy, slightly bitter finish. Creamy texture. Very nice. Re-rate: Sampled at U Fleku. Good thing is, now I believe that the stuff in Dusseldorf is authentic. Bad thing is, they serve it too cold in Prague, better to have it in Dusseldorf+U Fleku sucks totally. Due to the wrong temperature I wont change my rating, but it would have been 0.1-0.2 points lower. Still, a hell of a Dunkel.