Zlatý Bažant Tmavy 11.5 % (Golden Pheasant Dark)

Rated: june 2007
Bottle green,500 ml, extract of wort 11,5%
Appearance: Head is quite thick, froathy to creamy, rather regular structure, colour of head is cappuccino like, not strong carbonation, body is full, nicely lacing, colour of body is deep red, mahogany, almost hebany.
Aroma: A little bit bready, burned sugar, nice toasted malts, chockolate, roastiness, a little hint of cherry, some alcohol notes and notes of burned malts, aroma is generally inviting, coffee, aroma is nice, some wallnuts and cappuccino, some alcoholic note.
Flavour: Nice bitterness, roastyness, toastyness, wallnut, tangy, dry, bready (dark bread), coffee, grainy, of nice malted barley like for pilsener of good quality, burned caramel, vanilla.
Palate: Very nice roastyness, long aftertaste, quite mild and characteristic, full bodied beer, finish feel is medium, roasty, bitter.

I would put the dark lager of Zlaty Bazant a tick lower than the original lager ... this brew is in the classic Slovakian dark style, rather dry, medium bodied and with a surprising lack of roasty notes ... well brewed, but lacks a bit of originality ...

Great on the train with some cheese and dark bread. My cousins thought that I was crazy going shopping for beers the day before we left Bratislava but I was not about to pay train prices for drinks on a 5.5 hour train jaunt. Glad I grabbed four of these. For a darker brew this one still had that lighter body. Maybe I am refering to this due to the fact that I have been drinking my share of impy stouts in the last weeks.

Very dark red, almost black. Pleasantly malty aroma. Very richly roasted burnt maltswhich evolve in the mouth to sweeter maltiness and finally ending as walnuts. Well balanced lager.

Reminds me of many Porters. It’s sweet, and has a nice finish. I’d keep this in my fridge if I could get it.