dark beer – Beer Culture

zeitgeistherold

A while back I tried BrewDog’s prototype Zeitgeist beer, a dark lager “taking inspiration from the Czech classics.” That line gave me the idea of trying it against three classic Czech dark lagers, coffee-like black beers which generally finish on the sweet side.

But the Zeitgeist (or Zeit Geist, as it was back then) seemed to be made of different material, so to speak: I liked it, but as I wrote then, “I don’t think it tasted very Czech… Zeit Geist was far more dry in the finish.” And I added that if I had known it was a dry dark beer, like a Schwarzbier, I would have tasted it with Herold Bohemian Black Lager, one of the only dry dark lagers the Czechs produce.

Later, I found out that Herold was in fact the very inspiration for Zeitgeist. And then came the word that Zeitgeist was going into full production and wide release in Britain. So once I got a copy of the production brew, I decided to compare that to the originals, both prototype and paragon.

Beer Tasting on Tuesday, 17 March, 2009: Pivovar Herold

By Evan Rail

On March 11, 2009

In Beer Tastings, News and Rumors

herolde

Recently, new owners have taken over at storied Pivovar Herold, the small regional brewery located in Březnice, Central Bohemia. So far, not much seems to have changed: Herold’s Bohemian Black Lager is just as rich and full of coffee and chocolate notes as ever. But you might be wondering if new management harkens good news for the brand, especially in terms of its meagre distribution and lack of widespread availability.

Your chance to find out is this Tuesday, 17 March, 2009, when Pivovarský klub will host a Herold beer tasting.

Herold in the Park

By Evan Rail

On July 21, 2008

In Beer Stories, Beer Travel

Herold beer has had a long and winding path over the past few years. Less than a decade ago it was found fairly often in expat hangouts like the Globe, though not always in the best condition, and sometimes in downright terrible condition. Although things had markedly improved by the time Michael Jackson came to Prague to promote Herold in late 2004, the brand’s image had been damaged by the occasional bad pints from before.

And yet Herold was making great beers, including one of the country’s first widely distributed wheat beers, the first Czech dark wheat most of us had ever seen, and a full line of quality lagers, including what must have been the country’s best bottled dark. They were always a bit hard to find in Prague, but then they became much harder to find, until only a couple of places carried the beer by the time I was finishing Good Beer Guide Prague and the Czech Republic.

One of them was the Dívčí skok restaurant in Prague’s Divoká Šárka park, a favorite setting for hiking and sunbathing. When the temperatures moved up earlier this summer, I went out there to have a pint.

Kaltenecker Brokát Dark

By Evan Rail

On January 18, 2008

In Beer Tastings, Beer Travel

In Central Europe, Slovakia is known for its wine rather than its beers, so one of the cool surprises at Prague’s Christmas Beer Markets was the appearance by Pivovar Kaltenecker, a brewery way out in Rožňava. When I visited Kaltenecker’s kiosk at the markets, I ordered a glass of their Kras ginger-honey lager. Even more surprising than the sudden appearance of a Slovak beer in the Czech capital: I didn’t like it much at all.

Okay, so maybe this wasn’t so surprising. In the Czech Republic, I had trouble getting into the ginger lager from Hodonín’s Pivovar Kunc, and Kaltenecker’s version had about the same appeal for me. Beer has obviously been brewed with ginger for a long time, so I understand the historical interest. But perhaps there is a reason why so few real ginger beers are made today.

In any case, the thought of that ginger-honey lager left me slightly skeptical when I later saw Kaltenecker’s Brokát dark lager (above) on draft at Pivovarský klub. Skeptical, but still curious, so I ordered a small glass.

Beer Culture

Stories about great beer from the countries that invented it.

Tag: dark beer

BrewDog's Zeitgeist vs. Herold Bohemian Black Lager

Beer Tasting on Tuesday, 17 March, 2009: Pivovar Herold

Herold in the Park

Kaltenecker Brokát Dark

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