BEERS #2 - Beyond the Pale

[Cuellar]

Not looking good for poor English pissheads

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Vinohradsky 13 and Simon Spezial shared with Dad tonight who gave both the full two boomer thumbs up.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

https://punchdrink.com/articles/how-regional-craft-lager-got-its-groove-back-threes-brewing-oxbow-schilling-suarez

Ahead of the curve, me

[Cuntbeaks]

Erdinger Pikantus is very good. No Schneider Aventinus but I would give a thumb up.

I found the Pikantus in Waitrose for about £1.90 a throw, only got two to try them out. Went back the following week and they were gone, shelf sticker removed, the lot.

It certainly had an Aventinus feel about it, but not as intense or flavoursome.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I will be dismayed, gutted and 'fucked off' if they stop stocking it. The only major UK supermarket to sell a dark weizenbock (or any weizenbock, as far as I recall).

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Been seeing some of the Franconian boyz around and about recently. Thursday night in 80daysbierhaus in Hull drinking motherfucking Mahr's aU.

[purlieu]

Pikantus is lovely, definitely closer to the dunkel end of things rather than the sweeter bock flavours of Aventinus.

Being in a medium-sized, cultureless town means supermarkets with middling ranges in everything, but recently the arrival of Tripel Karmeliet and Schnieder Original in Sainsbury's and ABK Hell (not a very good helles, admittedly) in Co-Op is encouraging. If these are being moved down from top/affluent to medium ranges then they must consider an interest in traditional European styles worth investing in.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Also Tripel Karmeliet's brewer is now owned by some horrific macro like AbInbev. The plus side is that for a while lovely Tripel Karmeliet achieves mass distribution and the style gets to be enjoyed by the masses. Not quite sure why they decided that had to be in 750ml form, which is a fucker to have in one sitting.

Anyway: quick beer review



Obertrumer Original Zwickl (4.8% Zwicklbier/Vollbier)
Trumer Privatbrauerei, Obertrum, Austria

Not a Franconian kellerbier but an Austrian attempt at one. I have tried one recently by Schremser which was pretty faithful, and there's no real reason with access to the basic ingredients and knowledge why good kellerbier couldn't be produced in Austria either. What's more interesting perhaps is why the Saaz/Zatec fields in western Bohemia act almost as a cultural wall between kellerbier and pilsner culture, as Czech kellerbier is rarer than hen's teeth. The Czechs have kept the liking for rawness and stylistic oddities but it's all about the bitterness for them, unlike Franconia.

Anyway, this one is successful enough that I wouldn't question it if someone had said it was from Franconia. Perhaps some of the rawer or idiosyncratic elements of the Zwickls I've tried aren't present, but the freshness is. I'm also drinking this from a 500ml glazed steinkrug I got on ebay, which amplifies the experience.

There's a lot to enjoy here. Beautiful floral aroma that invites you to dive right in. Tingly on the tongue. Not creamy, but just enough in that direction in texture to note so. A terrific balance is achieved in the mouthful between the typical dry strawness of kellerbier that evoke the pastoral scenes of Bavarian fields and zesty citrus which you get in the Zwickl end of the genre. It's been a lovely warm evening here and it's going down like a dream. Holding a mouthful just a moment before it slides down brings you to the ultimate marriage between drinkability and flavour.

**** - Would bang.

[phes]

Been seeing some of the Franconian boyz around and about recently. Thursday night in 80daysbierhaus in Hull drinking motherfucking Mahr's aU.

Also spotted Mahr's aU in a beer and cheese shop in New Mills. Picked up a bottle along with the Schlenkerla Krausen and Torrside's Franconia. The smoke foreshadowed a trip to Beer Shed, where we appeared to be sharing their garden with half New Mill's publicans and the Torrside brewing team. Beer Shed have always had a decent lager on tap as the landlord formerly lived in Germany but recently got Lukas and Rothaus Pils on draft, which was great.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Quick update to the below Franconian beer resource:

Pale Kellerbier/Zwickl biers

Mahrs aU - 9.5/10                        (Did I mention how this beer is close to being the best? Wonderous unfiltered lager)
Schubel Nordeck Trunk - 9/10      (Spicy with a citrusy hop)
Aufsesser Zwickl - 9/10                (Thick, unfiltered, tangy, farmhousey and light as air)
Ur Frauendorfer Naturturb-8.5/10 (Similar to Mahrs aU. Unfiltered, golden, aley toffee notes faintly in there, knock back drinkable)
Josef Greif Zwickl - 8.5/10             (Thick, harvesty, floral and a little fruity with a drying hop that evokes an arable landscape. Superb execution)
Hutten Zwickl - 8/10                     (Lighter than their Zoigl but still comparatively hefty)               
Huppendorfer Zwickel - 8/10        (On the yeasty, spicey, grainy side. Very mild hops but fresh and indulgently wonderful)
Goller Kellerbier - 8/10                  (An archetype of the style - cloudy, spicy, subtle hops and mildly agricultural notes)
St Georgen Kellerbier - 8/10         (I preferred this in bottles to the slightly too mellow tap serving. Brings out the finish a bit more)
Adler Stopflder Zwickl - 7.5/10      (Knocks most session IPA out of the park for complexity, texture and drinkability. An eye opener)
Nikl Lagerbier Zwickl - 7.5/10        (Pale, super-refreshing with a slight crispness and citric element)
Veldensteiner Zwickl - 7.5/10        (Thick, cloudy and pale. Delicate floral notes but nice lingering almost chewily moreish aftertaste)
Nothaft Zwickl - 7.5/10                  (Less bitter, highly drinkable, best keller-fresh to eke out every inch of flavour)
Hummel Kellerbier - 7.5/10            (Fresh, floral, spicy, very mild in aftertaste and designed to be consumed in volume as the patina of flavour builds)
Mainseidla Keller - 7.5/10              (Pale and quite clear, minerality and green bitterness competing with gorgeous unfiltered tang)
Aecht Nurnberger Kellerbier - 7.5/10(Nice surprise. Among Tucher's best beers. Rich, relatively interesting for such a big brewery. A thick indulgent level of kellery oddness)
Reh Zwickl - 7/10                           (Similar to Nikl and Schubel, bitter. Enjoyable but less of a standout example)
Bamberger Keller - 7/10                (A tad sweet, a more trad 'expected' kellerbier with less of the homespun charm of the above)

Coppery Vollbier (inc. Kellerbiers/Landbiers)

Schubel 'a Frankisch' - 9/10              (One bottle was a dud, but the fresh one was pretty much the Ur-example of this style. Coppery, harmonious, gorgeous)
Simon Spezial - 8.5/10                      (Amber, Marzen-esque lager which starts nice then seems to get even nicer)
Honicka Heiner's Original - 8/10        (Floral bitterness with frothy soft but full textured ambery lager, a surprise find)
Fassla Zwergla - 8/10                       (Strong yet well-hopped brown landbier. Dry malty nutty backtaste. More Landbier than Munich Dunkel)
Adler Altfrankisches Lager - 8/10      (Chestnut colour, full body, punchy bright hops, slightly floral, a strong, typical example of the region)
Wiethaler Landbier - 8/10                (Thick, roasted and sweet yet light in body, lovely and drinkable, for 1, anyway)
Josef Grief Schlobberla - 8/10           (Lovely vollbier, grainy with a bit of fruit, all about exploring and enjoying the subtleties)
Reckendorfer Kellerbier - 7.5/0         (Brownish, easy drinking coppery malty lager)
Hetzelsdorfer Vollbier - 7.5/10          (Subtly creeps up on you. Not overly complex but stop searching and focus on the drinkability)
Meister Vollbier - 7.5/10                    (Soft in the mouth but bitter tingly hops and roast malt competing in aftertaste)
Buchenbacher Beck'n'bier - 7/10      (Low % for the style, but this is liquid pretzel. Roast malt, bready, tingly hops, good balance)
Schubel Drachenseidla - 7/10          (Despite the fancy name, a routine decent brown keller, tasty, fairly bitter)
Frauendorfer Landbier - 7/10           (A lynchpin of the style rather than an outstanding copper-brown kellerbier)
Huppendorfer Vollbier - 7/10            (A very typical example, one you'd have in a stone mug. Malty, meadowy, a little too mildly hopped)
Hallerndorfer Kellerbier - 7/10          (More coppery coloured than you'd expect. Again roast malt, sweetness, tingly finish)
Nankendorfer Landbier - 7/10          (Dark yet quite herbal and subtle. Dry roast malt on the tip of the tongue. One to contemplate. Fresh, tastes like centuries past)
Furst Carl Kellerbier - 7/10               (Fruity, amber, going on orange keller with a vollbier type texture. Decent, nothing spectacular)
Stockl Ahorntaler Landbier - 7/10     (Brown, malty yet still refreshing. Not overly sweet. Lager mirror image of an English bitter. Maybe missing the balance and complexity of some others.)

Dunkels/Brown kellerbier

Weiherer Zwickerla Dunkel - 9.5/10    (Almost overwhelmingly delicious. Reddish, full, thick, swirling, intoxicating and light as air)
Weissenohe Kloster Sud - 9/10          (Brown Vienna lager with much more complexity and indulgence that you'd expect)
Puttner Basalter Dunkel - 8.5/10        (Exemplary. Black, thick, rich, decently hopped and perfectly balanced. Very nice)
Honicka Wonnesud - 8.5/10               (Every delicious drop of this smooth, rich, joyful Munich Dunkel is worth savouring.)
Weiherer Urstoffla - 8.5/10                (Munich Dunkel. Bready, malty, ever so slightly odd brown rather than dark beer. Standout)
Wagner Dunkel - 8.5/10                    (A touch lighter shade. Stronger and more complex than some, rich and rewarding)
Langbrau Burggraf Dunkel - 8/10      (Munich Dunkel, on the roasty end of things. Dry in the mouth but smooth finish and thick)
Bauernbier Dunkel - 8/10                   (Forgot my notes but this one was a terrific Munich dunkel)
Aufsesser Dunkel - 8/10                    (Only a shade darker than the brilliant Zwickel and nearly as good. Just a tone darker)
Ott Obaladara - 8/10                         (Smooth, sweet with a building bitterness. Indulgent)
Manns Brau - 8/10                             (Dark brown rather than black, big and malty, with hops trying to give chase, like Schwarzbier)
Bamberger Schwarzla - 8/10             (A straight up Schwarzbier, hoppy, black as night, roasty but slight coconut/oystery element)
Sonne Zunft Trunk - 7.5/10               (Unusual one. Brown keller, hoppy and malty at first but really mellows out, though light considering the strength)
Staffelberg Wienerla - 7.5/10            (Vienna lager, strongish, thick texture but backed up with distinct floral bitterness and drying finish)
Stelzer Ritter Trunk - 7.5/10               (Tough to miss out on an 8. This is real cro-magnon beer, roast malt, hearty, gothic)
Reichold Dunkel - 7.5/10                    (Don't seem to have many notes other than 'delicious'. That said, I remember it being rich and rounded rather than drying)
Meinel Dunkel - 7.5/10                       (Low % dunkel. Successful idea. Toned down but highly drinkable)
Lindenharter Landbier - 7.5/10          (Make peace with the dark brown colour, and it is rich, toasty and full flavoured )
Bamberger Braunbier - 7.5/10           (Delicious Dunk/Keller hybrid. Malty but lively hops. The better end of both worlds)
Leupser Dunkel - 7/10                       (Dry wholemealy dunkel that has a very distinct character. Well brewed)
Gunther Bernstein - 5/10                   (The malt doesn't sit quite right, unfortunately. Not in the same league)

Weissbier

Weiherer Weizenbock - 9.5/10         (An near out of this world light brown weizenbock. Rich, intoxicating and unparalleled)
Kuchlbauer Turmweisse - 9/10         (A genuine competitor for Schneider Original and Sternweisse for light brown wheatbeer flavour)
Keesman Weisse - 8.5/10                (They don't make bad beer. Hefty wheat element, but some nice subtle flavours missing from big brew weisse)
Kapuziner Weissbier - 8.5/10           (One of the bigger names in this obscure list, but among the best wheatbeers out there.)
Unertl Dunkelweizen - 8.5/10          (Deep dark fruity, almost bock character. Prunes, berries, rich balanced malt, strongish)
Gutmann Dunkles Weisen - 8.5/10   (Bonafide classic. Among the best big-brew dark wheatbeers. So well balanced, deceptively drinkable.)
Nothelfer Bioweisse - 8/10               (A trad attempt at Bavarian wheatbeer that nails it. So fresh and worthy of high praise)
Kapuziner Kellermarzen  - 7/10        (Interesting attempt to blend kellerbier and wheatbeer. Tough balance to strike but it works)
Schroll Nankendorfer Weisse- 6/10  (Lost its head and went flat, flavour was ok)

Zoiglbiers

Stelzer Fattigau Zoigl - 8.5/10          (Great label. Vienna-style lager. Full flavour, caramel malt, well balanced bitter finish. Exemplary)
Kemnath Zoigl - 8.5/10                     (Pale, bitter balance is impressive, unfiltered, unpasteurised, pure freshness)
Ganstaller Zoigl - 8.5/10                   (Starts to make sense after the first few tastes. Really quite hoppy, full, fruity, spize with a real old skool Oberpfalz tang. Fantastic stuff)
Hutten Zoigl - 8/10                           (A stand-out brown beer that shows so much skill. Bursting with flavour yet moreishly drinkable )
Wurth Zoigl Hell - 8/10                     (Really unusual. Earthy, leathery, fruity, faint smoke, then trad tangy, spicy aftertaste. Weird and good)
Rawetzter Zoigl - 8/10                     (Pale keller, amber, thick, bitter at the front then thick gentle floral aftertaste, great stuff)
Wurth Zoigl Dunkel - 7.5/10            (Weird one. Dunkel Zoigl. Malty yet thick and light. Unlike any beer I've had)   
Scherdel Zoigl - 7.5/10                    (Similar to a pale kellerbier but a little more spicy and thick. Nice and one I've enjoyed more the 2nd + 3rd times)
(Paul) Puttner Zoigl - 7.5/10            (Coppery kellerbier similar to the vollbiers above. Thick, sweet, hoppy and reddish brown
Monschof Zoigl - 7.5/10                   (The most commercial beer with 'Zoigl' on it. Still pretty good but a more typical kellerbier experience)

Marzen

Hummel Marzen - 8.5/10               (A piece of artistry worth boring you rigid with. Tightrope act of flavours balanced with panache)
Weiherer Keller-Marzen - 8/10       (Thicker than some ales, hoppy, unfiltered, vibrant, fresh, spicy, slightly herbal. Magnificent)
Monschof Historic Marzen - 8/10    (So light considering strength and sweetness, floaty, thick, fresh, pleasant hoppy landing and honeyed aftertaste)
Strauss Wettelsheimer Marzen-8/10(Honeyed/brown caremel offset by crispness and steady carbonation. Really deserves the high ratings, lovely.)
Weissenohe Eucharius - 7.5/10      (Brown sugar, sparkling bitterness, like a Landbier but with extra hops. Crisp finish. Very nice)
Aufsesser Marzen - 7/10                (Slightly lower strength cloudy amber Marzen. Pleasant without standing out.)
Kemnath Marzen - 7/10                 (Strong, enjoyably amber sweet and yet very well hopped. Interesting effort)
Meinel Kellermarzen - 7/10            (Faintly off-the-rack recipe other than the end bitterness which slightly obstructs rather than complimenting the flavour)
Hutten Fichtelgold - 7/10               (Not my absolute favourite of theirs but still pretty good. Sweet yet also bright and hoppy)
St.Georgenbrau Goldmarzen - 7/10(Reasonable, an absence of standout features more than an absence of quality, slightly sweeter)

Bock

Schubel Kellerbock - 9/10               (Frankly amazing. Apricot, amber, bready, spicy thick. Breaks the mould for the style.)
Aufsesser Bock Dunkel - 9/10         (Bloody good. Rush of rich fruit, spice, nut and chocolate before roasted dryness comes in)
Weissenohe Bonator - 8.5/10        (Magnificent example of trad doppelbock. Raisiny with a nice drying malt, balanced smoothness, glorious.)
Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche - 8.5/10    (Smoked, surprisingly well balanced palatable beer considering the oodles of smoked malt, 8% strength and tar-colour. Unique, a classic)
Nankendorfer Bockbier - 8.5/10      (Chocolate fruit and nut bock flavours that are well balanced with dryness and tingly hops)
Ott Bockbier - 8/10                         (Unusual. Rich, amber, woody, chestnutty creation unlike traditional bocks. Pretty good)
Dorn Doppel-Bock - 7.5/10             (A gold coloured strong fruity, full, grainy bock that's enjoyable, fresh soft in the mouth, pretty strong)
Honicka Schwarzenberger - 8/10   (Trad, tasty Doppelbock, albeit doesn't produce much head from the bottle. Rich and enjoyable)
Mainseidla Bock - 7.5/10                (Quite amber, not overly dark. Dry fruit and leatheryness is familiar for the style. Pleasant.)
Kloster Scheyern Poculator - 7.5/10  (Delicious, fresh, if boilerplate dark doppelbock. Certainly nothing bad happening here.)

Weird/Atypical Ones

Weissenohe Kloster Sud - 9/10             (Drop everything and buy it, wonderful Vienna lager, pride of the region)
Leikem Steinbier - 8.5/10                       (An absolute one off - thick, strong light yet...faintly charred and elemental. Has to be tried)
Spezial Rauchbier - 8.5/10                     (May as well put it out there. This is better than Schlenkerla Marzen.)
Veldensteiner Rotbier - 8.5/10               (A style some pretend never existed historically. Whatever it is, it's brilliant. Reddish, rich, sweet, still lagery)
Monchsambacher Lagerbier - 8/10        (Brilliant unfiltered lager not far removed from Czech pils. Its quality is irresistibly obvious and will win you over)
Langbrau Super Ale - 8/10                     (Weird but good. Unfiltered with hints of belgian blonde and kellerbier. It's an ale! Wheat in here too.)
Nikl Michala - 8/10                                  (Highly unusual amber sweet kellerbier with some complexity like a Belgian quad but in a medium % lager. Balanced enough to work well)
Kaiser Heinrich Urstoff - 8/10                 (Deceptive bready Dortmunder style lager that just gets gradually better with every gulp)
Ganstaller Kellerpils - 8/10                     (Almost Czech style with a fruity full flavour and smack in the mouth mega bitter lingering hops)
Will Brau Pilgerstoff - 7.5/10                 (Amber/vienna lager with thick texture but that hangs lightly and not cloyingly. Slightly dreamy considering the style, though malty)
Hubner Vollbier  - 7.5/10                        (Smoked malt provides a surprise background flavour to this pale lager, and it works)
Frauendorfer Rauchbier - 7.5/10            (Smoke is not at the forefront, but it still props up the lager nicely)
Krug Brau Urstoff - 7.0/10                      (One of the less remarkable beers of this selection, but still enjoyable pleasant pale lager)
Leikem Wintertraum - 6.5/10                 (Partly successful but slightly gloopy pale lager, not what I expected for a winter beer)
Langbrau Maibock - 6.5/10                    (Slight failure to launch, as the head disappeared leaving behind an appley-grassy  palebock)
Wagner Ungespundetes Lager - 6.5/10 (Malty, warm gold colour, soft in the mouth, more like an Export than a keller or zwickle. Pleasant but not a stand out at all)
Langbrau Festbier - 6/10                       (Another case of great label design, average brew with this brewery. Head vanished, gloopy, piney hops)
Glenk Walkentrunk - 5/10                      (Disastrous. Something was wrong with the bottle. The head evaporated on impact with the glass.)

Alright cheers

[Ferris]

Smashed 3 of these bad boys on the back deck in the 30c sun.



Loving it lads, loving it.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

https://punchdrink.com/articles/palate-wrecking-double-ipa-is-born-pliny-elder-blue-moon/

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57428258

Are we done with these guys now? The manbaby and his self-aggrandizement and megalomania.

[dr beat]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57428258

Are we done with these guys now? The manbaby and his self-aggrandizement and megalomania.

All covered in the 'Poodog' thread: https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=87550.new#new

[Chedney Honks]

Really enjoy the recentish BD vs Mikkeller juicy IPA. Actually all right.

[TrenterPercenter]

Where we getting these Franconian beers nowadays Shoulders? is it still Trembingmadness?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Yes and Raynville Superstore had a shedload in a month ago, they also arrange UK delivery.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I'm not being obtuse for the sake of it (this time) but Leeds Brewery have really sorted out Tetley's Bitter since taking it over. (If I recall this correctly. I'd hate to eat my hat and have to thank Carlsberg)

I had some on cask yesterday and it genuinely passes muster as a cask bitter. Good balance, flavour fresh and without defects. To the point where I'd say if you like the style buy some.

I think whatever remnant of reputation it had was well trashed from 90s onwards apart from old farts, and rightly so from the appalling shit I remember it being in the early 00s. I reckon it's got to be close to a dead entity now, but I am still mildly impressed they have brought this abused shithole beer back to life.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

German beer fans in Sheffield rejoice

Ranmoor castle bottle shop (which is apparently full of Franconia's finest) are opening a taproom. Local craft on tap also.

https://www.thisissheffield.com/beer-dog-opens-today-and-joins-the-community

[Consignia]

Inspired by Bosto's intervention in the Brewdog thread, I'm trying this next:


I *think* it's a Franconia beer, it's what the label on the shelf said. But what ever, I'm looking forward to trying it.

[phes]

That is smoked beer. I hope you like bacon

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Jesus you couldn't have chosen a more divisive beer to start with.

[Consignia]

Just supping it now, and yeah I like it. It's got an interesting smell I can see the comparisons with like a smoked sausage. The heavy body is definitely something I look for in beer.

Yup enjoying this. I rate it 🥓 out of 🍺.

[Ferris]

Starting with a rauchbier marzen is Big Boy shit. Love it.

[Chedney Honks]

Nice one champ, great start. If you like some body, you're in the right region now.

[purlieu]

Haha fucking hell, what a way to start. You might as well have gone all the way and opened on their doppelbock.

And yeah, if you like the heavy body then you're in the right area. Rich, thick yet refreshing darker lagers are Franconia's speciality.

[Pink Gregory]

Wiper and True York Street Bock and Munich Helles

both nice, one malty, one clean, delightful

Nice to see a bit of variety beyond IPA IPA MILK STOUT PALE

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

A few weeks ago I chanced it and ordered a delivery from https://shop.beerdome.cz/ , first shipment from EU since Brexit in January.

VAT is paid at source so if your order is below 130 euros you will - probably - not incur any further expense at customs, which has been one of the big prohibitive issues. Customer service at Beer Dome is really good and polite, it all went through on Paypal. The guy who runs it is reliable and frequently posts on the Czech Beer Fan Club Facebook group, so I will vouch for it.

Choice is modest but some good ones. Of bottles Cvikov, Monopol and Unetice do some great beers, Muflon pretty good, I notice they have a pack of Zatecky Pivovar beers that is very cheap. They are middle of the road but at the price that has to be worth a look.

Of the cans I recommend Rohozec Skalak, a classic Czech pilsner. Svijany Rytir is one of their best. Konrad is a sentimental favourite of mine, though probably tbh an only OK brewery.

Price wise, it averaged out at £2.30 per 500ml which given everything, is still really good. If you're interested but don't know what you're looking at (wouldn't blame you) just let me know.

[niat]

A delicious, foaming pint of Edit Glitch Removal please barman.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Bohemia Regent Kníže - 7.2% Maibock / Svetle Silny Pivo 15°
from Bohemia Regent Family Brewery in Třeboň, Czechia

The art of a good strong lager, whether Bavarian, Bohemian or elsewhere is less practised. For starters, the market for people who want a nice crushable 4% lager is absolutely enormous, whereas the niche who are interested enough to try out there lagers is pretty narrow. Bohemia Regent is one of Czechia's oldest breweries and a bit of a survivor. While one or two of their range could use some work, they do have a couple of real goodies in their range and this is one of them.

To start with, there's an amber/gold colour and decent head considering the strength. The beer doesn't have a strong aroma. Immediately in the mouth you'll detect bitterness without harshness, the sensation from whole hop cones softly tingling on your tongue. They use a variety of hops with this one including a hybrid which is designed to accentuated citrus fruit, which there is a bit of.

It is quite tricky to make these type of strong lagers work. They can become very cloyingly sweet and flat, yet conversely, too much heavy handed in the way of compensating can make for a quite acrid flavour. This has decided to fall on the bitter end, but not dramatically. There is no big hop kick when swallowing. Most of the detectable sweetness comes from the inevitably full body. There is that nice blend and balance that you're seeking. The flavour journey, if you like. When it says drink with care it means: Just because you can slay this beer in 15 minutes, doesn't mean you should.

It is good to find a beer of this style from Czechia that competes with the better German maibock and other bockbiers but it isn't over generous to say this one does it. I would certainly rate it above the likes of Allgauer Bublebier which is common sight certain times of year in Germany. The only slight downside from a personal perspective is that the lingering trail of bitterness that stays with you minutes after your last mouthful is a little raw and unbalanced.

Editors note: Visit Trebon as well, what an awesomely beautiful little town.

Rating: *** and a half