Bernard Cerné Pivo 13°

one of the relatively few remaining unpasteurised brews in Czech, and one of the best. sampled draught and bottled around Czecho. the draught retains its head slightly better than the bottle. both have a smooth flavour, with a slight hint of toffee, but far from oerpowering. nice dry aftertaste.

500ml bottle. Opens with a pop. Very dark, almost black, large tight beige head. Slightly perfumed malty aroma, a touch sweet and plasticky in places, but also some dry peppery elements. Pleasant carbonation in the mouth. Good burnt grainy taste, with dark and heavy hops too. Well balanced, and particularly good as it’s not sweet unlike some czech dunkels. Finish is both the burnt and hoppy components from the taste. Bravo Bernard!

Medium black-brown in hue with a large, brown, frothy head. Aroma is smoky with chocolate and walnuts. Hops come across as peppery and woody. A little butter resides in the background. Perhaps a light yeasty dustiness as well. Soft and aromatic, overall. The flavour begins sweet with cocoa and caramel, sweeping into a roasty and woody-floral off-dry finish. A fair amount of smoke and tar creep into the flavour as it comes to room temperature. Medium bodied with a lush, velvety texture and lively carbonation. Pleasant, and I’m always up for a little smoke.

50cl bottle, bbe 19.08.08.

Bottle, at ZBF 2006. Deep chestnut brown, thin beige head and moderate condition. Gentle roasted barley notes in the nose, gentle toasted sweetness and low roasted bitterness in the mouth, low bitter finish.

A medium brown pour that remains perfectly clear and can’t offer more than a light off-white cover. Dark and toasty malt profile has more graininess to it than I’d have expected. If light plum and grape fruitiness reminds us that we’re dealing with a dunkel, its exaggerated graininess and general softness are not very seductive. Average dunkel.

0.5l swingtop at the Scout Pub in Samobor
Poured a very dark brown-black body with a small dark tan head that went away fast. The nose is even nicer, subtle caramel, notes of lime. Lovely. The taste is very good for the style, roasty, coffee-like, with notes of caramel again, and just a touch of metal. Not all that complex and could use a bit more body but very good for what it is.

Nose of molasses and concentrated malt. Very nice. Pours a dark brown colour beer. Tast is smokey and has hints of roasted malts. Somewhat unbalanced and not the best example of a dunkel but still nice.

Bottle. Pours a deep dark brown colour with a light brown fairly lasting head. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel and slight chocolate. Sweet roasty malty flavour with caramel, some bitter chocolate, slight coffee and some dark fruits. Roasty bitterish finish.