Královský Lev Negra (Lev Black Lion)

Brewed by Mestansky Pivovar
Style: Dunkel
Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic

Watery, malty with a very thin, light body. Roast, caramel, smooth and drinkable but not something to buy twice.

heavy mettalic flavor, still not a horrible beer. drinkable, decent cocoa taste, fizzy body that is thin and uneventful.

Sampled at the Portland International Beer Fest 2005. Very lightly toasty malt flavor up front, but massively thin and watery on the palate. Kinda fizzy on the palate leaving this very dry in the finish and a light spicy hop hint. I think it just really lacked body.

Fruity with a bitter and sour after taste, not the best tasting beer. Good sweet aroma, not overwhelming.

Middle of the road beer. Pours with a fizzy head, drops quickly. It has a dark color; blocks almost all light through. The taste is full but doesn’t leave a strong aftertaste at all. I can’t say it is great, it is just so-so. The smell is coffee, bread with a prunish hint as well. I see this beer is retired, but I just picked some up at Total Wine of all places.

In the bottle from Asheville Wine Market. This is still available (and plenty of it). Pours a very dark brown-to-black color. Head magically disappears instantaneously. Roasted aroma and strong roasted flavor. Taste is a little better than the pale dopplebock lion. Subtle bitter finish with the dominant flavor being a roasted coffee-like taste at the end.

Malty, roasty aroma, some dark bread, coffee and faint, fruity sweetness, perhaps raisin, along with fainter notes of old wood, butterscotch and brown sugar. Deep, dark mahogany color with a slight, subsiding head. Flavor profile is bitter and malty with a generous spicy hop character to blend with the dry, roasty and chocolate malts. Finish is nutty and toasted, some lingering tobacco and dark brown sugar sweetness late. Palate is thin and a little overcarbonated, body is light-medium. Seems like what I might guess a lagered dry stout would be like.

Usually a dark beer with a sumptuous tan head is very inviting. Okay, this looked inviting. The sweet notes to the nose and the maltiness and traces of coffee were appealing. But the taste was dull and flat. Certainly didn’t deserve a gold watch to send it to retirement.