Zywiec Porter

Brewed by Bracki Browar Zamkowy (Zywiec Heineken)
Style: Baltic Porter
Cieszyn, Poland

Great porter. It’s full and chocolatey. The malt flavor borders on perfection. The relatively high alcohol is superbly hidden in sweetness and an extremely creamy mouthfeel. It’s not heavily carbonated. The beer just tastes rich. It’s the sort of beer that I could drink all the time. I believe this is my first Polish beer, and I’m extremely happy with it. It’s dark and sticky, like a Porter should be. The flavor has big chocolate and caramel with a dry bittering hop finish. It certainly leaves a coating in your mouth, but it’s an enjoyable coating.

500ml Bottle: Aroma of malts, barley, light roasting, light tar, and a hint of chocolate. Poured black/very dark brown in color with a large, creamy, dense, tan head that diminished but lasted throughout. Clear. Lightly sparkling. Excellent lacing. Complex flavor is slightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of roasted malt, slight smoke, tar, slight chocolate, slight molasses, and some wood. Medium body. Average texture. Average carbonation. Roasted malt, tar, and slight smoke finish. 9.5%ABV is completely hidden throughout.

500 ml bottle. Pours black with a thick creamy tan head. Aroma of dark roasted malt, dark fruits, chocolate, some licorice and biting saltiness. Flavor starts with a soft dark bitter chocolate character, gains a verysharp coffee and nutty quality. Finishes with some dark fruit and a crisp earthy hops. Medium to full body and a crisp carbonation. Pretty potent hides the alcohol well.. Nice

Bottle. Black, crema head that fades fast. Aroma of sweet coffee, cherries, roasted malt. Coffee and cocoa, baked and dried fruits. Sweet but not cloying, with a long complex bitter finish. Hides its alcohol very well (which is a bit dangerous). The overall impression is that everything works together here. A great beer.

Bottle 50cl. Dark beer with a huge brown head. The smell is very rosted. Aroma of malt, cofee, rosted matl and nuts. Quite dry and with very less hops flavour. This beer is very bitter, not too alcoolic. Good beer but not well balanced.

Bottle 330ml. Exceptional. Aromas of dark fruit, roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and alcohol. Flavour has a sweet start, with biting bitterness taking over for a long spicy finish. Full-bodied, and syrupy in the mouth. Almost black, with a creamy off-white head.

Every time I tried to find this, the date on the bottle/case was long expired. I was able to find a single fresh bottle in NJ, though, and I was pleasantly surprised. Very deep and complex flavors that go far beyond the usual porter. I would pick it up again.

Beautiful dark pour, nice creamy two finger head. Chocolate and coffee dominate the nose, with hints of raisins. Flavor is much the same, although I didn’t pick up the raisins in the flavor as much as I thought I would. Regardless, the balance of chocolate and coffee was right on. Nice complex palate makes for a great beer. And at $1.50 USD locally, probably one I will enjoy rather often.