Try?
Not too long ago I was out beer shopping (surprise!) when I happened to notice some interesting-looking bottles of beer festooned with the image of a jolly enough looking chap passing time quite happily with a book in one hand and a foaming, prodigiously portioned mug of beer in the other. As the equally well-portioned half liter bottle of Bakalar Dark Lager was but a meager two bucks, I couldn't resist, and so bought a couple bottles.
I had never heard of "Bakalar" though, so upon arriving home I googled them (or did I bing them? I can't recall). Anyway, I did find a website for the brewery. The brewery has been around 555 years, so they must be doing something right. The Czechs have a way with beer that rivals that of the Germans and Belgians as best on the planet.
Here's what they say about their dark lager:
Dark lager has caramel sweetish taste; here you can find slight scent of burnt malt. Its taste is full and the foam dense. This brand is immediately intended for refreshing the humankind's neater half.
Hmmmmm. Refreshing the humankind's neater half? Which half would that be? I'm not quite sure (though I have a suspicion). I can tell you that, whichever half of the human kind is neater, I'm not a member of that group. Or so my wife would tell you. Does that mean Bakalr Dark won't refresh me? Let's find out.
Bakalar Dark Lager pours to a very dark brown color (hold it up to the light and you'll see some illumination pass through) with a thick and creamy head formation and a very spicy, coffeeish nose. The palate immediately impressed me with delightfully dark coffeeish aromas and flavors mixed with suggestions of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.
The beer is roasty (but not harshly so), and thick with a very spicy molasses flavor that's accented by strong caramel notes and supported by an herbal grassy hop flavor that tries to balance the beer in the finish, though I think the malty sweetness finally wins out.
This is a tasty Czech dark lager that's a solid winner, especially for two bucks. Points off for green glass bottles. I think it might be a super beer fresh, bit it's still worthy of four stars, especially given the price. Try it. You'll like it.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
