Podkovan Lager
Pivovar Podkováň

 

 

Bottle into pint glass.

A: Hazy dark golden body with 2 finger white head that dissipates rather quickly to a nice film. A bit of lacing on the get go.

S: Nice herbal lemony malt and hop presence.

T: Fresh grains, lemony creaminess. A one brew. I was very happy with this one. Very refreshing. Very nicely balanced beer that ends with a nice dry crispness.

M: Perfect medium feel for a lager.

D: A+

This is probably one of my favorite beers from the land of the Czechs. What was really cool about it, was the low price. I think I got this bottle for a little over $1 and it's pretty good sized. There was a nice pillowy/frothy head when first poured. The head did last the whole beer, but it thinned out a bit. I gave smell a 4.0, because it didn't smell like skunk, and had a nice wheaty/hoppy smell to it. Taste was very similar to smell, but more on the wheat and malt side. Very easy to put a few back and not feel too bloated or woozy. The low alcohol content aids that. Worth a shot if you have the chance.

Golden amber color with medium foamability. Nose is rich and has some sweetness to it, a hearty nose for a lager with some honey notes blending well with the hop aromas.

There is however a slight muskiness to the nose, not all unpleasant but perhaps characteristic of this beer.

The flavors are rich and malty with a nice rounded hop bitterness at the end. A big lager that lacks the fresness required for a session beer.

A: Poured very clear in nature a pale lemon-gold color with a thin fluffy white head.

S: sweet grains and grassy/herbal hopping.

T: The initial flavor was spicy with fresh grains and a light toasted malting with a tangy lemony hopping. There was a light buttery malt sweetness to the palate as well.

M: thin, slick, slighty oily with a buttery feel.

D: Average drinkability but wouldn't buy a six pack to investigate unless you have 5 willing friends to help you consume it.

Passable drinkable lager, pours ligt yellow with fizzy carbonation and a bit of white head. Neutral Saaz-like hop aroma. Medium mouthfeel, a tad creamy but leaving the tongue somewhat numb, and very mouth drying. More bitter than sweet. Found at Whold Foods Cleveland.

I don't normally see this on my local shelves, so I picked up a bottle in Cleveland when I saw it. Based on the Czech name and the cool picture on the label I thought this would be a pilsner but unfortunately it's just a euro lager...

The beer was clear straw color with a very thin head. The aroma was mostly neutral but on the malty side, same with the taste. Nothing really distinguishable but nothing really bad either. I guess just an easy-drinking beer that doesn't leave an impression. So much for judging a beer by its label.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a sturdy head that leaves a few shards of lace

Smell: Some noble hops and an undertone of DMS

Taste: Starts out slightly sweet and biscuity but a lemon flavor soon arrives; after the swallow the hops present themselves with a twangy finish

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and effervescent

Drinkability: Just too many off flavors to consider; drain pour

Presentation: 500ml bottle in a classic conical pint glass

Poured smooth & straight. Dull, flat nose, earthy malts, an excuse of some hops, faint sweetness. Head was a pencil's worth of loose pearl white bubbles that disappated very quickly into a transparent floated with a thin edge ring that didn't lace. Its pale gold in color, just a wee bit warm & brassy and a little foggy with the occasional bubble rising quickly through it.

Surprising sweet up front, honey, light straw, light & even, mild hop presence of pine resin hops for bitterness, relatively balanced. Malts are a just bit sweet with a trace of caramel. It has a nice, balanced initial mouthfeel that is overall mostly clean & even a little refreshing.

It does grow more bittersweet on the palate, drier with a carameled crunch, flatter and very straight with the malts getting a bit leathery. The finish is more of the same, although it does leave a faint, filmy, slightly chalky & grey aftertaste.

This was surprisingly....OK. I'm not a big fan of the genre, but I have many that are much less enjoyable. This has a pleasing semi-sweetness to it and is pretty even & balanced. Could pare well with any simple food fare or some straighforward cheddar. I'd certainly drink it again and would recommend it to those who otherwise drink more commonplace examples of the style. Would make for a good lawnmower beer as well. Give it a shot if this genre is your cup of...beer.

It pours a very clear and damned carbonated honey gold. A finger of rather loose white head drops soon to speckles of froth. Tors of lacing crag the inside of the glass.

The aroma is lightly toasted malt, with biscuit and soft berry, as well as a touch of yeast. The hops kick in black pepper and a noble tang.

Upon tasting, the malt flashes thinly sweet and fruit. Spicy pepper and tangy hops dry everything to a dusty ripe apple crispness. A flicker of biscuit precedes an extremely clean and crisp lingering bitterness, poignant and decisive. It's quick and treads lightly, but it is refreshing.

Light bodied, the carbonation punches lively holes in the malt coating, and the hops glow nicely on the tongue.

I'm sure many a Czech village considers this a mainstay, and they can take some measure of pride in it. The crisp, clean snap makes it refreshing, and the overall lightness of being joins in to make it more drinkable with each gulp. No, it won't daze or amaze, but it sure does quench a thirst.

Pours a clear orange yellow into a pilsner glass with a finger of foam.
Head retention is ok, foam only sticks around for the first 1/3 of the glass.

Aroma of doughy yeast, and grassy hops. Cannabis hint when bottle is first opened, then vanishes.

Taste is malty, fairly light, but maintains a nice flavor profile. Green apple, near-Belgian yeast, and dry grassy hop again in the finish. Light-bodied, but not thin due to the moderate malt level.

Very drinkable, a good one for the spring and summer...
This is high on my list of Czech Pilsners.

Poured this 16.9 oz. undated brown bottle into a pilsner glass. Achieved over three fingers of white head. Body was a clear rich golden color. Sticky lace clings all down the glass. Active carbonation beads rise steadily.

Smell was floral noble hops. Yum. There was the unmistakable aroma of husky fragrant pils hops and malts. Very aromatic, I couldn't keep my nose out of the glass. Nice.

Taste was tangy from the hops. A light lemon rind tartness and mild malty sweetness that blended well. This is a nice representation of a czech pils.

Mouthfeel was medium bodied and quite zesty. Not too heavy or too light, and very drinkable.

Pours a medium yellow with just a touch of amber. The head is white, thin, and quickly retreats to a thin ring around the edge of the glass. There's a mild noble and hops aroma with ahint of lemon. The flavor of this beer doesn't quite leave you disappointed, but there's nothing there's nothing notable about it, either. I think it would fare worse if I had a PU or Budvar next to it. It's cerainly a step up from BMC products, but there are better europils to be had for the money. The aftertaste is a nice little bit of hop bitterness. It certainly is a drinkable beer, but there are more interesting quaffs available for the money

Podkovan lager pours a clear, amber body beneath a short head of bright white foam. The head drops shortly to just a lacy surface covering and average collar. What little lace is left about the glass is fairly standard.

The nose is fresh with grainy malt, but surprisingly little hop.

In the mouth it's medium-light bodied and crisp.

The flavor displays a very smooth lager with a straw-like malt base that's delicately infused with floral and lightly spicy hops. The bitterness is brisk, and it finishes short and dry.

It's very basic and balanced, leaving it drinkable and refreshing, but also a bit boring. Still, you can't argue that it's not well-brewed with at least some nice grain and hop character. Enjoyable but not worth seeking out.

Pours a pale gold color with a bright white 1/2" head. Micro sediment suspended in the liquid with slow visible carbonation.

Smells a bit sour and bright with some citrus notes.

Flavors are crisp with a dry hoppy texture. A little earthy skunk flavor in there also. Virtually no malt flavors are present.

Mouthfeel is crisp and light bodied. Dry finish.

Drinkability is good. Very nonintrusive and middle of the road.

Overall just plain OK.

I purchased this beer for 3 reasons.

1. It is new to Council Bluffs, IA.
2. It was in a brown bottle.
3. I like Czech Pilsners. However, once I got home I realized the label doesn’t say “Pilsner” anywhere. I see BA lists it as a Euro Lager. The nose and palate confirmed it.


Clear, pale gold in hue, the liquid is pleasant enough to look at. Massive white head, at the apex the foam was well over three fingers tall. Head retention was excellent; the bubbles were slow to fade to a chunky cap. Lacing started before I took a sip, it was unorganized but widespread. I like the appearance.

The nose is lemon bread sweet upfront with some spicy, earthy hops in the middle and sulfur at the finish. I also get hints of sweaty socks and mold, yuck. Moderate potency, the combination of smells is off-putting. For a moment the bouquet is tolerable but it turns messy. I don’t care for it. Not inviting.

The palate reminds me of the nightmares I have about Ayinger Jahrhundert Bier. Like that crap this beer is lemony sweet, bready with hints of caramel, socks, and veggies with a note of sulfur. Yuck. I don’t care for the sweet, messy finish and aftertaste. While not awful, the flavor profile doesn’t jive with me. Argg… the warmer it got the sweeter and grosser it became. This beer is not for me.

About medium in body, low carbonation, the mouthfeel is mushy and too pliable. IMO, the mouthfeel is quite lousy.

It is not drinkable. It is not likable. I will not buy this or drink it again. I purchased my bottle in Council Bluffs, IA. Avoid.

Ripe lemon-gold capped by a very nice looking cap of creamy bright white foam. The head is multiple fingers in height, mega-bubbly on its upper surface and is laying down a pretty impressive blanket of Swiss cheesy lace (thick, chunky rings eventually). I'm enjoying the bright, fresh look of both beer and head; one of the best EPL crowns in recent memory.

The nose is unable to reach the bar set by the appearance, but it isn't half bad. Untoasted golden grain with an overlay of musty--probably noble--hops. No off-aromas that I can detect, which puts it leagues ahead of the competition.

This a decent Euro Pale Lager that undoubtedly benefits by being somewhat fresh. I have no idea when it was brewed, it just tastes fresh to me. There's no doubt in my mind that many of the EPLs that get blasted in reviews would fare much better if consumed at the source. Looks like those of us in Iowa and Western Illinois have been lucky(?) enough to get this one is fairly good shape.

Good balance between malt and hops with adequate amounts of each. Still untoasted cereal grain malty with no shortage of musky, slightly spicy hops. No hint of citrus or other accent flavors, just the basics done right. I would pull out the old line about this beer being a good substitute for those who suck down lagers from the Big 3 by the keg-load, but the hops would probably kill 'em (still just a blip on a hophead's radar screen though).

The body is pale lager appropriate, yet deserves kudos for being closer to medium than to light. No hint of decompensation on the finish; it holds up rather well through each mouthful and throughout the bottle. Slightly too bubblicious at first, perfectly subdued after 5 minutes or so.

Podkovan Lager is a pretty fair effort I'd say. I don't believe that a Euro Pale Lager will ever knock my socks off, but this one is more tasty and more drinkable than most. Why did the word 'lawnmower' just pop into my head?

Appearance- light gold, almost yellow. White thin head.

Smell- very crisp.

Taste- not bad. Bitter and round defiantly hoped heavy. Very similar to it's homelands brother Pilsner Urquell, but a little less complex.

Mouthfeel- thick and round. Has the felling of carbonation way in the back.

Drinkability- doesn't drink very easy especially coming from a country known for it's light crisp easy to drink beers. (pilsners)


Not much info on this beer, even though it dates back to 1434. Also not one word of pilsner is mentioned on the labile or bottle, but it is definite Czech pils. Kind'a deceptive to someone stupid too beer.

This beer is a slightly tarnished gold color and is crystal clear. I found the head disappointing, britlle and white, but left a respectable lacing. Strong berry fruit in the aroma comes out more subtley in the taste, along with light metallic, sweet grain, and bittering hop flavors. Mouthfeel is thin and a little overcarbonated. Really a good beer but nothing that special. The berry is interesting and it makes one bitchin black and tan.