Bohemian Ale
Bernard Family Brewery

Bohemian AleBohemian Ale
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From:
Bernard Family Brewery
 
Czechia
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
Ranked #98
ABV:
8.2%
Score:
87
Ranked #17,187
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 10.88%
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
61
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 30, 2023
Added:
Jan 13, 2015
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  19
Spice up your day with this top fermented special Bernard Bohemian Ale. The beer is bottle conditioned. Despite its 8.2 % alcohol, it has a fresh fruity scent, clean malty flavor with a pinch of spicy coriander and subtle warmth in the aftertaste.
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Ratings by dcmchew:
Photo of dcmchew
Reviewed by dcmchew from Romania

3.89/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours dark golden, rather clear, small white head that's in no hurry.
Coriander and clove on the nose, fresh bread, apple mash, faint ginger, pear, faint banana, some honeyed malt, pretty "Belgian", almost like a sweet tripel.
A pretty aggressive start, quite acidic and yeasty. Spices up front, tons of coriander and clove, then raw apple and pear, a splash of lemon juice, light sweet peach and grapefruit. Gets a bit bready, spices still strong, with crunchy herbs and some light honey hints. Finish is surprisingly hoppy, winking strongly at the usual Czech hop used in their pilseners. Kinda bitter and dry too.
Aftertaste is spicy (coriander really clings), yeasty, with some apple and orange peel, lingering bitter hop. Medium to heavy bodied, medium carbonation.
If they dialed down the spices just a bit, it would've been really awesome and refreshing. It's still quite nice, a bit unbalanced, but a really ballsy change of pace for Bernard.
Jan 28, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.5/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
March 2018: 500 ml swingtop bottle, at Restaurace U Dvou Pánů, Prague. Deep golden colour, white head. Aroma and flavour of coriander and alcohol, some fruit and spicy yeast too.
Nov 30, 2023
 
Rated: 4.61 by Jelenovipivonelej from Slovak Republic

Jun 28, 2023
 
Rated: 3.31 by rangerred from Tennessee

Jun 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.02 by SayBoom from Ukraine

Oct 06, 2022
 
Rated: 3.84 by shelby415 from Oregon

Aug 05, 2022
Photo of beergoot
Reviewed by beergoot from Colorado

3.83/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Medium honey colored body; semi-clear; lots of suspended sediment; decent carbonation; relatively thin yet lasting off-white head. Rich, earthy, malty nose; light caramel. The taste is malt forward with touches of bitterness and light boozy elements; a smidge of peppery spiciness. Medium-heavy body; lightly syrupy; soft, velvety residual sugar glide on the palate; a little dry, and little sweet.

The bottling code date is a bit incomprehensible to me although I think it is fair to say the beer was bottled in 2017. The 'best by' date is what I'm not sure about. Regardless, for a strong golden ale, at about five years of age, this is quite drinkable. Perhaps, with a fresher bottle, I could get a better grip on this beer as a whole, but I wouldn't turn down another dusty bottle of this relatively "ancient" European delight.

Pouring temperature: 50 °F; bottling data: 2017-17.12.18-L: T22
Jul 31, 2022
Photo of backblast
Reviewed by backblast from Alaska

4.25/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a dark golden color with a moderate white head and decent lacing.

Taste of rich malts and bread, mild spice, light pear/lemon and light hop plus a very nice lingering aftertaste. Nice.
Aug 02, 2021
Photo of puck1225
Reviewed by puck1225 from Texas

3.94/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nice beer with a very European character. Tasty, strong and overall good.

Had this beer from a bottle purchased at the Appalachia’n Vintner in Asheville. Poured into a small tulip glass, golden yellow color with good foamy white head and good curtain lacing. Sweet candy smell and taste. Herbal notes in the taste with some grass and lemon. ABV sneaks up on you. One of those beers you would like to experience in its native surroundings.
Jul 13, 2021
Photo of jonmikel
Reviewed by jonmikel from Spain

3.93/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Bought at a Supermarket in Olomouc (Moravia, Czech Republic). Half liter bottle poured into a glass.
-Small foam head. Amber colour.
-Sweet taste
-Carbonation can be felt

Good
Feb 12, 2021
 
Rated: 3.78 by 22Blue from Kansas

Feb 23, 2020
Photo of philbe311
Reviewed by philbe311 from Pennsylvania

3.69/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A finger's worth of tightly compacted uniform white froth... The color is a medium glossy gold... The nose is of cereal grains and noble hops... There is also a bit of muskiness... The palate is consistent with the nose though there are some very faint Belgian undertones trying to come out... Clean, crisp and straight forward... Light carbonation with a bit of a dry finish... Simple, but slightly unique... Enjoyable overall...
Dec 14, 2019
 
Rated: 4.36 by HavlOndr from Hungary

Mar 11, 2019
 
Rated: 3.5 by cryptichead from Illinois

Mar 10, 2019
 
Rated: 3.81 by Silke_Neryn from Sweden

Nov 21, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by MacStinson from Michigan

Oct 26, 2018
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.19/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Bernard Family Brewery "Bernard Bohemian Ale"
330 ml brown glass bottle, "PRODUCTION DATE / BEST BEFORE 2017-24.03.19-L:T23"
$2.79 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: So what is this? A Bohemian ale? But of course, at some point in time all beer was ale. And it's 8.2% which is interesting as well. I wonder if this is a historic recipe or something they just came up with. The brewery is historic though, although now owned by Duvel Moortgat. So, it's poured a mostly clear (it's bottle conditioned) deep amber body beneath a full head of fluffy off-white foam. I'll have to wait for the head to settle on this one! The aroma is brightly fruity (apple, banana, orange), lightly floral, and a bit spicy. There's a bit of a woody note to it, like sandalwood, but I think it's actually coming from coriander. The flavor is surprisingly malty. It's caramelish but lightly so, and rich but not too rich. It's been fermented out pretty well, and I'm sure there's some sugar in use as well. The fruitiness remains, and it's surprisingly hoppy. My initial thought was Saaz hops as it's quite spicy, but there is definitely some coriander in there as well, it comes out in the finish. There's a bit of alcohol there as well, and it has a nice, spicy finish without actually being "spicy" as in a spiced beer. It reminds me a little bit of Kwak, although that's a Beglain ale, but lighter, and spicier. It's got a median bitterness to it. It's nice, I could go for another of these. In the mouth it's medium bodied, and the natural, very fine-bubbled carbonation gives it a light caress on the tongue before warming to become more velvety smooth. I don't know. I find it very interesting which might be swaying me, but at the same time I can see all of it's parts. As I said earlier, I could go for another one of these. This to me is the perfect night cap beer, something to relax the stomach after a big meal, or as an apertif, but mostly something to sit down and relax with, just sipping at it in front of the fire (or the TV) or with a good book. That doesn't mean I wouldn't pair it with food, I think its spice and malt would be nice with some meat and gravy; or that I wouldn't just drink one on its own. I'm going to have to look for more of this, and as they produce a fairly large range of beers that includes a bunch of lagers as well I'm inspired to seek those out. In fact, I'm actually inspired to seek out the brewery on my next trip to Czechoslovakia.
Review# 6,278 (one was lost yesterday so this resets back one)
Oct 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by mcthfg from Korea (South)

Sep 29, 2018
 
Rated: 3.99 by FrancisM12 from New Jersey

Sep 23, 2018
 
Rated: 3.93 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Sep 13, 2018
Bohemian Ale from Bernard Family Brewery
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 61 ratings