Podkrkonošský Speciál Tmavý
Nova Paka Brewery

2025-06-01
I encountered this on cask at Belgo in Tokyo. Well, I think it was on cask -- communication about keg versus cask was not very clear. Entering review from notes. It was listed as Novopacke Pivo and called a Czech dark lager.

Dark, maybe black. Big creamy head, lots of carbonation. Smell is roasty, toasty, lots of grain. Taste is almost cask like. Some wood and cardboard. Sweet, roastiness fade into the background. Light toffee, more nutty, lightly toasted bread. Mouthfeel is smooth, not very lively. Very tasty.

Shared 500 ml bottle at local tasting, from Donslund Vine. Very dark brown colour, moderate beige head. Aroma of caramel malts and sourish brown bread, hints of chocolate. The flavour is malty and slightly sweet, mild roasty notes with notes of mild coffee and toasted brown bread. Dry finish.

De Labirratorium. En copa de hefe de Bavaria. Estudiando y jugando a Fortnite. Dunkel que se disfruta pero que no llega a entusiasmar, echándose en falta mayor cuerpo y sabor para tan relativamente alto abv. Fiesta espuma

50cl bottle, bb 9m, so relatively fresh.

Ruby shade of very dark brown, beige head that leaves medium lace.

Spicy hops, metal, red fruit, a surprising whiff of cork/cellar.

Taste strengthens the cellar and metal, adding a growing sweet caramel, but no lasting impression. Oxidized, I would say.. the cellar starts to taste more and more like cardboard. Mouthfeel is thin. Roasted notes feel artificial.

Very drinkable, but so thin and simple. A specialny should have roasted notes and body. I feel they used sugar in this .. and what do you know, so it says in Czech on the label. Hence the metal, red fruit and thinness. And oxidization sealed the rest. Irritating.

 

A: The beer is clear dark amber in color and poured with a two finger high off white head that took a long time to fade away. No carbonation is visible.
S: There are aromas of chocolate malts and sugar in the nose, along with some hints of alcohol.
T: The taste follows the smell and has flavors of dark malts and bitter coffee as well as some hints of chocolate malt. Sugary flavors stand out in the finish.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a light amount of carbonation.
D: The beer isn't that difficult to drink but I wouldn't' have more than one of these given the amount of sweetness.

Poured out almost black with a small toasted brown head. Right off the bat you get a heavy whiff of roasted malts and sweetness. The mouth feel is nice, i would say it id medium- full bodied. The taste is like the smell: sweetness balanced out with a nice bitter finish. This beer is fairly tasty and easy to put down, typically Czech but a bit underwhelming for me.