Fix Dark
Olympic Brewery S.A.

Bottle at Air Canteen,athens airport. It's a bottle,its a cup,its a view. Quaffable malty beer.Fair for the style but fresh enough to make some taste and aroma impact.

 

Larnaka 23/7 2017. 33 cl bottle from Metro. Very Black and white label ensuring I understand that this is a Novelty: A dark beer.

Pours bubbly dark brown with off-white head. Settles as thin lonely Island of foam. No lacing.

Aroma of sweet caramel, chlorine and quite metallic.

Soft carbonation and slightly thick palate.

Flavor is very sweet. Almost no bitterness present. Aftertaste is sweet caramel.

I miss a little bitter edge - but a nice diversion from the endless amount of pale Lagers ruling Cyprus.

I often come across averaged ratings that I do not agree with; but I can understand another point of view. I rarely come across averaged ratings that I cannot understand. Case in point, Fix Dark.

Fix Dark is a very good brew by a soon-to-be excellent brewer. If you can find it, try it.

First, I explain my unusually high Overall Hugs for a relatively young brewer. Most the Hugs go for a Dual Training program developed jointly with a Bavarian institute to train brewers and malters in the most modern and sustainable procedures. If you think about it, this may be the single most important aspect of expanding the beer market in a wine-drinking culture. If aspiring brewers learn from the experts, then the home brewing training is less needed. And more importantly, the quality of the beer doesn't have to suffer so many home experiments; so the market grows. Hellenic Breweries also has three product lines. Curious is relations with oddly diverse brewers of Gulden Draak and Mahon... both big enough that they shouldn't need Hellenic.

As for Fix Dark... It Looks like a generous brew... big head leaves more lace than most Euro Darks. Smells are only slightly above average as I detect mostly malt. Tastes however have the sweet malts well-balanced by a mix of hops and a mixed malt bill that includes some gentle roasting. Medium-mouthed on its way to full. Try it.

In a bottle in Rhodes Greece at the Stay hotel. The aroma is great. Some metallic in the finish.

Bottle 0.33L
Dark brown body with an average, frothy, tan head, mostly lasting with some nice lacing.
Light-to-moderate malty (roasted) with notes (not fully expected) of licorice and coffee.
Moderate sweet and light-to-moderate bitter flavour; short bitter finish.
Light-to-medium body with watery-to-oily texture; average carbonation.
Not bad but also not completely satisfying.

Bottle. Ebony in colour. Clear with a wispy head.
Malty aroma with a touch of liquorice.
A subtle charred toast flavour which also provides a dry bitter finish.
A sparkling feel. Quite refreshing for a malty brew.
On holiday in Rhodes Old Town.

 

 

 

 

Sep. 2016: 330 ml bottle (twice, actually) at Restaurant Coconut, Rhodos. ABV is 5.2%. Has none of the characteristics of a Dunkel, this is a Schwarzbier. Black colour, beige head. Medium roasty and fairly dry aroma and flavour, mild coffee notes. One of the better schwarzbiers I’ve had.

A really good, dark roasted malt flavoured European dark lager. Clearly much better than the regular blond lager.

 

 

 

 

Very dark, opaque, almost black with just a hint of dark amber around the edge when held up to the light. One finger of beige head that leaves lively lacing around the glass. Toasted bread and coffee dominate the aroma as well as the taste, with chocolate notes also making their presence felt. Very little hops presence. Long, slightly bitter finish of chocolate and coffee. The mouthfeel is medium-full, nicely balanced, the carbonation somewhat gentle, but effective in its task. Overall, a surprisingly good dark beer from Greece of all places. You'd expect a southern European beer to be a light lager, perhaps refreshing but almost certainly forgettable at best. Not the case here. This is a rich, complex, flavourful dark beer. Get some if you ever find it, it's well worth it.