Budweiser Budvar Czech Dark Lager | Budějovický Budvar, n.p.

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%

4.21/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Czechvar B: Dark Lager. 500 ml. 4.7% alc. Brewed in the Czech Republic.

The beer has a thick mocha coloured head. The colour of the beer is much like black coffee.

There is no smell to this beer, however, the taste is barley malt, dark brown bread, and hops. There is also a faint taste of coffee, although none is actually in the beer. The hops create a nice bitterness that is underlying throughout.

The beer is medium bodied and the finish jumps between wet and dry.

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3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

3/5  rDev -18.5%

3.68/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

3.53/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A 500ml green glass bottle with a BB of Sept 2011. Crown cap covered with foil seal.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A dark ruby-brown hue that looks black unless held to the light. Produces a huge head of creamy light-brown foam; this lasts for a few minutes before subsiding. Aroma of dark malt with notes of roasted grain, chocolate, vanilla and hints of coffee.

Tastes of smooth, sweet dark malt with restrained notes of roasted grain, chocolate and vanilla. Some nuttiness. The faintest hint of coffee with a mild bitter finish. No aromatic hops, but slight leafy flavour in the background. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly with a velvety texture. Leaves the palate slightly dry. Aftertaste of sweet chocolate malt.

Nice, and very drinkable. The bitter roasted notes that you might expect in a dark lager are attenuated here - as a result it slides down all too easily. Makes a good introduction to the style, and well worth sampling.

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4.04/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Appearance: dark, dark brown with garnet hues when held to light. Tan creamy, large head. Good clarity.

Aroma: Immediate roasty aroma that yeilds to a slight sulfury lager whiff, a pumpernickel bread like aroma with clean yeast and ever so slight Saaz hop spiciness.

Taste: Dark and roasty, but not quite like a stout. Much more bready of a roast flavor than coffee like. Very reminiscent of pumpernickel bread with a slight caramel, raisiny like sweetness on the finish. Balanaced overall, with Saaz hops lending a nice spice note to balance the roasty malt.

Mouthfeel: Even though quite roasty, the mouthfeel feels like a lager rather than a nitrogenated stout. Although slightly creamier than a Helles lager, it still maintains a nice medium body with a clean and medium finish.

Overall Impression: A nice alternative to the classic bohemian pilsner. Balancing roasty stout like properties with lager like drinkability, this beer deserves a place in the occasional session.

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3.89/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Budvar tmavy -- 4.7%
Žatek hops and 3 types of Moravian barley: Munich, caramel and roasted.
Served in glass Budvar goblet at brewery.

Very dark mahogany, nearly opaque, with a light tan head that reduces rather quickly (typical for style) to a lasting ring that leaves lttle lacing.

The aroma is typical of a Czech dark lager, but the flavor is less sweet, a tad more hoppy, and more complex.
Aroma is similar to the Eggenberg dark from nearby Cesky Krumlov that also uses Moravian barley. A semi-dry malty flavor that is more bitter than sweet.

Medium body and enough carbonation to impart some crispness

O - an outstanding Czech dark lager, although probably at its best here at the brewery. (Trying the beer again many km from the brewery, I find the beer to be indistinguishable from that at the brewery).

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3.25/5  rDev -11.7%

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%

3.44/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

3.76/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

3.84/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep chocolate brown with a towering beige head. Decent retention, spotty lacing. Smells like bread and chocolate. Faintly grassy. In the mouth, lightly burnt toast and dried fruit with a hint of cocoa powder. Moderately bitter finish. Feels light and soft with fine carbonation. Good beer.

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3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

3.95/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Nice blend of hops and roasted malts. Smooth, tasty, unassuming and better than expected.

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3.6/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

3.34/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

3.85/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

exp 7/13/12

A: Huge cola head, color is a very dark cola. Lots of slow rising micro carbonation.

S: Not so "dark." But there is a semisweet roasted coffee. Semi chocolately.

T: Ok it is a dark beer. but not very heavy. In fact it's a pretty light dark beer. Nicely roasted malt. Mellow flavor.

M: Light to medium body, light carbonation and semi soft.

O: A nice light dark beer. I'm not wowed by the flavor but it's good.

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3.75/5  rDev +1.9%

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

3.7/5  rDev +0.5%

3.67/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

3.59/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75