Makedonsko
Kozuvchanka

From the half liter bottle, it pours a mostly clear light golden color with a modest white head that lasts a bit. The nose gets grainy malt. The mouth follows with a grainy malt flavor that is a bit watery but easy to drink. Reminds me of the eastern European brews from the cold war!

 

Bottle pour into a tulip glass.
Clear golden appearance with a modest foamy head that recedes quickly to a collar. Grain, scallion, celery, pepper, black tea, and smokey notes. Moderate body, light carbonation, soft mouthfeel.

 

 

In Macedonia, the countries’ most popular beer is Skopsko. It’s what the majority of the locals drink; it’s their Duff Beer. The second choice is Zlaten Dab; it’s like Pepsi or Burger King, very much the 2nd fiddle. Honestly, I’d probably fail a blind tasting between these two as they are both IMHO average Euro Lagers. Yet, everyone says Skopsko is “the best” The 3rd choice would be Makedonsko. Everyone I talk to says it’s bad, yet no one seems to have tried it. I first noticed it on a billboard and asked my father in law if it was any good. He said it was “bad”. When I asked him if he had tried it he said no but that it has to be bad because “Skopsko is the best”. Being the rebel that I am, I took a walk on the wild side and gave it a shot.
Pours a clear light copper straw color with visible carbonation. A well retaining moderate frothy head with lacing. So far OK.
The nose seems like it’s all grain at least. Grainy malt with brown bread crust. Not much hops aroma going on.
Clean bready malt taste, nothing special, neither sweet nor bitter, just water like and easy to drink . It is balanced by lightly bright lemony hops flavors. Short and clean finish with a hint of bitterness.
Light bodied with a moderate carbonation and a crisp mouthfeel. Again, nothing special, just easy to drink.
Yet, I kind of liked it. Could it be Macedonia’s best commercial Euro Lager? Or am I just excited to try something besides Skopsko and Zlaten Dab?
Regardless, after drinking mostly European commercial Lagers these past couple of weeks, it’s back to America tomorrow. Back to hazy juice bombs, pastry stouts, fruited kettle sours and beer geeks analyzing flavors. What a hell of a difference in both these worlds!

1.5 litre PET bottles are available in supermarkets across Macedonia.

Unfortunately, the beer is subpar - standard Macedonian supermarket pale lager fare.

C- / BELOW AVERAGE