Kozel Cerny (Kozel Dark) Velckopopovicky | Pivovar Velké Popovice a.s.

3.61/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Tasted at The Situation. Dark colour, medium head and retention. Good lacing. Aroma of grains, bread, cereal, malts. Medium body, oily texture, good carbonation. Taste of malts, cereal, grains, bread. Classic Czech beer, good.

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2.03/5  rDev -45.3%
look: 2 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.5

Quite a pleasant aroma actually...

Not really a fan of this one...rationally it does taste pretty ok, it just doesn't really seem to be working for me, it's really heavy and doesn't have enough creaminess or smoothness...just tastes a bit flat and unexciting.

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3.54/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

This is a nice dark beer that pours smooth. It has a good amount of foam initially and then retains just a small line of foam after pouring. Right away I'm liking this beer just based on look and pour. My first taste was the foam because I had to drink off some of it to be able to fit the rest of the can into my glass. That first taste I picked up a large note of caramel in it. After the foam faded however so did the caramel flavor. It has a decent smell to the beer but not a very large bouquet. Its not a real heavy beer and has just a hint of bitterness to it. Overall I'm liking it more and more. I'll probably wait a couple more months for when it gets colder before I get another.

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4.06/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a pokal style glass.

Deep red mahogany with excellent hues. Creamy light khaki top, with some fine pin head bubbles, a little bit of carbonation.

Really nice nose. Hints of hazelnut light roast, a touch of milk chocolate as well. A little bit of thickness too.

Clean light toffee, chocolate rich malted milk flavors on the palette. Slight creamy body. Rich but light. Faint hints of light drip coffee on the aftertaste.

Quite a delicious easy drinking dark lager.

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3.93/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L: Dark brown with a small head
S: Malty and with roasty notes. Bitter chocolate. Burnt bread.
T: Mild flavors of black chocolate and some burnt bread.
M: Fairly thin
O: A nice session dark ale.

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4.18/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Toasty, malty, and mildly nutty, with just a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. Very brown and translucent when held to the light; clean. A nice mild flavor profile with a silky smooth backbone. Perhaps a little hint of brown sugar, nuts, and mild chocolate in the nose. Easy to drink many because of the mild 3.8% abv. A perfect creamy head that dissipated to a film around the edge of the glass. Like I said, drink several!

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3.63/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Delicious foam rich taste. Beer remarkably refreshing and gives energy boost for the day !!! It is not bitter, then the beer is not heavy smell of beer !!!

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2.5/5  rDev -32.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I had a canned 500ml version of this that apparently also contained sugar. This is a very barebones dark lager which offers very little complexity. The draft version of this might be much better, but the one I had doesn't leave much of an impression. Not the best dark lager the Czech Republic has to offer.

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3.99/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this one a bunch while in Prague. I had it both on tap and from the can. This review is for the canned beer.

500 ml can poured into a glass, the beer is light brown with amber highlights. It had a smallish tan head.


It has a very nice aroma of coco and lightly toasted malts.


The beer have a nice malt base that adds a light roast and some chocolate notes. I'm impressed by how the brewer filled out the taste as its only 3.8%.


The mouth is silky smooth and really nice.

Color me impressed.

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3.85/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On draft in Prague. Dark brown with a nice light tan head. Nice lacing on the drink down. While the mouthfeel was light it was pretty good for a beer with 3.8 abv. The taste was roasted grain with some chocolate notes. I enjoyed it so much I had another.

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3.9/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

500 ml bottle - Pours dark brown, finger tan head. Medium carbonation. Smell - roast, coffee. Taste - caramel, coffee, light matls, crisp finish. Enjoyable.

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3.68/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Format: a solid 500mL brown embossed bottle with a decent macro label.

Appearance: a clear dark brown with two fingers of beige head fluffing away to a creamy half-finger. Decent patchy lacing.

Aroma: some sweet milk chocolate with bitter cocoa, a touch of caramel and molasses. Pretty good for such a low ABV.

Taste: the taste follows the nose - chocolate, toffee, caramel and molasses. Really quite nice, with a touch of liquorice.

Aftertaste: sweetness from the malts and bitterness from the cocoa. Still nice.

Mouth feel: light to moderate in body with a great carbonation that is both refreshing and also brings all those flavours forward quite well.

Overall: this one was a bit of a surprise after Kozel's pilsener. This is a good-quality, well-rounded dark lager that is very refreshing in the heat, as well as well priced at AU$62 for a case of 20 x 500mL.

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3.62/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A - Darker ruby color with tick white head.
S- Malty, yeasty, fresh and grasy.
T/M - Lots of chocolate malt in it, sweet, balanced with right amount of carbonation. Loe bitterness.

O - Unusual lager, but in the positive way. Very good.

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3.89/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a can to a gulden draak tulip glass.

A: A very pretty beer. Dark with reddish hues. Leaves a big two finger head of foam that dissipates after a few minutes, leaving nice little lacing.
S: Smells nothing special. Toasted malts. Some yeast. Smells slightly sour.
T/M: Very refreshing. A lot of toasted malts, chocolate, licorice, sweet root. Some bitterness in the background. Some roasted nuts. Slightly sour. Low alc. medium to low carbonation
AfterTaste: Long aftertaste, leaves a lot of slightly sour and bittersweet aromas in the mouth. Very good food beer.

A very good light dark beer. Great from the can.

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3.64/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

On-tap (500ml) from U Pavouka in Prague Old Town (49Czk):
Dark, caramel brown bordering on black with a tan brown head come lacing that stuck to the sides as I worked my way down the beer.

Light malts & roasted notes with caramel & toffee. Relatively light on the nose & features a hint of chocolate and some darker malts too.

Light to medium malts with some caramel & good sweetness. Some bitterness & roasted flavours appear along with some burnt toast with faint chocolate at the end.

Smooth & creamy with a medium body and moderate carbonation that went well with the clean and crisp feel to the beer that was slightly wet in the finish.

The beer mirrored what I've come to expect from Czech beers of late, highly drinkable, enjoyable with little to no off-flavours and very easy to drink.

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3.38/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours no head on a dark brown body.
The aroma is mild roasted malt, dry hay and grain. Pleasant.
The taste is roasted malt with mild lemon and molasses.
The texture is thin and smooth with moderate carbonation.
It's a nice dark lager, easy to drink.

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2.85/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Decent fizzy 1 finger head fades fairly quickly, dark semi clear chestnut mahogany color.

Nose meh, sweet syrupy adjunct aromas, macro beer syrup, little corn stalk or fermented corn syrup, fruity and bit vegetal, no hops.

Taste starts syrupy again, more fermented corn syrup and like vegetal catchup like flavor, syrupy and sticky, no hops again. Finish is sticky sweet, finally faintest hint of hop bitterness, more corn syrup, kinda macro tasting, touch of metallic.

Mouth is med bod syrupy, very little carb.

Overall quite unimpressed, close to the worst Czech beer I got from Prague. Not sur eif this was a bad batch, or just a poor overall beer but the reviews seem to be better than this. Not sure.

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3.75/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Dark chestnut; large frothy tan head, long lasting

Aroma: Malty; sweet; toasted malts; light hops

Taste: Juicy malt with sweet notes on start; smooth through mid with a pretty well balanced finish; quite good example of a Dark Lager

Remarks: Did not score A, T, S, M at that time; disregard those scores

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3.29/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

A: Pours a deep brownish color with a healthy tan head that fades slowly to good lacing.

S: Aroma of dark fruit, roasted malt bit of chocolate and spice.

T: Taste of dark fruit, some chocolate, roasted malt and bit of coffee in the background. Very mild bitterness and a slightly sweet finish.

F: Moderate body, a bit on the light side. Smooth and creamy but missing something to make it distinctive.

O: Decent beer but comes up a bit short for a Czech beer.

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3.7/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

(Served in a strange)
Do:18.08.12
A- This beer pours a clear but dense glowing garnet red body with a creamy thick beige head supported by a sea of microbubbles.

S- The clean lagered toffee aroma has a faint coffee roasted note and a mellow pot caramel hint comes through as it opens.

T- The mineral water and toffee hints have a slight tin taste to it with some water taste in the finish. There is a spicy note in the finish with some bread crust hints and a faint bitter Noble hop aftertaste coming through as it warms. There is also a touch of sulfur flavor at the finish when it is pretty warm.

M- The light mouthfeel has a scrubbing fizz and no real alcohol heat noticed.

O- The nice crisp clean bock turns a bit mineral water and a bit sulfury as it opens up. The fizz grows and scrubs a lot of the malt flavors away.

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3.45/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark ruby brown which leaves a two finger creamy head that stays and lots of lacing everywhere,the smell is fruitcake,cherries,caramel candy and marzipan,the mouthfeel is just over light bodied and disappointing with tastes of caramel candy,toffee malts,herbal hops,cherries and finished with a milk chocolate bittersweetness and overall not the worst and tasty enough for something of this low ABV cheers.

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3.18/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Very dark, almost black in body with a ruby tint, thin head and good streaky lacing.

S - Roasted malt, iced coffee, faint bread and raspberry.

T - Follows the nose yet too faint. Needs more impact.

M - Thin bodied, moderate carbonation.

O - Not bad at all for the style but I need more in the way of aroma and flavour from my beer. Just too bland.

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2.9/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Velkopopovický Kozel Tmave 10° begins with a creamy tan foam, almost no aroma, and has a dark, reddish brown color. This is a sweeter lager, with a lighter, more liquid, smoother body. With a pleasant flavor of burnt sugar and caramel, you can taste the dark malts, alongside a hint of coffee and chocolate. Towards the end, you’ll notice a mild hopy bitterness, and the sharply carbonated bubbles add a nice little bite.

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3.88/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Nice, mellow roast grain flavor. Some dark chocolate bitterness also noted. Aroma is almost coffee like, Dark brown, almost black in color with slight skin of a beige head. This is one tasty beer, and easy to drink.

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3.85/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased half a flat from Gas Station in Rozvadov, Czech Repubic

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a 500ml Kozel glass.

A: Clear dark tan, with a two finger head that dissipated fairly quickly

S: Roasted malt and a touch of caramelized sweetness

T: Roasted caramelized malts.

M: mild carbonation, fairly light in body despite the style.

D: This is a drinkable beer. I make a point to hit the border to get this beer at least every other month.

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