Herold Traditional Czech Lager
Pivovar Herold Březnice A.s.

Always good to find another from Pivovar Herold - this is my seventh, and hopefully not my last. After popping the cap a head forms in the bottle, but I pour it into the pilsner glass just in time. Its yellowish-gold body is topped with two fingers of white, almost creamy head that leaves nice lacing. The bouquet is grassy/spicy and earthy with sweetish, lightly grainy malts. On the palate there are spicy, earthy, grassy, freshly-cut-hay Saaz notes that also contribute a dash of sea salt and grapefruit. The hops impart a medium bitterness, and are backed by clean, grainy pilsner malts, and a dash of papery oxidation. It is light and drying on the palate, with smooth/creamy carbonation and the flavors linger, begging for another sip. Overall quite nice - gotta love those Czech pilsners and their Saaz hops.

Pours a dull hazy gold with a small white head. Fairly strong aroma for a lager - some malt and some bitter/spicy aroma as well. Excellent taste - crisp, malt backbone but a good bitter "bite" in the follow-up. Not a strong tasting beer (its a pilsner), but a taste that tells you to sit up and take notice. The mouthfeel is just right for a lager/pilsner. Drinkability is excellent. This works from a lawnmower beer up through session. A couple of pitchers of this stuff with good friends on a warm day would be great.

Appearance: Pours a hazy tempered golden body, with beige tones (less brilliant than I was expecting); a very nice head with splashy lacing

Smell: Bready malt and a modest noble hop aroma

Taste: Nice malty profile of resh baked bread that builds after the swallow and is joined, mid-palate by a modest grassy hop aspect from the noble hops

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: It's been a long time since I have had a lager that I have enjoyed as much as this. I haven't tasted many Czech Pilsners so perhaps my deductions for the color and hop aspect are unwarranted. In any event, well worth seeking out.

An excellent beer; one of the best I've had of this style. Poured a medium-brown color with a splash of yellow. Strong head retention. It smelt of caramel and bitter hops. It was a blast of malt and dried fruit with a crisp finish. Very refreshing and enjoyable. Last few sips had a spice-character that was hard for me to decipher, but it was there. Definitely a beer drinker's beer; enjoyable again and again.

Nice pale golden color. Good carbonation level. Soft,malty aroma. Slight touch of sulfur. Big malty flavor. Again a very nice softness. Low hop bitterness-almost just a lingering trace. The soft maltiness and low bitterness makes for a very nice experience. This is how I picture a Czech pils to taste like in the homeland. Very nice body-full and rounded. An excellent beer overall. Very well done. I need to find their dark lager and try that. Well worth trying on a regular basis.

This was better than the "premium" pilsener from the same brewer. Poured a clear dark yellow with a foamy head that dissipated quickly. Nice columns of bubble coming up from the bottom of the pilsener glass. Smells like baked barley bread with a touch of grass and malt. Malty taste with a bit of salt, slight, ever so slight, hoppy flavor toward the end, just a touch underbalanced. Mouthfeel was quite full for a pils, nearly chewy. I really liked this pils, and so does the spouse, which will probably guarantee it space in the main fridge next to her beloved Brooklyn Lagers. When I need a cold one, I could do much much worse. Buy it if you can find it.

Herold's Czech lager delivers a crystal-clear, very deep golden body capped by a good sized head of bright white foam that holds quite well and leaves some very nice nice rings of lace about the glass. The nose is somewhat restrained, but mildly floral, lightly grassy and herbal hops are still present over a delicate, grainy maltiness. The body is light, and its fine-bubbled median carbonation gives a subtle tingle to the tongue before it passes smoothly away. The flavor is fairly straightforward (as it should be), and it's really well-balanced without any of its components standing apart from the others. It's moderately sweet, grainy malt is nicely peppered with floral, grassy, and spicy hops; backed by a solid bitterness. It finishes short, clean, and dry with some mild, short-lingering malt and hop. Refreshing!

Bottle states: "Lighter variant of their Premium Lager" - which I believe is the Herold Svelte....

Light gold with a nice full white head and good carbonation throughout. Very nice Saaz Hop aromatics. Great balance -- soft maltiness with crisp Saaz bitterness. Lighter bodied than the Premium but not far off. Crisp finish but not overly dry.

A great beer and certainly not a "light" !