Herold Bohemian Wheat Lager
Pivovar Herold Březnice A.s.

While the beer is called Wheat Lager, it's not a lager but a classical top fermented Weissbier. (Technically, it's a lager according to stupid Czech legislative which considers anything with 11-12.99 % EPM (=approx. °P) a lager. However, you don't have to put it in the title.)

The beer is characterized by a dominant banana flavor which gives it a sweeter feeling than it's typical for the style. Very good Weizen.

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is very dark amber (near black) in color and poured with a finger high tan head.
S: There is a lot of sweetness in the nose, which has aromas of dark malts and some hints of cherries.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell and has flavors of dark toasted malts and cherries.
M: It feels light-bodied and smooth on the palate and has a light amount of carbonation.
D: The beer goes down very smoothly and is quite sessionable.

A: Poured a straw gold topped off by a slight off white head that was moderately lasting leaving a slight column lacing behind. There was some visible sediment suspended in the drink with a good strong carbonation factor.

S: The nose yielded a strong lemony aroma with some bananas and cloves.

T: a very prominent banana taste and big yeast bite up front with a peppery spicing. There was a nice overall crispness to the palate and had a nice lemony zest hopping to it as well some light traces of sweet grains. Bright lemons and bananas finish things out.

M: light-medium, slighty creamy and chewy while nicely hopped with a lemony zest with a tight carbonation.

D: I really liked this, as a euro-pale lager definitely one of the best ive had. I could definitely down a couple of these on a hot summer day.

I've been drinking this beer for a few years, and it seems that it's no longer imported... based on the lack of recent reviews and scarcity in my area. edit: wikipedia says american owners were bought out in 2008, so no longer exported i'm guessing :(

After the first few sips, it feels more like an unfiltered "imperial" Czech Pilsener made with wheat. I used to prefer this to many other widely available Hefeweizens, but now this feels more like a souped up Czech lager. It could just be that the yeast has dropped out of the older bottles.

Deep and cloudy orange body, billowing head that settles to a reduced fluffy cap. Aromas of soft malt sweetness, caramel, cookie dough, and mild citrus zest.

Tastes really good, mild shortbread sweetness, with a doughy yeast, herb and mineral water characteristics. Effervescent body, with a dry finish. Clove and sweet cookie flavors. Maybe it uses a weizen yeast.

Overall a great beer, regardless of style, that I would love to drink fresh again.

Never heard of this brewery before in my life... went into a small mom-and-pop shop during my lunch break to take a look around and came upon a single, solitary 16.09 oz. Czech bottle which had the English words "wheat lager" imprinted on the label... being a fan of wheat beers, I decided to shell out the $2.99 and give this brew a try... Definitely worth it... was not dissapointed at all with a creamy, cloudy, straw-colored beer that poured with a substantial head and had a nice yeasty, wheaty aroma full of coriander, spices, and citrus... The taste was awesome... great fruity and creamy flavors that was an absolute pleasure to drink... never seen this beer in any other stores and would certainly cop this again if I could find it... A very sweet and vanilla taste that is outstanding... if you can find this one, try it... Definitely recommended...

Herold - Bohemian Wheat Lager

Pours a dark gold / amber color. Consistent fluffy lace dissapates almost immediately. Scents of orange and other fruits. Tastes border that of ales more than lagers. Surprisingly low 5.1% ABV. This beer is moderately heavy, not overwhelming. Decent beer. Bought at Binny's in Elmwood Park, IL.

Appearance: Pours a relatively clear pale golden color with a fluffy head that retains well but doesn't leave much lace

Smell: Modest banana and clove nose

Taste: Starts with a mild banana spice bread flavor that picks up in sweetness by mid-palate; after the swallow, some citrus tartness appears

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with fairly high carbonation

Drinkability: As a hefe, this is not great as the flavors are understated; not sure why this is categorized as a Euro Pale Lager, as it is not to that style; despite this, the beer is easy to drink and is a good crossover from Blue Moon

Pours a five finger white head that fades almost instantly - no lace. Ugly cloudy amber color. Light carbonation and light-medium bodied. Lemon/cider nose. Starts sweet with apple cider/lemon flavor, hints of wheat and apple pie at finish. Strange wheat. $2.49 for a 500ml bottle from John's Grocery Iowa City, Ia.

Poured semi-cloudy orange with a fairly well-retained white head that leaves virtually no lacing.
The smell was of sweet caramel and wheat.
The taste was of sweet caramel, spiced wheat and a tinge of hoppy bitterness in the background. Malt dominated the hops. a slight orange citrus emerges as the drink progresses.
The tastes are suddenly muted by watery thinness as it swirled in the mouth. As the drink warms, it does thicken a bit. But, the yeast adds a sour tang that leaves a bit of an odd aftertaste as a whole.
It's not a terrible brew at all, but one that I would not particularly seek out again. The flavors have possibilities, but something seemed to be keeping them together, leaving an odd, but again not bad, taste after the drink is finished.

Pours a straw and golf color with a creamy white head.
Aroma had the classic, banana and clove profile with some talc as well.
Flavor continued with banana and clove profile and added some cracked wheat and pale crystal malt to the mix.
Mouthfeel started well with a nice floral and malt base but had a sort of mineral water finish which seemed a bit out of place.
Drinkability was good except for aforementioned slight flaw. Fairly refreshing and enjoyable but wonder if the pH was a little off in the water.

I picked this beer up at the Total Wine in McLean VA as they usually have a range of this brewery’s product. The Bohemian Wheat Lager looked fine, definitely cloudy but picks up gold well in the light. However, there was little aroma no matter how far I stuck my nose into the glass. I’ve never had this kind of beer although I’ve a couple of their other syles. The Wheat Lager flavor is in the range that you’d expect of a blend of the two styles. It was nicely soft on the tongue and there was good lingering finish. It’s an outdoorsy tasting beer in an Adirondack chair sort of way, one of the advantages of a larger bottle. I liked it but I wouldn’t put wheats in my favorite beer styles either. I’d certainly order another, depending on the alternatives.

Picked up this beer just to give it a shot. Herold describes it as a Bohemian Wheat Pils. Based on that I expected a BoPils-like hopping level on a wheat-based beer. While the beer is not what I expected, it is a very good beer and somehting I would definitely drink again.

Aroma: Light clove and banana with hints of flora hops in the background. Very light aroma, not agressive at all.

Apearance: slightly darker than a BoPils and a bit hazy probably from the wheat. the beer pours with a dense and effervescent white head but that dissipates quickly.

Taste: Clove dominates palate entry fading into a light spicy hop character. some of the wheat beer charcter comes thru in the mid-palate and transitiions nicely to a mild tart character. Appropiately bittered.

Mouthfeel: high levels of carbonation masks the slickness associated with a wheat beer. Finish is slightly drying but almost not worth mentioning. The residual wheat character coats the mouth and provided a richer than expected mouthfeel for a otherwise light bodied beer.

Drinkability: Fantastic... easy to drink and enjoy, could have several very easily.

Out of the three Herolds I tried this I found this one most to my liking.
There is a nice finger of dense white head on top of a hazy pale golden beer. There are plenty of things going on in the aroma, but mostly its dominated by banana and clove. There is a fairly nice dryness in the mouth that is followed by the same banana clove that’s in the nose. The mouthfeel is a little thinner than I had anticipated. The drinkability is pretty good, actually better than I had thought.

Poured a cloudy, golden color with a nice head. Smell was sweet, with banana and caramel notes. Taste was fruity and clovelike with banana flavor and a slight hint of caramel. Had a decent amount of body, slightly crisp. Could definitely grab a few of these at once. A good, solid, flavorful beer.

Minimally hazy medium gold with a hint of orange. Since the beer is unfiltered, I expected at least a little yeasty murk. Because the head was semi-explosive, it took a quick reaction on my part to avoid a soggy coaster. The foam is soft, insubstantial and unimpressive. It also leaves almost no lace. [Note: the style has since been changed from hefe weizen to EPL.]

Back to respectability. The nose is good for the style, with sweetened banana far outpacing clove. It isn't that the former is so intense, it's that the latter is so muted. I'm hoping the upward trend continues on the palate.

Unfortunately, it doesn't. The flavor shares the nose's straightforward personality. Bohemian Wheat Lager is acceptably malted, with more sweetness than is typical. The biggest problem is that there isn't enough hefe flavor in this hefe weizen. Although sugared banana is noted, it isn't as prominent as it is in the nose. The hefe weizen banan-o-meter score is a rather pedestrian 2.0/5.0.

Clove is a near no-show. Since clove spiciness is such an integral part of the flavor profile for hefe weizens, I don't like this offering nearly as well as the better known versions. As I get farther into the bottle, the haziness of the beer doesn't increase, but the strength of the flavor does (but only a little).

The finish is as clean as possible for a beer this sweet. The mouthfeel is a few clicks shy of medium, has a pleasing slickness on the back end and is undercarbonated. All in all, nothing too impressive, but in keeping with the rest of the beer's attributes.

Bohemian (adj): the disregarding of conventional standards of behavior. By that definition at least, Herold Bohemian Wheat Lager is anything but bohemian. It's a mild-mannered, sweeter than normal, relatively light-bodied hefe weizen that doesn't stake out any new territory and doesn't demand much of its drinker. With so many better versions out there, this one won't be making a return visit to my weizen glass.

Perhaps past its prime. Good wheat aroma. Lace, appearance. Light mouthfeel. Disapointed in that the taste may love lost some edge. The malt and caramel, bitterness and spice, maybe oxidation. Also sour finish. Shared with Radek, he found on one of the on-line beer sites.