What’s the Difference? Share your Side-by-Side (2021)

If you get to try that beer at the brewery the 'bonus' is that they serve their beers there via a Czech manufactured Lukr side pull tap/faucet:

"POLOTMAVY Czech Garnet Lager | 5.2% abv | $6
Subtle, yet satisfying. Translated as “half-dark”, this decoction brewed lager has a slight roast flavor from Vienna and chocolate malts. Poured from Czech Lukr side pull faucet"

I had many beers in the Czech Republic during my two week vacation in 2019 served from a Lukr side pull faucet; this delivery provides a wet foam vs. the dry foam that a regular tap/faucet provides.

I had a handful of Polotmavy beers during my visit to the Czech Republic and everyone of those beers reminded me of Yuengling Traditional Lager. A snippet (with bolding) from my visit to the Staropramen brewery:


"Prague Lagers trip report No. 2

Today (9/20/19) was Staropramen beer day (for more reason than one).

My wife and I took a tour of the Staropramen Brewery today (it was a 3 minute walk from our hotel). Before the tour my wife asked: Are you going to ask a bunch (of annoying) questions during the tour? She didn’t actually say the words “annoying” but via the tone I got the ‘message’. My response to her questions was: absolutely!!

The tour was ‘interesting’ in that it was a multimedia tour vs. an actual tour of the brewery with a tour guide. I almost felt like the folks who took a ‘tour’ of Jurassic Park in the beginning of the movie where that tour was movies with narration. And needless to say a disappointment for me since I couldn’t ask my (‘annoying’) brewing questions.

An option with the tour was a beer tasting after the tour and of course we chose to do this. There is a very nice pub in the basement of the Staropramen Visitor Center of the brewery and we were served four sample pours (see photo below). From right to left the four beers were:

· Staropramen Premium: what I would term a Pilsner but the Czechs would term as a Pale Lager

· Unfiltered: brewed with malt (Pilsner Malt I presume) and wheat and unfiltered

· Granat: they term this beer as being a semi-dark beer and brewed with three malts including caramel malt

· Dark Lager (Tmavý Ležák): brewed with 4 malts and I presume one is caramel malt based upon my tasting of this beer

Both my wife and I preferred the Pale beers over the non-Pale beers.

The Granat beer is marketed by Staropramen as being brewed using a recipe from 1884. From the Staropramen website:

“Staropramen Granat is a unique lager which proudly embodies our brewing traditions. This beer is based on the original recipe from 1884. The special sprinkling process of mixing pale and specialty malts is what gives the beer its unique ruby red - granat - colour.

Staropramen Granat – fine hops meet a perfect combination of three different malts.”

The Granat reminded me of Yuengling Traditional Lager. It was brewed well but not exactly a favorite of mine.



I will be interested in reading what you think of the Human Robot Polotmavy.

Na Zdravi

 

Speaking of Nitro Stouts, canned nitro Rogue Shakespeare Stout is now a thing, and a pretty darn good one at that.

 

About how many oz are these mugs?

AND: Do you think the following a reasonably fair description of Polotmavý, as a style?

http://www.beerculture.org/tag/polotmavy/

“...a polotmavý (half-dark, meaning amber) Weißbier. It’s brewed at a conventional 13° with about 5% alcohol, versus 18.5° and a massive 8.2% for the brawny German.

The strength might be the biggest difference between the two, as some of the flavors and aromas are quite similar. The nose of the Polotmavý Weißbier has cooked plums and chocolate and cocoa notes with just a breath of citrus acidity. In the mouth, it starts out with fairly sweet and complex fruitcake flavors before a dry finish.”

 

My guess (and it is only a guess) is 5-6 ounces.

Not really sure what that website is getting at.

I would recommend the BJCP style guidelines for you to learn more about the Polotmavý (Czech Amber Lager) beer style.

Cheers!

 

Got it! Czech Amber Lager. Personally, Polotmavý keeps the ethnicity alive ;-)

And those mugs a nice too.

Thanks.

 

I had a side by side of FFF cheer team and Tripping Animals Men in Grey Suits and couldn't tell the difference. Delicious beers BTW but FFF had lower ABV and price point so that was my choice for the pint.

My mom doesn't drink IPAs but gave the sniff test and thought they were similar.

MIGS is advertised as an imperial NE IPA. CT as a catch all well rounded IPS.

 

I'm geeky... well, not THAT geeky, but I did something similar (and the word I'd use is "obsessive"). I once bought a Schlenkerla Marzen bottle in Belgium and brought it back to the US to do a comparison tasting with a bottle bought over here. I figured that the one I brought wasn't subjected to any transatlantic import abuse... but I didn't know the date of the bottles. The beer that traveled with me was a slight bit better than the properly imported beer, but nothing close to drastic.

 

Unfortunately Oktoberfest is not taking place this year.

Years ago when I went I had Paulaner’s Wiesn inside the Paulaner tent. I returned to the US and one of my locals had it on tap. Tasted just as good on tap here as there if I recall correctly.

 

Very nice review.

Spent time in Ireland and below is what I thought from the Dry Irish Stouts there:

Beamish > Murphy’s > Guinness

Loved the Guinness tour and all of the beer I consumed there, but def.y least favorite of the 3.

 

Only in Ireland. It is my understanding, some old heads can confirm, that Beamish was once imported to the US. Apparently it is no longer.

I think the main reason I enjoyed it was it was half of the price of both Murphy’s and Guinness when in Ireland and was a good brew.

 

"...some old heads can confirm, that Beamish was once imported to the US."

I guess this makes me an "old head" since I did drink Beamish 'back in the day' (early 2000's and before) at various Irish Pubs in Philadelphia. It has been too long to provide details other than I preferred it (and Murphy's) to Guinness.

Cheers!

 

Lol I knew you’d come through.

Based on your post, I was still in HS (possibly middle school) while you were drinking Beamish in Philly.

 

I did it as well years ago. I'm the outlier in that I think I preferred Guinness (it's tough to remember exactly)... but your description still rings true to me. The Murphy's was certainly bolder, but the Guinness felt so impeccably constructed for me. Maybe I'd feel differently if I did it again.

 

Guinness also has its famous twang, not quite sour or wild but leaning that way. I find it to show itself prominently in direct comparisons like this.

It's not just the construction of the Guinness, but it's got a more 'mature' feel to it as well.