New Beer Weekend #3

Do you have a favorite beer blend?

Not too long ago I discussed in a BA thread a beer I had at the U Buldoka (Bulldog) pub in Prague which was a blend of Pilsner Urquell and Velkopopovický Kozel Černý (a Czech Dark Lager). A sorta Czech version of a half & half?



While I was drinking that beer in the pub I ‘said’ to myself: I should try this blend with my homebrewed Bohemian Pilsner and Tmavý Ležák (Czech Dark Lager). Well, that thought occurred in September 2019 and likely within a day or two was gone. It was not until I discussed the beer I had at U Buldoka a week ago that I re-thought of it. Better late than never?

I will be creating two blended beers from a bottle of Bohemian Pilsner and a bottle of Tmavý Ležák. You will see in the photo below that there is a label for the Tmavý Ležák bottle and you can read the story behind this label:

We stayed in the Anděl neighborhood during our visit to Prague; Anděl is Czech for Angel.

For my 2020 batch of Tmavý Ležák my wife went online somewhere and created a label for this beer ‘branding’ this beer as Dark Angel.

I wonder if my blended beer will ‘stack up’ to the beer I drank in Prague?

Served in two dimpled mugs (to foster the Prague experience); I will be sharing with my wife.

Appearance:

Needless to say but I lack the skills of the bartender in Prague that floated his blended beer. The beer is a deep amber that reminds me of an Oktoberfest beer. The beers in the photo below look darker than in real-life and it is just a tad darker at the top vs. the bottom.

Aroma:

A notable but subtle aroma of roasty (coffee-like) and a hint of cocoa.

Taste:

For the first sips: The flavor follows the nose with a pleasing combination of subtle chocolate and coffee-like. But as the beer is consumed the flavor aspects change: the beer tastes more like notable flavors of bready malt and spicy/herbal hops. And the bitterness aspect changes a bit as well from low/moderate bitterness to a more substantial bitterness for the last few sips. A TASTY TWOFER!

Mouthfeel:

The mouthfeel transitioned a bit: starting off more of a soft/creamy mouthfeel to a more crisp feeling towards the end. There was an off-dry finish throughout the drinking experience.

Overall:

This blended beer is a WINNER. The transitioning drinking experience is very enjoyable and intriguing. I will be doing this blend again (and again and…).

I wonder how popular it is to have this blended beer in the Czech Republic? I am not the most observant person in the world but the only blended beer that I saw in the many pubs I visited during my two week vacation was the one I ordered.

For those wondering how my blended beer compares to the one I had in Prague below is how I described this beer in my trip report:

“I enjoyed this blend for the first half of the beer but the last half had too much butter (diacetyl) and I did not finish it.”

For some reason the Pilsner Urquell beers served at the Czech Tankovna (tank) pubs too often suffered from elevated levels of diacetyl (butter like flavor) and I am not a fan of elevated levels of diacetyl in my beers.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @honkey

 

Pours a nice clear light amber golden color with a nice head and slight lacing
Aroma has floral, spice and herbal hints
The taste follows the aroma with pleasant floral, spice and herbal flavors
A light bodied moderately carbonated beer
A good Octoberfest beer

 

I was able to visit Local Group Brewing in Houston yesterday afternoon. I just got around to adding my reviews to the database. This is one of the few breweries to open that is trying to put food and beer on the same level. Their kitchen is making everything they can from scratch, or locally sourced. The name ties in their "localness" of coarse, but also based on the galaxy that includes the Milky Way, and Houston as Space City

They have had a tough time since the opened though. Their first weekend open a huge water pipe burst, which put all of Houston on a boil notice for at least a week. Which made it hard for certainly places to be open (lots of places had to close then, and luckily most breweries can handle the boil notice well, it was still awkward for most everybody though) , then about a month later they had to close because of Covid. I made a visit that first weekend they were open, but haven't been back. So, anyway, they are back open because they are considered a restaurant now. Lots of social distancing, masks, and sanitizer on each table. Felt very safe here for my late Friday lunch.

Enough background on to the beer...

First up is Edgeless IPA, classic West Coast IPA. 7% ABV


Pours with a touch of chilled hazed, golden/orange in color. A one finger white head forms, and recedes to leave some lace behind.
Aromatic and perfumy hops up front in the nose. Pine, resin, citrus/grapefruit peal. Classic IPA.
Like the nose, the taste is of citrus/grapefruit peal. Resiny pine sap. A touch of caramel sweetness. This becomes a little too veggie like and green though. Even a woody flavor developing that I'm not the biggest fan of (and sometimes get with IPA's). Lingering bitterness, still enjoyable if not perfect.
A medium body and moderate carbonation. A little too earthy, which makes it not as clean as I would like. Not hard to drink, and not a bad IPA at all. Though there are better examples around.

The vegetal and woody and overall earthy tones keeps this from being a really well done example of a simple IPA. I still can enjoy it for what it is, and good enough to have a few at the brewery. Though a bit "flawed", if they clean this up a bit I can see me really enjoying this.

Overall score is 3.65
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58735/481591/?ba=champ103#review


Next up, Magic Flip. Dry Hopped Lager at 5.2%ABV. Listed here as an Indian Pale Lager, which makes sense to me,


A dry hopped lager with Loral and Styrian hops.

Pours a perfectly clean golden/yellow color. A one finger white head forms and sticks around for a while. Plenty of lace left behind.
Nose and taste are very similar. Lemon grass, pepper, herbal tea. Just a hint of cracker like malts. Lingering bitterness. Very nice.
A light to medium body. Good effervescent carbonation. Finishes crisp, very clean and dry. A very nice dry hopped lager that I will come back to again. Hoping this stays around.

This is a really good lager, and exactly what I would want from a dry hopped lager. The hops are nice with a clean and simple profile, and with a very clean finish. Many examples of "India Pale Lagers" that I have had are basically lighter pale ales. You can tell this was lagered correctly. Well done, maybe the best I have had from the brewery.

Overall score is 4.04
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58735/499168/?ba=champ103#review


The last one I had was Ale Of Skye Scottish Ale. 6.2% ABV. This is listed as Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy, I would definitely not call this a Wee Heavy, but anyway.



Pours a ruby brown color. A one finger white head forms that sticks around for a bit with light lace left behind.
Malty and grainy aroma. Toasted malts, baked bread, light cereal. Simple and enjoyable.
Like the nose, taste is malty with a touch of cereal grains. Toasted/baked bread. More sweetness is noticeable. Just a touch of herbal like hops to balance. I like it.
A medium body, with crisp carbonation at first. This becomes smoother as it breaths. Though, still seems a bit "lighter" than I was expecting. No worries, still really enjoyable to drink and fits the malty sweet spot for me.

Think of this as a Scottish/Brown Ale hybrid. In that regard this is very enjoyable. It reminds me of Odell's 90 Shilling which is a good thing.

Overall score is 3.96

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58735/499169/?ba=champ103#review

Overall I enjoyed all the beers, and everything went well with finishing my Jim Harrison

 

Also, a quick review of their burger, with Magic Flip Dry Hopped Lager.

Half pound burger, house made pickles and house baked brioche bun, Oaxaca and Cheddar cheese, beer braised onions and hand cut fries. Cooked perfectly medium, actually just a tad less, which is how I love my burgers. Fries are great, pairs perfect with a good lager

 

Pours a very dark color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has roasted malt and chocolate hints
The taste follows the nose with a pleasant roasted malt and chocolate flavor
A medium bodied moderately carbonated beer
A good Black Ale

 

Old Engine Oil is a favorite of mine. The Ola Dubh series is fantastic as well, actually thats one of my favorite Scottish breweries.

 

Starting my weekend with Monday Night Brewing Breakfast Ante Meridiem, thanks @Buck89!
4.36/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thank you Buck89 for this
500 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- Dark brown, almost black with a two finger tan head.

S- Maple syrup, roasted coffee, vanilla, some bourbon, chocolate, toffee.

T- Maple syrup, vanilla, roasted coffee, dark fruits, bourbon, chocolate, some toffee.

M- Smooth, carbonation is slightly high, medium body.

O- At first come off more like a stout, but as I drink it seems to blur the line line between a big brown ale and a lighter body imperial stout.

Cheers NBW!

 

Pours a light amber color with a slight nice head and lacing
Aroma has slight hop hints
The taste follows the aroma with a slight hop flavor
A light bodied moderately carbonated beer
A decent Pilsener

 

My first from this brewery, pretty tasty!

 

Tim, thanks for getting New Beer Weekend off to a good start. I'm planning on doing as little as possible for the next two days. Swimming in the pool and watching golf will be my priorities.
I was up early, as usual, and we took the dogs for a walk. This was the puppie's longest walk, a little over two miles, and I think he could have gone twice that far. We're home, the two older dogs are passed out, and the pup is still playing.
I made a beer run after the walk. Since I was hot and sweaty, I picked up some summer beers.
Today I'll be having Mango Oberon from Bell's. Not very impressed.
Hazy bright orange color. No head.
Grassy aroma, some sweet fruit. Not a lot going on.
Mango taste, late bitterness.
Light-bodied. Not exactly a refreshing summer drink.

 

Nice glassware!

 

Gänstaller Kellerpils


Pours a glowing amber, unfiltered color with a medium sized head atop.


Smell is of cooked peas, hay and well pronounced caramel among burned tomato bush.


Drinks truly smooth for a Pils with a well evolved, late carbonation, making this drink utmost easy, pleasant and refreshing.


Tastes of white bread dough, dried grass and cracker accompanied caramel. Brings a wonderfully nuanced, grain entangled dryness to the palate, together with a bright caramel note. Finishes with hay, sweet toffee, prominent noble hops and a lighter potato starch impression.


Crisp and clean with a great mouthfeel to it. Its middle part turns out to be a lite tame though, with almost no hops and an unusual low carbonation, lessen the otherwise good impression of this.

 

Not sure I have heard of a pils aroma described like that before ha