Czech Dark Lager

Idea Discussion in 'BeerAdvocate Talk' started by REVZEB, Mar 3, 2022.

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  1. REVZEB

    REVZEB Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,686) Mar 28, 2013 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Though I very much continue to think and advocate the #SplitUpSaison movement as the most pressing for this style council, I do want to lift up the Czech Dark Lager as its own style. Someone more knowledgeable than I can break down the Czech beer styles more, but euro dark, like the saison is just too much of a catch all to be that helpful on the site. I welcome any hastags suggestions for the CDL movement
     
    #1 REVZEB, Mar 3, 2022
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  2. SLeffler27

    SLeffler27 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,906) Feb 24, 2008 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    This is a tough one, for me. There are a bunch of styles collected under Euro Dark. The prevalence of any is so rare that it may be difficult for the populous to clearly differentiate between these styles. Myself included.

    More education, via more accessibility may be required first. Otherwise adding separating these styles may just cause more confusion.
     
    #2 SLeffler27, Mar 4, 2022
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  3. REVZEB

    REVZEB Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,686) Mar 28, 2013 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I agree with other dark lagers and they should probably be kept together in the catch all category, but I would argue the CDL has distinguished itself. At least around here there are many CDL's coming out. Sort of like in the #SplitUpSaison movement Belgian, Mixed Culture, Grisette, and Table Beer have distinguished themselves but Biere de Coupage would not have and should be housed in saison still.

    Granted I have a bias for more specific styles. We are supposed to review/rate to style, so I like that being exact as possible. Plus it educates new drinkers to beeradvocate to what is out there. I like being able to see the top rated lists by style, so the more styles there are, the more different beers can be featured. I use the style top lists way more than I ever have the 250 list
     
    #3 REVZEB, Mar 4, 2022
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  4. Squire

    Squire Grand Pooh-Bah (4,385) Jul 16, 2015 Mississippi
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm in favor of the overall category for the present because they're simply not that many Euro Dark Lagers around. Wish there were but that's currently not the case.
     
    #4 Squire, Mar 4, 2022
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  5. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    FWIW I agree with you here since for my palate a Czech Dark Lager is distinctly different from a Dunkel, Schwarzbier,…
    For your consideration below is an extract from an article I wrote about the varying beer styles (lagers) of the Czech Republic:

    “Basically the Czechs describe their beers by color and strength. First, let’s learn our colors:
    • Pale = Světlé
    • Semi-dark (Amber) = Polotmavý
    • Dark = Tmavý (or Tmavé)
    • Black = Černý
    When it comes to beer strength, what we would typically associate with alcohol (ABV) strength, the Czechs instead describe the original gravity of the wort used to brew the beer. They have words for this but more commonly I have seen numbers in degrees Plato to describe the beers strength. In order of lower to higher strength:
    • 10° or Výčepní
    • 12° or Ležák
    • 14° or Speciál (or Speziál)
    If you want to try out your Czech lessons, a Bohemian Pilsner (or as the BJCP lists it Czech Premium Pale Lager) would be Světlé Ležák.”

    https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Czech_Beers

    Just a couple of weeks ago I bottled a batch of homebrewed Czech Dark Lager and I ‘brand’ that beer style as Tmavý Ležák.

    Na Zdravi
     
    #5 JackHorzempa, Mar 4, 2022
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  6. Rug

    Rug Grand Pooh-Bah (3,454) Aug 20, 2018 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    100%. More breweries are putting their own spin on the styles lately.
     
    #6 Rug, Mar 4, 2022
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  7. hopsputin

    hopsputin Grand Pooh-Bah (4,403) Apr 1, 2012 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    I'm all for it! Jack put it very well above :slight_smile:
     
    #7 hopsputin, Mar 4, 2022
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  8. FBarber

    FBarber Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,325) Mar 5, 2016 Illinois
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I totally missed this thread ... but I am here now to say that I 110% support this change. It is well past due to give the wide array of Czech lagers their due by recognizing the individual styles.

    We have so many Czech lagers being produced around here Chicago as @REVZEB will confirm
     
    #8 FBarber, Mar 16, 2022
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  9. Sheppard

    Sheppard Grand Pooh-Bah (3,516) Mar 16, 2013 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Any word on when/if this implementation will take place? Been hearing that Czech lager style designations would be coming down the pipe for some time but with nothing concrete.
     
    #9 Sheppard, Apr 4, 2022
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