Zywiec Porter - Zywiec Breweries PLC (Heineken)

ktrillionaire

Florida

3.2/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

The brew pours near black, and is capped by a filmy tan head, depositing rings of lace. The nose is mostly roasty with underlying notes of dark fruit. Flavor-wise, it is mostly nice, featuring notes of roast, cocoa and chicory, but it has a finish that I disdain. It gets very very bitter on the finish, acrid really, and has a lingering burn. The feel is good through most of the quaff, but again, it takes a turn for the worse on the finsh. Overall this is an underachieving brew.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2011 01:26:08 | More by ktrillionaire

DS31

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -11.2%

05-18-2013 14:45:56 | More by DS31

DaveAnderson

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

04-27-2013 04:36:09 | More by DaveAnderson

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.41/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - A fairly dark brown, nice cocoa head with a ruby hue when pouring, Head is a 1/2 inch that seems to stick around for a while.
S - Nothing really stands out it smells of lager yeasts, some roast and a touch of chocolate but it's faint.
T - Well it doesn't taste like any porter I ever liked. Mild German hops meets some old coffee with a slightly chalky finish.
M - Best part of the beer it drinks like a black lager but hides the ABV so well. Wish the flavor was better also.

Overall for $2.50 I guess its not so bad. Wish I would have know it was Heineken before I got it since it has the classic "skunked" flavor even though it's a brown bottle...

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 04:25:46 | More by DrDemento456

beerhunter13

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +14.2%

04-22-2013 10:40:32 | More by beerhunter13

zenithberwyn

California

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

04-18-2013 04:05:22 | More by zenithberwyn

JeffTheJuice

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +1.5%

04-17-2013 16:08:45 | More by JeffTheJuice

Bear1964

Nebraska

3.54/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 500 ml bottle into a pint glass, almost jet black with a nice 3 finger tan head. It smelled rich,roasted and sweet...things I like in a Porter. Taste held roasted malt with a bittersweet edge also some metallic notes and alcohol/dark chocolate flavors after each sip. Mouthfeel was medium to heavy and was what I would expect for a Baltic Porter....I would get this again as a single ( $ 1.67 ) and recommend to anyone who wants to explore Porters for a good price.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2013 16:09:48 | More by Bear1964

Asics

Washington

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

04-14-2013 07:17:02 | More by Asics

Bromine

Florida

4/5  rDev +1.5%

04-12-2013 10:46:18 | More by Bromine

StoutItOutLoud

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

04-12-2013 01:18:18 | More by StoutItOutLoud

Samuel906

California

3.58/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

This was going out on a limb a bit for me; I don't venture to the import section of the bottle store too often, and I think this is my first beer from Poland. Overall I was very pleased, very rich full beer and absurdly cheap. Pours dark with medium head. Smells very good: chocolate and cinnamon and roasted malt. Follows with rich flavor as well. Chocolate and malt, hints of coffee. No booze. Very mild metallic taste. Only thing odd to me about this is that it is called a porter. I was expecting something a little lighter weight. Good all around!

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 02:40:03 | More by Samuel906

magpieken

Australia

2.25/5  rDev -42.9%

04-08-2013 16:01:27 | More by magpieken

Gluteus_Maximus

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +1.5%

04-05-2013 00:41:14 | More by Gluteus_Maximus

Skramer

New York

4/5  rDev +1.5%

03-31-2013 23:47:17 | More by Skramer

BaltimoreBeerLover

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Poured from 500 ml bottle into wine glass

Appearance: Jet black with beautiful 1 inch tan head.

Smell: Spiced cinnamony malts, molasses, brown sugar, alcohol

Taste: Some dark brown sugar, boozy. Tastes less boozy as the beer warms, and the nicer flavors become more pronounced.

Mouthfeel: Alcohol taste really lingers for a while and dominates the flavors after the sip.

Overall: Good beer for the price. Worth trying especially for the value but probably wouldn't recommend. 3.2/5.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 02:23:51 | More by BaltimoreBeerLover

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Someone recommended this to me, so figured I'd give it a try.

pours a darker colored thick creamy 2 finger head that doesn't really fade, although leaves some nice lacing when it does, very dark brown beer with faintest hint of ruby light sneaking through.

Nose brings some of those Baltic region, like Polish style dark malts, a little roasty, very syrupy almost straight malt extract syrup or cola syrup, little molasses like sweet syrupy, light earthy root based aromas, faint hints of cocoa and vanilla.

Taste starts with more dark malts, again that similar Baltic region dark roasty kinda malts not the roasted malts you get in U.S. at least. Wants to be sweet flavors but doesn't get too sweet, cola syrup again, a similar to molasses kinda sugar extract but not the same, like another root or stalk based syrup extract. Cocoa comes out a bit more, little chocolate malt flavor, again with faint hint of vanilla somehow. Biscuity caramel malts in there, with a bit of a coppery malt flavor, and just a touch metallic possibly from slightly burnt malts, or possibly a yeast thing, as well as fluffy nougat and black malt. A bit of a spicy earthy hop presence, with some decent chewy bitterness. Light booze flavor coming through like a very light fusel alcohol. Finish is drier but sticky and syrupy, still a bit sweet, more warming slightly tingly booze, more nougat, caramel, cocoa powder, light roast all lingering, and a hint of a fruity flavor probably from the yeast, and plenty of bitterness lingering.

Mouth is a bit fuller bodied, fluffy carbonation, some warming slightly tingly booze.

Overall not bad, a decent true Baltic region Baltic Porter, not quite up to what some of the clean and full flavored beers that are made these days, but this is from 1881 so a great beer for that time I would guess. Still tasty and drinkable, I was expected extract skunky crappy beer so this was a pleasant surprise.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 21:37:09 | More by jlindros

yoyo

New York

3.25/5  rDev -17.5%

03-27-2013 17:53:24 | More by yoyo

adamant1912

Michigan

4/5  rDev +1.5%

03-27-2013 17:48:27 | More by adamant1912

bnes09

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Dark chocolate brown and mostly opaque. Creamy foam on the pour and descent retention for the strength. Blotches of lacing.

Aroma of black cherries, prunes, dates and maple. Mild roasted coffee and pistachio nuts.

Sweet dark fruit flavor and thick malt character. Subtle, non-distinct roasted notes add a nice bitterness. Hint of earthy hops. Very well balanced.

Full bodied with lots of syrupy malt texture. Chewy on the tongue, no dry finish, and lingering malt flavors.

Very good porter.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 02:06:20 | More by bnes09

G-Hawk

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

03-13-2013 23:20:36 | More by G-Hawk

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +1.5%

03-11-2013 18:51:00 | More by sholland119

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev +1.5%

03-10-2013 23:46:55 | More by spycow

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.58/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a deep dark brown color nearing black. Upon pouring there is a two finger tan foam on the top of the brew. The head fades slowly over time to leave a decent level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest f roasted malt, with notes of coffee and cocoa mixed within. Some sweeter aromas of caramel and dark fruit aromas of fig and plum accompany the more roasted nose flavors. With these smells there is also a faint grassy/herbal and alcohol smell

Taste – The taste begins with a drier coffee and roasted malt flavor up front. A cocoa flavor soon joins these with the other two flavors becoming even more pronounced on the tongue. Hints of sweetness begin peeking into the taste beginning with some caramel and vanilla and later becoming more dark fruit in nature. The beer never gets too sweet however with it maintaining a higher proportion of roast/dark to sweet. Toward the end the booziness of the brew comes to light with an alcohol flavor developing in the taste. Along with the alcohol flavor comes notes of a bitter grassy and slightly biting coffee bitterness that when combined with the rest of the flavors leaves a rather roasted and bitter flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer was on the medium side with a carbonation level that was quite average overall.

Overall – A pretty good Baltic porter with some nice roasted and more bitter notes.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 02:22:38 | More by Darkmagus82

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +1.5%

03-07-2013 15:08:33 | More by t0rin0