Primator Dark Lager - Pivovar Náchod a.s.

Fatehunter

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Almost a finger of tan head on a dark brown body.
The aroma is roasted and chocolate malt. Nice.
The roasted malt comes through in the taste as well, along with a little milk and mild lemon bitterness.
The texture is a little fizzy and crisp.
An enjoyable experience with the flavorful taste but still lighter lager.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2013 05:12:31 | More by Fatehunter

steveh

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Another in the Primator line that I happened on by chance. Since this is a Czech dark beer, I'm not sure how to rate this -- I don't believe I've ever had a Czech Dark before.

A -- Clear, deep chestnut color with a dense, light tan head that holds up well.

S -- Rich, toasty, bready malts with a touch of caramel -- even light molasses and finishing with light Saaz hops.

T -- Pretty much the same character as the nose, starting with bready malts that meld into dark bread and molasses flavors (imagine liquid pumpernickel) then into a light Saaz character that balances well with the rich malts in the finish. There's even a mild, underlying roast character and a lightly sweet malt character -- even a light dark fruit character in the aftertaste.

M -- Mouthfeel is soft to dry with a light-medium body.

O -- Sometimes too much Saaz hop can fatigue my palate, but the balance with the toasted and roasty malts -- on top of a very drinkable 4.8 ABV -- makes this a very enjoyable beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2012 22:07:28 | More by steveh

Nerudamann

Arizona

3.58/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

Look – very dark brown, but still able to see through it. About two fingers’ worth of light khaki-colored foam that dissipates somewhat quickly.

Smell – malty, and indeed much like a dark lager. It has a bit of a porter-like smell. With a roasted quality and chocolate notes.

Taste – malty, but with a tinge of bitterness that must come from hops that don’t appear in the taste itself. It tastes dark and bold, with less of a chocolate hint in the taste, but still a bit like a porter.

Mouthfeel – also like a porter, the Mouthfeel is deceptively thinner than you would think. Here, it’s very well balanced.

Overall – pretty decent brew. Not terribly interesting to think about, but not dull either.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2011 02:31:56 | More by Nerudamann

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

(Served in a dimple mug)

A- This beer pours a dense crystal clear dark brown body that has a glow at the base. There is a creamy thick oatmeal colored head that sticks to the glass leaving register marks with each sip.

S- The dry toffee has some slightly sweet brown malt notes with a hint of Munich malt sweetness in the finish.

T- The slightly sweet brown malt with a touch of dark pot caramel and a melanoidin note that grows dominate as the beer warms. The finish is a soft dry bittern green noble hop note.

M- The medium mouthfeel has a mellow fizz in the finish and no alcohol heat noticed.

O- This had a lot of the similarities as their double bock but the melanodin and sweetness really start to dominate as it warms and there isn't any alcohol or hops to cut the sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2011 20:02:11 | More by rhoadsrage

beergod1

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks again goes out to D. Kurtz for hooking me up with 3 of these rarities-Maibock, Dark Lager & Double Bock. Pours Clear dark red/brown beer with a large beige head. Aroma is malty sweet with notes of coffee and caramel. Flavor is malty with notes of caramel, grainy hops. Nothing special but a great beer when you want to keep it simple.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2011 13:33:09 | More by beergod1

Zorro

California

3.23/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear dark brown colored beer with a medium sized tan colored head.

Smells mostly of grain and chocolate. Good Nobel hop aroma mostly grassy with a little green herb. Faint smell of molasses.

Starts out malty with a graham cracker and chocolate flavor. Slight raisin bran cereal flavor. Moderately bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is OK.

Drinkability is OK.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2011 00:36:07 | More by Zorro

stoepsel

Spain

3.18/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Very dark body with a creamy head and a rather smoky nose.

Taste is sweet, very mouth coating and roasty, finishing malty, dry and smoky.

Kind of a rough beer and quite heavy too, although you shouldn't let the cheap looking bottle and the sugar listed in the nutricion facts frighten you off. In the end it's better than one expects.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2010 20:43:13 | More by stoepsel

ADZA

Australia

3.58/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Firstly my bottle looks abit different to this but its exactly the same beer and it pours a ruby cola hue with nice carbonation that leaves behind a creamy two finger head and a layer of lacing around the sides of glass,i really like the aroma of this its very sweet indeed almost like maple syrup,milo,caramel and lots of honey,the mouthfeel is quite sessionable and just above light but could be thicker and has tastes of sweet toffee,caramel,roasted barley,dark dried fruits and finishes with a buttery,maple syrup smooth finish,overall it definately took me by suprise as i wasnt expecting it to be like this and my only real complaint is its mouthfeel and if you dont like sweet beers you will not like this one but im quite enjoying it and more than likely will revisit.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2010 12:58:38 | More by ADZA

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.15/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

was hoping it would be a Munich dunkel when I bought it, guess not. 500ml brown bottle.

It pours a cola brown with a foamy head that leaves cobwebs of lacing.

The smell is interesting, it almost has the smell of ovaltine, but with a slap of bread and honey. The hops, like in the other primator brews, were up front and herbal/grassy/medicinal. In this particular brew, they could have done without the hop in the aroma.

The flavor is okay, the hops are overbearing with herbal character, it kind of ruins the already weak taste.

The primator beers are just hopped in the wrong way for me.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2010 03:40:21 | More by crossovert

froghop

Washington

3.4/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

pours a dark brown with a large dirty white head, and great lacing.

smell is of malt, some caramel, and a little sweetness in the back.

taste is smooth, malt, a touch cocoa, some roastiness, and a little caramel, ends a little dry.

overall a nice dark lager.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2010 15:32:40 | More by froghop

SilentSabre

Georgia

4/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Lovely reddish bronze colour with a nice sandy looking head. Mild sweet malty aroma. Taste is very rich, especially for a lager. Loads of sweet, toasted malt, a touch of caramel, and those lovely, earthy, European hops that I love so well.
Mouthfeel is lighter than I expected for such a dark and flavourful beer and is surprisingly refreshing. Very drinkable, all things considered.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2010 23:17:03 | More by SilentSabre

vacax

California

4.13/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours an extra dark chestnut brown with a couple fingers of thick tan head displaying some good retention and fair lacing. The aroma is is nutty, umami, mildly roasty, and figgy. The flavor is lightly vinous, nutty, and meaty with a nicely bitter oatmeal raisin cookie finish. Medium-thick bodied with a pleasantly subdued carbonation, nicely done though perhaps a bit light for the richly full flavor. Overall this is a really nice beer, a fully flavored lager with nutty rich characters but also low in alcohol and easy drinking. Very good.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2010 22:52:40 | More by vacax

Sunnanek

Sweden

4.5/5  rDev +25.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: This beer pours dark brown, with a hint of red. A great large off-white thick head that stays for a really long time before it dissipates leaving nice lacings.

S: Heavy roasted sweet malt, hazelnuts, floral hops - very well balanced. Some dark syrup and some dried dark fruit.

T: Heavy roasted sweet malt with some bitter hops. Dark syrup and hazelnuts. Raisins.

M: A really long sweet and bitter aftertaste. Medium body and moderate carbonation.

D: I havn't had so many dark lagers - but if they're all like this, I'm sure gonna drink a lot of them.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2009 10:38:10 | More by Sunnanek

Offa

California

4.45/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a good dark lager/dunkel type, a bit sweet, but tasty with solid, slightly complex character.

Dark brown with a reddish hint, it has a huge, pale tan head steadily shrinking to a large (2.5"), permanent, creamy head and leaves some lace.

The aroma is nice, pleasant and fairly stron, toasted whole wheat, caramel, hints of molasses and root beer/spices, earth. It's malty and hoppy, righ, full, anf firm, an excellent aroma for this style.

The taste is full, rich, and complex, yet still light and easy going, with great depth. It has toasted grain, hint of rich whole wheat, earth, caramelised grain, hint of mapple syrup, root beer, full-flavour. It has both sweetness and a little bitterness plus a zesty spicey bite, but the sweetness is a little too strong and the bitterness is very light, the spicey zestiness being the main counterpoint to the sweetness. Dunkels and dark lagers generally shouldn't be very bitter anyway, but it is still just a tad on the overly sweet side. Overall, it's well-rounded, fairly balanced, with solid depth and range of character, very pleasant, enjoyable, satisfying yet easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2009 18:36:22 | More by Offa

bark

Sweden

4.4/5  rDev +22.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The colour is dark brown with a tint of red. The high head is compact and brown. Some lacing occurs.

The smell is nutty and malty with roasted notes. There is also a fruity hoppy flavour of noble hops.

The taste is dominated by roasted malt: Hazelnuts, soft sweet flavours of raisins and sweet loaf. The sweetness is balanced by a pleasant bitterness. The aftertaste is clean and malty with mellow roasted flavours of sweet dark bread and mixed nuts. The finish is somewhat dry with hints of minerals.

The carbonation is soft for a lager; the bubbles small. The liquid is smooth.

A dark eurolager or a swartzbier? I think it is more in the latter style. Anyway this beer is very pleasant, tasty and highly drinkable: It suits both a Mediterranean meze and BBQ.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2009 12:25:09 | More by bark

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice Dark brown with a tan head. This beer smells malty and tastes malty with a pleasant sweetness to the finish. Full bodied with long finish this is a nice version of the style.Food friendly with a below 5% ABV this would be a good addition to any summer BBQ

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2008 02:19:42 | More by canucklehead

thierrynantes

France

3.85/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Beer bottle (50cl), tasted in 2004.
Appearance : dark color, with a large and creamy head.
Smell : Malty nose with hints of roasted malt.
Taste and mouthfeel : Malty and sweet, flavours of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate and a touch of coffee.
Drinkability : a good Dunkel in the style Dark lager

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2008 16:45:19 | More by thierrynantes

ernie

Russian Federation

3.25/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500 cl brown bottle. Color deep brown, with red spark. Small and unstable cappuccino head. Very modest lace.

Aroma is a mix of candy sugar with well-roasted malts and dry fruit.

Start is a bit prickly, general mouthfeel smooth, on the thin side. Taste sweetish, malty-fruity, with a gentle note of nuts. Finish fruity-acidic. Aftertaste complex: hops, malts and fruit, rather well balanced.

Worth a try, but there are Czech dark lagers much better than this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2006 14:05:50 | More by ernie

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.65/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Obtained this bottle from Pivni Galerie in Prague three weeks ago. The best before date is 16/03/06.

Appearance: in a 300ml Weissbier glass it pours a beautifully, very dark amber to brownish hue with a tight, pillowy, dark-yellowish beerhead with extremely good retention; quite fizzy though.
Smell: a quite lively aroma of lager malts upfront, with hints of light caramel, raisins, longen-fruits and a little bit of toffee. In general the nose is full of dark-fruits and very refreshing for a dark lager.
Taste: a medium-sweet palate of roasted malts and lightly caramelised brown sugar prevails, finished with a very crisp touch of aromatic and grassy hops. The aftertaste is crisply clean and not sugary-sticky at all, with a residual mild fruity bitterness in action, though not lingering enough.
Mouthfeel & Drinkability: the mouthfeel is consistently smooth, while the flavour and body are both kept to the moderate level. A simple but nice, easy-drinking dark lager this is. Thanks again for your kind recommendation, Sigmund.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2005 22:14:42 | More by wl0307

Sigmund

Norway

4/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

(500 ml bottle, called Tmavé Lezak in Czech. Bought in Sweden.) I somehow managed to delete my original comments here, damn! But this is still a nice dunkel, deep reddish brown colour, decent head. Flavour is malty and bready with a moderate but nice roastiness, notes of caramel, moderately sweet. I would like some more hops in the finish, but that’s the Czech dunkel style, I guess.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2005 11:58:23 | More by Sigmund

Globetrotter

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Comes in a tall brown half-liter bottle with an elongated neck and a pretty cool label featuring the facade of a Czech cathedral and the brewery's coat of arms. Ingredients conform to the purity law. Best before 8/18/04, I opened it on 12/14/03.

Pours a beautiful clear dark brown under a small tan head that disappears too quickly. Much too quickly. The nose is full of sweet caramel, with may one plum thrown in. The mouth is heavy and mildly carbonated. The taste is sweet - caramel and fruit, as promised by the nose. This is followed by some mild hoppiness that lingers well into the aftertaste, which is nevertheless more fruity than bitter. This beer has a lot of promise, and certainly isn't bad, but somehow, I'm disappointed. It seems to be just a bit more watery than it could or should be.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2003 18:40:28 | More by Globetrotter

chinchill

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Primator tmavé 12 served in large mug in Kutna Hora, CZ.

A - nice aroma of spicy hops and medium and dark malts. Slightly smokey.

T - sweet for style, but some balancing bitterness kicks in at the finish. Still a bit too sweet IMO.

M - medium body with good carbonation

O - a mediocre Czech tmavé which, by global standards, means a fine beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-20-2011 02:25:20 | More by chinchill