Herold Bohemian Black Lager - Pivovar Herold Březnice A.s.

brentk56

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a root beer brown color with ruby highlights and a rocky head that persists well and leaves a dancing pattern of lace

Smell: Tobacco and roasted malt

Taste: From the first, this beer takes on a roasted bitter aspect that builds by mid-palate; there are also undercurrents of caramel and tobacco, underneath; after the swallow, the sweeter elements become a bit more prominent, with a chocolate flavor, in particular, joining the gray; the beer might pair well with a cigar as that tobacco and charcoal flavor persists throughout

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: A very nice Schwarzbier with good complexity; it has disappeared from the market and re-appeared in the Chicago area with a new label and a Lake Forest based importer (who may also be new as I had heard rumors that this brewery had lost its US distribution); in any event, its good to see it back

Thanks, brandoman63, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2007 21:54:30 | More by brentk56

GreenCard

Oregon

3.63/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: dark brown, good clarity despite opaqueness, thinnish layer of tan foam that collapses to a thin cap

Aroma: Danish rye bread (rugbrod), molasses, coffee, a touch smokey

Flavor: dry malt backbone with a surprisingly firm roast bitterness; hints of licorice and chicoree root, molasses, coffee; finishes dry with a lingering alkaloidal bitterness

Mouthfeel: medium body, pert carbonation, a bit astringent

Other comments: I was surprised at how roasty-bitter this beer is. It's good, but I was expecting it to be a bit sweeter for some reason.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2007 17:12:22 | More by GreenCard

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.2/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle bought from Tescos...

Poured a very deep dark mahogany brown. Dirty mocha head poured thick and meringue like then faded very slowly to good thick, pock marked coating... very light wispy lacing...

Aroma - Very strong toasted bread, lightly roasted milk chocolate maltiness, light smokiness, caramel, leathery and woody notes, coffee notes, treacle sweetness, burnt nuttiness, buttery, some dark fruit notes (dates, some apples)..

Taste – Nice strong roasted caramel malts, peppery hop bitterness, espresso coffee, creamy chocolate, some rich sticky fig and date fruitiness, some light vanilla notes, toasted malty bread, molasses sweetness, light spiciness...

Feel - Pretty rich and smooth with just a little sharpness underneath... medium bodied.. extremely quaffable - i could happily drink this all evening..

Overall - A superb Schwarzbier - the best i've tasted so far... definitely recommended...

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2007 13:44:29 | More by mdagnew

cypressbob

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.15/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle, served in a pint glass

Pours with a deep rich dark brown body. Thick puffy light tan head forms about an inch thick. Lots of dirty patchy lacing all up and down the glass

Smell, rich chocolate malt, coffee like bitterness. Little bit of drinking chocolate and turkish delight, some slight caramel and a little bit of dried fruit and molasses.

Taste, little bit of crisp dark malt. Slight hop profile initially on the palette, drinking chocolate and some espresso like coffee bitterness again. Crisp and very very drinkable

A tasty and very sessionable dark lager, well worth a pop

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2007 03:39:46 | More by cypressbob

Stephen63

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.63/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Well it's certainly black, almost stoutish. Head fizzled away quite quickly.

S - Served a bottle that was very cold so had difficulty getting too much from this, sweetness was noticeable.

T - Perhaps the stout appearance placed this in my mind but coffee/tobacco like flavour was prominent.

M - Quite a high level of carbonation.

D - Suprisingly pleasant and easy to drink.

Worth trying as, like most people, the "black lager" just got me too curious.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2007 20:41:57 | More by Stephen63

dmbfrat420beers

Germany

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark-brown to black with tan, tight head of small bubbles. Grassy, whole wheat bread aroma. Medium to full-bodied, nice carbonation. Earthy, dark, crusty, sourdough bread taste. Slightly nutty, roasted malts and grassy hops. Ends with slighly sweet malts and chocolatey notes. Nice and pretty drinkable for a somewhat heavy and bready beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2007 08:45:58 | More by dmbfrat420beers

Metalmonk

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Pours a big light-tan head, topping a ruby-tinted nearly-opaque black color. Little trails and spots of lace; head retains throughout.

Aroma features lots of caramel and toffee, and a little something like toasted chocolate (ie. not burnt).

Flavor recalls milk-drowned cold black coffee with fudgy accents...also some dark fruits. All the while the flavor is light and the beer remains surprisingly crisp. The flavors fall away quite a bit in the finish.

Mouthfeel reminds of some English ales, being pretty low in carbonation, having a nearly flat feel, not much presence in the mouth. Though thin, its silkiness is appreciated.

Very likeable; a great example of the style. Comforting flavors, crazy-easy to drink, wish I'd bought a few more bottles.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2007 13:19:34 | More by Metalmonk

FightingEntropy

Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer is truly a black lager, opaque with on light, very nice in the glass with a fluffy brown head with small bubbles that fell fairly quickly. The smell is really great, lots of roast and toasted malt, caramel in the nose, but not overwhelming and no hint of coffe. The roast continues in the same vein for the taste, clear, no coffee, very nice roast malt taste, a little chewy but smooth as well. It is a spicy bite as well, but again light from the carbonation and hop that is very balanced with the malt. Overall, a very enjoyable beer, not complex, but very smooth, tasty, and refreshing while not being light.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2007 02:15:35 | More by FightingEntropy

seanyfo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

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

Appearance: Dark as guinness with a 2 finger head of tan foam in an imperial pint glass

Smell: a smokey faint rauch essence. with a metallic note but overall some wheaty toasted goodness.

Taste: Once again, i find a very metallic taste apparent in this beer among a strong wholewheate toasted bread/malt flavour. very characterful. A nice balance between any sturdy malty metallicness and a faint hop bitterness in the finish

Mouthfeel : Low carbonation, creamy mouthfeel, goes down easy

Drinkability: An exellent Schwarzbier. some nice roastyness character flavours and settles well. Could drink a few but would like to compare with other Czech Schwarz and Koztrizer

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2007 00:01:24 | More by seanyfo

Lnedrive14

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Kind of tough to explain its look - very dark, like a stout, but not opaque at all. light passes through easily. medium-sized head.

A bit of fruit and chocolate sweetness and quite a bit of hops. Pumpernickel bread and a bit of molasses round it out. An interestingly complex beer - the flavors mold together in a strange way. can't say that i've had a similar experience before.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2006 04:55:39 | More by Lnedrive14

Minkybut

Virginia

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

Poured at 50 degrees into tumbler. Beer was dark but not opaque. Good smell of molases and taste hinted of that also. Had a bit of a sweet after taste and not bitter which I like. Fair head at first then went away. A very good black beer. I would purchase this again.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2006 18:45:00 | More by Minkybut

wedge

North Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep, dark garnet hue - clear, with a thick tan head of tight bubbles. Big aroma of dark bread, dark berries, and an underlying layer of sweetness. Tasty roasted malt flavor with a sweetness that brings chocolate to mind. Smoothly melded noble hops and a woody, kind of cedary, hint. The saaz hops are noticeable, but not like in a pilsener, they compliment the roastiness very well. Smooth, medium mouthfeel.

I like it. Very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2006 04:29:50 | More by wedge

tastybeer

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Very dark black lager. Looks like a porter. Color is black with a ruby red and purple tint. Close to opaque but also noticeably clear. There's a good amount of aroma, comprised of a burnt fruitiness, some chocolate and coffee roast, a mollases like sweetness, and spicy hop. Taste is smooth with chocolate, some mollases, nuts, and some plum like fruits. Pretty good. Mouthfeel has a nice velvety feel which is additionally smoothed out by calm carbonation. Good fullness to the light lager body. Drinkability is easy.

A very decent schwartzbier, but I haven't had a lot of this style to say for sure.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2006 04:24:03 | More by tastybeer

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.95/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a three finger light brown head that fades slowly to a shallow layer leaving a good lace. Black color. Light carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Caramel nose. Starts malty with a sweet caramel flavor not cloying, finish has hints of hops. Nice black lager. $2.49 for a 500ml bottle from John's Grocery Iowa City, Ia.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2006 23:17:09 | More by jdhilt

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

4.33/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a smooth, but thin looking near-black in color. Lots of foamy head that was slightly tinted khaki. Not much light could pierce through the glass. Nose is malty and just a hint of smoke and ash rise to the nostrils. Nice mild beer. Superbly drinkable. No particular sulphuric tones which has been the downfall of many schwarzbiers in my experience. Lots of toasted malts. Thin feeling but appropriately so.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2006 00:51:16 | More by MuddyFeet

Byeast

Florida

4.35/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Poured a dark , opaque black , with a half inch of tan foam.

Smell: roasty malts , ghost smoke , some dark fruits , and a bit of floral hops poking through.

Taste: Very pleasant roasted character , rich , yet light bodied maltiness , smoky , some caramel sweetness , chocolate, a bit of flowery hops and a tinge of cedar in the finish.

Mouthfeel : medium body , for a dark beer: very refreshing and quaffable with a mildly dry finish.

Drinkability: An exellent Schwarzbier. Very flavorful and drinkable. Of the ones ive had , this schwarzbier has more of a pleasant smoky charater. Very good.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2006 05:15:08 | More by Byeast

emerge077

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is my favorite schwarzbier. Strange that it's not german, but true to style and then some.

Pours a nearly opaque black, some fizzy carbonation and tan foam. Not much to note in the aroma, some roasty malt as it warms.

Taste is rich and roasty malt, light efferescent carb at first. Develops a mildly sour fruity note later, which is pretty subdued. Freshness is key for optimal taste, i've had old bottles that were lackluster. Supremely easy to drink, and pure velvet on the palate. Give me about six of these and i'l call you next week...

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2006 05:23:45 | More by emerge077

haz77

United Kingdom (England)

3.68/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours black with a mahogany hue. An inch of light tan head takes a couple of minutes to fall and leaves some lacing.

S - Chocolate, coffee, caramel, a little dark fruit.

T - Initial mouthful of chocolate and roast malts. Coffee comes through and leads towards a dry/slightly bitter finish.

M - Light-medium body and moderate carbonation.

D - Solid beer. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2006 21:43:33 | More by haz77

PitPivo

Georgia

4.45/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I was fortunate enough to find this beer at a local gourmet supermarket called Harry's, just down the street from me. A dark brown-to-blackish hue when poured, this lager offers a generous head at first, settling quickly. I must have sat there for a minute just smelling the beer. Nothing quite like Saaz hops to get the mouth watering. The sweet, dark malts come through, with a bitter aftertaste that's enjoyable.

If I were to single out a beer I would buy perpetually, this would be it. Unfortunately, finding enough to buy perpetually is the more difficult task. I haven't found another place that carries it here, and Harry's carries it in small quantities.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2006 16:32:16 | More by PitPivo

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.93/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

(Transcribed from notes) Tasted on cask at two JDW pubs in London, Nov. 2005, during the Spoon's Holloween Beer Festival. The pump-clip says its imported exclusively for JDW, and to serve a Czech beer on cask-conditioned form really is quite interesting.

A: pours an ebony hue with brownish glows when seen against light, coming with a thick and tightly frothy tan head with great retention. Looking just amazing on the handpull~~
S: colourful~~ caramely sweet and dark chocolatey note of black malts with light roastiness and leather, against a background of sour-sweet plum juice, cherry jam, bread-doughy sour note, sour edge of raw nuts, soaked red-grape skins... the combo. is almost like the liquid form of rum-raisin and nut buttery cookies... ensued by a refreshing, floating aroma of spicy+grassy Saaz hops... Complex and very pleasant indeed.
T: a mouthful of sour-sweet dark fruitiness (plummy and a bit vinous) prevails upfront, along with soft-textured but profound roasted maltiness (plus a tinge of leather) and cherry-flavoured chocolates... leading to a mild aftertone full of clove+licorice, caramelised sugar, herbal bitterness, and more darkest chocolates' sour-bitter edge, going deeper and deeper down the throat...
M&D: a touch too smooth for this fantastic lager, but the cask-interpretation is not bad at all! The low fizziness makes this beer slightly watery at the back, but this remains a medium-bodied and fullsome Czech dark lager, which is less rich and positively smoother. A nice experiment that I feel so happy to bump into twice at JDW pubs, and feel even more lucky that it's on form on both visits!!

Serving type: cask

06-15-2006 02:59:16 | More by wl0307

BeerIsland

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer pours av ery deep brown with a thick, bubbly head. Rich, sweet, malty smells abound and are carried through to similar flavors with chocolatey fruity notes. It's a little toasty on the finsh. Very smooth and drinkable. It would make a very good winter beer but isn't a load for all the flavor you get. I like it!

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2006 01:22:25 | More by BeerIsland

SaCkErZ9

Florida

3.8/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass. A nice, one finger sized head forms on the beer. Dissolves at a fairly slow pace and leaves a white sheet of lace on top. Nice lacing as well. Almost opaque but a purple/brown hue is visible in the bottom of the glass.

Smell is ordinary. Doesnt hint toward anything. Caramel malts is about all.

Taste is quite hearty. Toasty and bready flavor. Not a whole lot of chocolate or coffee which seems odd. Tastes nice alltogether.

Mouthfeel is pretty dry. Clean on the palate as well. Medium bodied I would say. A decent all around beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2006 19:53:41 | More by SaCkErZ9

JudgeRoughneck

Louisiana

4.4/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

This is a deep ruby colored beer with a thick, foamy, malted-milk color head. Aroma is overpoweringly of sweet green apple, kind of like some of Sam Smith's beers, but even stronger. Hey, I like it.

Flavor is that same green apple along with a chocolatey malt base and a slightly roasted bitterness. It all comes together exceptionally smoothly with a suprisingly crisp finish. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy, which is nice, but something lighter would really make this brew heavenly. I don't know much about Schwarzbier but I know this is a new favorite of mine no matter what you call it.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2006 21:38:36 | More by JudgeRoughneck

Chadbrew

Delaware

3.55/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I am pretty new to this style doesn't seem to be many examples available. The pour is OK, dark beer but not so dark you can't see light through it. There is a creamy tan head and adequate amount of very fine bubbles of carbonation. The smell is malty and caramel, there does seem to be a hint of roast. Tastes the way it smells. Malty and caramel and enough hops bitterness to almost balance it out. I do like the mouthfeel of this; it is rich and full, kind of chewy.
Overall the drinkability is pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2006 17:06:16 | More by Chadbrew

zjungleist

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Dark brown/black in appearance with a light tan head which bubbled high and fell fast. The smell is mainly malt with a fair amount of yeast. Nice black malt flavors with some sugary notes somewhere between chocolate and vanilla. Not to say this beer is very sweet, but there is some residual sweetness countered with plenty of bitterness. Yet, that is not to say this beer is hoppy, because there is not much hop that I noticed, but mainly malty bitterness. The mouthfeel is spot on for the style, with a lager-like crispness and velvety richness. This brew is nice and complex, yet is not overpowering in any one way.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2006 01:19:52 | More by zjungleist