home   about         Protz   features   A-Z      books         

    Protz:    features    reviews    tastings    news & events    books

a walk on the dark side, with Budvar by Willard Clarke, 10/04 One of the most acclaimed beers at this year�s Great British Beer Festival was Budvar Dark from the renowned Czech brewery. It�s a sign of the growing maturity of the British beer scene that visitors to Olympia didn�t recoil and stammer. "This is not a true cask-conditioned beer" but got on with the serious task of draining the few kegs of the beer made available for the festival. Budvar (Czech Republic) Dark Beer I was bowled over by Dark, with its deep flavours of roasted grain, coffee and bitter chocolate underscored by a firm hop bitterness. Dark is 4.8% alcohol and has 22 units of bitterness. In common with the classic Budvar light lager, it is conditioned in the lager cellars deep beneath the brewery for 90 days. When I visited the brewery in Ceske Budejovice last month I discovered that the decision to brew Dark had created a major debate. Brewmaster Josef Tolar was set against it, saying such beers had smoky and roast flavours that were out of fashion and would damage the brewery's reputation. His deputy Ales Dvorak finally won the argument. He rejected old recipes for dark lager and fashioned a new one based on pale, Munich, caramalt and roasted malts.    Ales carefully selected hop varieties from the Zatec region of the Czech Republic to give the beer a firm hop bitterness that would balance the richness of the malt and avoid the sweetness of older dark lagers. Ales - the Czech rendition of Alex but nevertheless a splendid name for a brewer - says he has fashioned a beer for modern drinkers. Dark lagers used to be dismissed, with a quaint lack of political correctness, as "women�s beer�. Budvar Dark, Ales said, is aimed at drinkers of all ages and both sexes. It is selling well in the Czech Republic. At present only two bars in Britain are stocking the beer. Supplies are limited but if you would like your pub or beer festival to try Budvar Dark speak to Budweiser Budvar UK on 020 7554 8812. And the rift at Budvar has been healed. When I sat down for a beer with Josef Tolar, he ordered a Dark. "Smoky and roasty, eh, Josef?" I teased. He smiled enigmatically and sipped his beer with obvious pleasure.

 home   about         Protz   features   A-Z      books