Beer Styles

What is a Czech lager? In Central Bohemia, it's usually called světlý ležák, pale lager. It's golden-yellow, bottom-fermented, and more heavily hopped than a German Helles, but generally softer than a German Pils, because the hops here lean more toward aroma than bite. Competition standards classify it as Czech Premium Pale Lager, with 4.2 to 5.8 percent alcohol.

In everyday life, Czechs sort their beer by degrees. A "desítka" (tenner), meaning a beer with ten degrees original gravity, is light and lean, while a "dvanáctka" (twelver) feels fuller and more aromatic. Krušovice offers both, with 4.2 and 5.0 percent alcohol according to the brewery. Kozel likewise carries a tenner and an eleven-degree beer in its range.

The dark counterpart is called tmavý, with Kozel Černý and Krušovice Černé standing as well-known examples. Czech dark beer tastes of toasted bread, cocoa, and a touch of caramel, yet stays dry on the finish and isn't a heavy beer. Competition standards cite 4.4 to 5.8 percent alcohol.

Řezané means "cut." It refers to a beer blended in the glass from pale and dark lager. Kozel offers such a blend under the name Řezaný. The flavor sits somewhere in between, a bit toasty, but notably lighter than a pure dark beer, and it looks attractively striped in the glass.

And the PGI beer from Březnice? The name Březnický ležák denotes a lager from Březnice brewed in the style of Czech lager. Alongside it, Herold brews a wheat lager considered a specialty in the Czech Republic.