Pražský Most U Valsů: Svetlý 12° (Czech Republic: Bohemian Pilsner: 5% ABV (aprox))
Visual: Hazy lemon juice. Lace leaving very large white head.
Nose: Jiff lemon. Light bitterness. Fluffy popcorn.
Body: Lemon. Meringue. Hop oils. Clean bitterness. Palma violets. Orange zest. Cream.
Finish: Palma violets. Hop oils. Clean bitterness. Floral rising air in the mouth. Light orange juice. Digestives. Just slightly sharp.
Conclusion: This is a very fresh beer indeed. Lots of lemon zest and flavour notes that remind me of wheat beer in some ways, but delivered with the perfect crisp pilsner character in feel. It is very easy drinking, and refreshing on a hot day, and the hop oil character and hop bitterness are both delivered very cleanly – slipping down very nicely.
The flavour comes in like lemon curd on meringue, but with none of the heavy texture that you would expect with curd characteristics. Behind that you have the floral character and palma violets that I often seem to associate with the bohemian noble hops, especially notable at the end of the beer. This is backed by a touch of sharpness, just at the end, which makes for a final impression of alcoholic lemon juice.
It is a beer that is well worth having, it shows the benefits of the unfiltered delivery very well – adding a very slightly grainy, yet somehow still smooth feel that makes the mouthfeel as much important as the flavour. It is a very fine grain feel, but is that bit extra that makes it feel like you are drinking something special.
A lovely example of a pilsner, a bit different while still keeping the important integral characteristics, and shows how to keep full drinkablility without losing character. If you are in Prague you should not miss this.
Background: Oh yeah, Czech Pilsner! I promised they were coming. This was the first beer drunk as part of an organized beer tour of Prague (one of many in Prague). Very kindly when I couldn’t find the pub again the next day, the booking room for the tour provided me with a beer map and direction to find it again. This beer is brewed on site at Pražský Most U Valsů bar and is served unpasturised and unfiltered. As good lager should be. It was a good nights drinking, I was lucky to have a great group of people to drink with from all around the world on that night’s tour. I put aprox on the abv as it only listed the 12°, doing the old divide by 2.5 method gives 4.8% abv, so I was guessing an abv of between that and 5%. While they were pouring I took a close up photo of the wrong tap handle it turns out, so instead I have provided the general pouring photo below for reference. Frankly if you ask for a Světlý or light beer, they will know what you mean. Due to being during a tour my notes were a tad more haphazard than normal, but I figured I had enough to put a review together.
