August 25, 2004 -- A little while ago, I was sent a duo of Czech lagers by an importer in British Columbia. It took me a bit of time to get around to tasting them, but when I finally did the circumstances couldn't have been better, at least in my mind. It was at the end of a warm, humid day in Toronto, and my throat was parched for a good lager. Since one was pale and the other dark (and, in the Czech tradition, I presumed sweeter), I began with the former.

Bohemia Regent is a 5% alcohol, medium gold lager from the 625-year-old brewery of the same name in Třeboň, Czech Republic. Served appropriately chilled, its nose offers a perfumey floral bouquet with a suggestion of toasted grain. The flavour starts with a slight sweetness before moving to a drier, but light body. I find a fresh grassiness in the body, along with softer grainy notes, and to this point, I'm still enjoying the flavour. Where I find Bohemia Regent lets me down, however, is in the restrained bitterness of the finish, which makes me crave a more Pilsner Urquell-like hoppiness to end the taste on a crisp and dry note. This is a solid Czech lager that will appeal to fans of lighter, more mainstream beers like Stella Artois and Heineken, but likely not to those with a nose for hops.

The dark brew, simply named Baron, is a 4.7% lager from the Lobkowiczky brewery in Vysoky Chlumec, and as expected, it is the sweeter of the two by a significant margin. (Interestingly, dark beers, which North Americans of both genders tend to view as particularly manly beers, are seen as 'chick beers' in the Czech Republic, precisely because of this sweetness.) The colour is a deep russet and the nose offers soft, sweet hints of cocoa and raisins. The taste begins sweetish and stays that way, which in no way detracts from the clean, well-balanced structure of the beer. I get a gentle hit of chocolate on the thinnish front, followed by a more developed mocha-toasted grain-raisin blend on a somewhat roasty body. The finish, while hardly dry, is crisper and cleaner than expected and works well to wipe the sweetness off the palate. Czech men make think this a girly beer, but they're only cheating themselves by ignoring it.

Search The Real Beer Library For More Articles Related To: Bohemia Regent, Baron

Feedback?

We're very interested in your news, notes, comments and questions, so please feel free to contact SBWoB by clicking on the link below. Or you can add your comments when you sign up for the World of Beer Update, a mid-month e-mail newsletter that brings even more of the world of beer to your computer.

Send Feedback To: beaumont@worldofbeer.com