Great British Beer Festival 2011, Top Tastings 2011
ABV: 5%
Origin: Broumov, Králové Hradecký kraj, Czech Republic
Website: www.pivovarbroumov.cz
Broumov Opat Kvasničák Pepper
The Broumov brewery, by the Polish border, claims a history back to 1348, when the townspeople were first granted rights to brew, although the current plant dates from 1866. The local monastery also brewed, and after World War II both operations merged, thus the brewery’s principal brand, Opat, meaning ‘abbot’. It produces some decent standard pale lagers, but has also developed a line in spiced and otherwise flavoured unfiltered specialities, including brews dosed with coriander, bay leaf and honey. Some of these appeared in draught form among the impressively extensive selection of unfiltered Czech craft beers at the 2011 Great British Beer Festival. The coriander beer caused a stir on Twitter, but I missed that; still, this pepper beer provided ample consolation.
The base beer is a decent and tasty 12° real fresh and yeasty pale lager, giving a hazy golden colour with a light white head. The aroma has lemon meringue and herbal notes with a touch of minerals, while the pepper character only becomes obvious on the palate, which has the clear earthy, fruity tang of whole green peppercorns, though without being overwhelmingly hot and spicy. There’s also lemon juice and a wash of light malt. The earthy peppery notes persist in a light but sweetish citric finish with a delicate hop character emerging. I’m normally suspicious of gimmicky spiced beers but this one was delightful.
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/opat-kvasni269ak-pepper/133200/
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