Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Draught at the brewpub/restaurant at the monastery. Dark brown, nearly black colour. Thick creamy head. Aroma of roasted malts, some leather, hints of treacle. Solid flavour of roasted malts and coffee, notes of dark bitter chocolate. Reminds me of a Baltic porter. Dry bitter aftertaste from the roastiness and hops. A very good beer - good enough to make me go back the next day for more! By the way - the brewery restaurant serves decent food too.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Draught at the brewpub. I also brought back a bottle of this beer and the Cerny/Tmavé which was unavailable on tap while we were there. (The bottled beers were sold in pairs, at an outrageous price by Czech standards - in Norway ALL beer prices are outrageous, so I didn’t mind.) The svetlé is an unfiltered pilsener, golden colour, slightly hazy, moderate head. Moderate hops aroma. Flavour has a herbal character and a dry bitter finish, which makes this beer a lot better than (most) industrial pilseners / pale lagers.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

500 ml swingtop bottle, bought at the brewpub. Colour of this unfiltered and unpasteurised beer is hazy reddish brown. Pours with an enormous light tan head, which soon diminishes. Aroma is very malty (typical dunkel) with caramel and hints of oak and yeast. Quite flavourful for a beer this low ABV, plenty of malts and toffee, but low on hops. Smooth and easy drinking. The bottles were overpriced by Czech standards, but a Norwegian won’t mind!

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought at Pivni Galerie, Prague. Dark reddish brown to ruby colour, large & thick tan head. Aroma is surprisingly moderate: some malts, porridge, hints of roastiness, caramel. Flavour is more impressive: an immediate malty sweetness hits the tongue, followed by a pronounced roastiness with coffee elements. A robust & warming mouthfeel, alcohol is evident but not unpleasant. Roasted malts and quite a bit of hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. Not bad.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

330 ml bottle, bought at Pivni Galerie, Prague. Hazy dark reddish brown colour, enormous tan head. Lovely complex aroma of fruits, oak, leather and spices. Flavour is surprisingly bitter - hops of course, but also dead yeast cells? Leaves a not entirely pleasant bitter aftertaste on the back of my tongue. Elements of oak, caramel, toffee and spices. Warming mouthfeel, as expected. I much preferred the Rochefort 10 to this one.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, bought at Pivni Galerie, Prague. Label says " Herold hefeweizen Bohemian Wheat Lager Kvasnicové psenícné pivo - kvasnícový svetlý lezák 12 degrees plato unfiltered blond lager ABV 5.1%". So is this a "real" hefeweizen (which I thought were technically ales?), or is it a wheat lager with hefeweizen yeast added in the bottle? Or am I asking stupid questions? Anyway, the beer is "murky golden" with a large to moderate head. Aroma is fairly sweet and fruity (blackberries/brambles, blackcurrants?) with hints of sheepshed and old leather. Lagerish elements. Some cloves too, but not as strong as with most German hefeweizens. Flavour is a strange combination of a typical premium lager and a typical hefeweizen. Moderately spicy. Dusty finish. Not bad.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

375 ml corked bottle, champagne style, bought in Prague. Label says: P.H. Wandenstock Belle-Vue Kriek Lambic. ABV is 5.1%. Brewed by Interbrew Belgium, distributed in the Czech Republic by Staropramen. Beautiful red colour, large pink foamy head. Lovely aroma of sour cherries. Flavour is of course sour cherries too, initially sweet, with a hint of hops. Not very complex, and the finish is surprisingly short.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

500 ml bottle, bought at Pivni Galerie, Prague. Label says Herold Bohemian Black Lager, tmavý speciál, 13 degrees plato, Schwarzbier, ABV 5.2%. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black, deep ruby when held to the light. Moderate tan head. Excellent aroma of roasted malts, tar, leather and tobacco. Flavour of roastiness, notes of dark chocolate and liquorice, well balanced with the hops, not particularly sweet. Mouthfeel a bit too thin to deserve a straight "10", still a very good beer. Recommended!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, bought at Pivni Galerie, Prague. Label info: Herold Bohemian Golden Lager, Svetlý Lezák, 12 degrees plato, Pilsenerbier, ABV 5.1%. Golden colour, large head that doesn’t last long, little lacing. Lovely hoppy aroma, flowers (incl. heather flowers), honey and a hint of oak. Flavour is hoppy bitterness from start to finish, long bitter aftertaste. Moderate carbonation. A good pilsener, but not quite as good as Svijansky Rytír Bitter.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Draught at the brewery beer hall. Served too cold, in the appropriate stylish glass. The beer has a beautiful amber colour, served with a moderate head. Fruity aroma with hints of caramel. Some caramel in the flavour too, but not really sweet. Nutty. Tolerably well hopped.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

33 cl bottle (as Kasteel Bier Bruin), at Les Moules Belgian restaurant in Prague. Served too cold. Beautiful deep brown to ruby colour. Large head which disappears rapidly. Aroma of dark malts, oak, old sherry, spices and leather. Flavour is very malty and sweet with a warming mouthfeel, elements of Christmas spices and old sherry. Very good. Yummy!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

440 ml nitro widget can, bought in Prague. Deep golden/amber colour, moderate creamy head. Pleasant but moderate fruity aroma with some malts and hops. Smooth and easy drinking, just enough hops and malts to make it a little better than "flavourless". Unpleasant metallic bitterness in the aftertaste.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Website: www.kelt.cz . 500 ml bottle, bought in Prague. Irish style dry stout. Black (=very dark brown to ruby) colour. Moderate creamy tan head. Moderate roasty aroma, notes of coffee, faint hints of leather. Smooth drinking, but there’s a pronounced bitter roastiness. Strong coffee notes. Little complexity besides the roastiness, but not nearly as bad as some other ratings made me expect.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle). Okay, I've figured out that the % in the name of Czech and Slovakian beers is NOT the ABV, but has something to do with the malt content. Well, 5.6% alcohol seems just right for this beer. A golden beer with a faint haziness and moderate head, and a grassy, yeasty and malty aroma and flavour that makes me wonder for a second if the beer is bottom or top fermented. Bottom fermented it is, but the Czechs would hardly call this "Special" a pilsener (it's brewed in Praha, too). But who cares? Great hops bitterness in flavour and aftertaste. I always like beers where the elements yeast (not too much), malts and hops are all clearly detectable. In other words, I like this beer a lot!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Draught at U Fleku. Served too cold. Very dark brown, nearly black colour - impenetrable for light. Moderate creamy tan head. Lovely aroma of leather and oak, dark chocolate and liquorice. Flavour is malty and moderately roasty, notes of dark chocolate and coffee. Never mind the inflated prices (by Czech standards), this beer is a must (at least once). And the liqueur we were forced to buy (which I drank AFTER the beer) actually tasted not-too-bad.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Draught in Prague, called Krusovice Vycepni Tmavé on the menu, but must be the same beer. Black (= very dark brown) colour, large head. Lovely malty aroma with strong elements of leather and cigarbox. Pleasant flavour of roasted malts, some caramel but not too sweet, very well balanced with the hops. For the style freaks: This is a Schwarzbier IMO, not a dunkel - but who cares, as long as the beer tastes good? I’d think the ABV was stronger than it actually is - another evidence that flavour and strength are not necessarily the same thing. Great with food or on its own. A truly enjoyable beer. Rerate bottle: I just realised I had written separate notes of the BOTTLED beer named Krusovice Cerne - I could SWEAR it was a different beer from the draught Vycepni Tmave. Notes bottle: Deep reddish brown colour. Large tan head, moderate carbonation. Moderate malty aroma. Typical dunkel flavour with low bitterness. Relatively light bodied, refreshing. Overall 13/20.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

500 ml can, bought in Prague. Golden colour, large thick head. Hoppy and fruity aroma, some flowers there too. Flavour is pleasantly balanced between the malts and hops - both elements are present and plentiful to a much greater degree than many other so called "pilseners". Nice.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(Bottle conditioned, 700 ml). Cloudy orange colour, good to moderate head. Moderate aroma of yeast (I poured it all in), malts and toffee. Moderate flavour of yeast and malts, hints of caramel. Could have used some more hops. Pleasant enough to drink, but nothing remarkable here.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(700 ml bottle). Deep brown colour, but far from black. Probably the palest "stout" I’ve seen. But if you disregard the chosen style name, this is a drinkable and refreshing beer. Good head which leaves a nice lacing. Moderate malty aroma with a light roastiness, plenty of caramel but not really sweetish. Flavour is malts and caramel fairly well balanced with the hops, but the mouthfeel is a bit thin and watery. Reasonably hoppy aftertaste. OKish.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Sampled 330 ml bottle, under its Spanish import alias "666 La Bière de la Diablesse". Cloudy golden colour, large head. Aroma and flavour VERY alcoholic and slightly yeasty. Not good. Travelling from Spain to Norway in the hot trunk of a car probably didn't help.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

I had this beer at Café t'Arendsnest in Amsterdam (bottled - is it available on tap at all??). Cloudy brown colour, strong and powerful, warming mouthfeel. Flavourful, yeasty, heavy carbonation. It is not a bad brew, but I find the yeast flavour too dominant to give it a definite top rating.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This Easter brew is one of the best Dutch beers I've had, even if the "style" isn't my definite favourite. Had it on tap in Amsterdam, very enjoyable indeed. Pleasant spicy aroma with hints of leather and wood, the yeast is not as dominant as with some other beers of this style. Some sweetness in flavour and aftertaste, but not too much. Apparently this is a "you either like it or you don't"-beer. And I like it!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(Cask condtioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival, where it was served at room temperature with no carbonation. Dark ruby colour, OKish porter with just too little of everything.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Colour is black / dark ruby. Lovely aroma of dark fruits / prunes, English pipe tobacco, chocolate and coffee. Flavour is roast barley and oats on a surprisingly fruity background. Very drinkable. Fruity aftertaste - not what you expect from a stout, but nice! (And the beer is vegan - as if I cared!)

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at the Alexandra Hotel ("The Alex"), Derby. Copper coloured, moderate malty and caramel aroma. This is a malty "bitter" in the Welsh style, i.e. with very little actual bitterness, just some dusty hops in the finish. A slight acidity keeps it from being too sweet.