Brewed in the northern part of the Czech Republic, Zlatopramen does a good amount of exporting and is found in quite a number of pubs here in Stockholm. It is also available at most beer stores in the country. The brewery itself has been in operation since 1642, and has won quite a few awards.
This is Zlatopramen's "Extra Premium", what gives it that honorable description I don't know. It is a lager, rather than a pilsner, and the bottle claims that it has a good amount of hops.
Pours a golden yellow color, with a big fat fluffy lunar landscape head, with lots of bubbling. Leaves a lot of wash around the edges of the glass - the Czechs really know how to do the head on a beer...
Smells musty! Like a basement or old cork. Traces of hops, but if so they aren't the freshest ones, mostly malt. Quite an aroma on this beer, and despite what it sounds like, not a bad one.
The taste is very sweet to start off with, then mellows through the hops and stops abruptly with a long malty finish. The crispness that to me defines Czech beers isn't there, this is much smoother.
Not at all a bad beer, not something that will impress your neighbors, boss or kin folk, but you won't go wrong by ordering a pint or buying a few bottles. If you want something that will taste like it came from the Czech Republic, and give you that unique experience, then this will do it - and it's inexpensive!
