A Polish King: Tyskie Gronie

I haven’t presented another Polish beer for a while now. I brought this one back from my New Year’s trip to Cracow a couple of years ago.

• Name: Tyskie Gronie
• Brewery: Kompania Piwowarska (SABMiller)
• City: Poznan
• Country: Poland

According to wikipedia, Tykie Gronie is one of the most popular Polish beer brands. This is a big deal since I can say Polish people make some really nice beers. Tyskie has a completely clear, golden color, and is topped with a relatively generous white foamy head. The aroma is expected – the nose picks up the aromas of malt and grains a moment after opening the bottle. The taste is delightfully sweet in the beginning, followed by a lot of grains in the body, as well as some hops in the back. The finish is generously bitter nad slightly dry, which goes great with the light, but not watery body.

I can see why this beer is so popular in Poland (and around). It’s a great beer which will really make a good start to a day of exploring Poland. I definitely recommend it.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 5,5%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops

RATINGS

• Appearance: 4 / 5
• Smell: 3,5 / 5
• Taste: 4 / 5
• Overall: 4 / 5

• Bottle: 3 / 5

Polskie Piwo: Tatra Jasne Pelne

Today I bring you another Polsih beer from my short but interesting trip to Poland. It is produced by the same brewery as his more famous brother Żywiec.

• Name: Tatra Jasne Pelne
• Brewery: Żywiec (Żywiec Group – Heineken)
• City: Żywiec
• Country: Poland

Tatra can be described as a clear golden lager with a finger worth of white head which dies pretty quick. It has a faint smell, although I can easily pick up a malty aroma along with some grainy smell. The taste isn’t a surprise as well – a sweet and malty taste finishes with a slightly bitter aftertaste. There is also perhaps a slight unpleasant alcohol taste present, due to a slightly higher alcohol level, but it’s not too obvious or obnoxious.

What to say about Tatra? It’s a decent beer, but nothing out of the ordinary really. As far as Polish beers go, I still prefer the original Żywiec way before Tatra. But it’s also true that I had only one Tatra during my stay, and several Żywiecs, so….

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 6%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops

RATINGS

• Appearance: 3,5 / 5
• Smell: 3,5 / 5
• Taste: 2,5 / 5
• Overall: 3 / 5

Na Zdrowie: Zywiec Jasne Pelne

Today’s beer originates from Poland, where I had it on several occassions during my New Year’s trip to Cracow. Although I have tried also several other Polish beers, Żywiec proved to be the best one among them, and is also one of the better lagers I have ever tried.

• Name: Żywiec Jasne Pelne
• Brewery: Żywiec (Żywiec Group – Heineken)
• City: Żywiec
• Country: Poland

Żywiec is a perfect example of Polish brew making and its high quality. They sure know what they are doing. The appearance is as expected – a clear golden color topped with a quickly settling white head. The smell consists of grainy and malty aroma, and is also similar to other lagers. Unlike some other lagers, Żywiec offers quite some taste, which is typically sweet due to the malts, although there is also some hoppy taste present. It finishes with a moderate and pleasant bitterness.

It’s a very fine and refreshing beer that comes with a very decent carbonation, making it very smooth down your throat. There is no problem having a cuple of these in a row, so do look for it when in Poland.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 5,6%
• Ingredients: water, hops, barley malt

RATINGS

• Appearance: 4 / 5
• Smell: 4 / 5
• Taste: 4,5 / 5
• Overall: 4 / 5