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Leave your fears behind and taste a real beer
Peter St. Onge, Staff Writer - Charlotte Observer


May 24, 2001: Czech Republic--
You see them there, at the end of Six-Pack Row in the grocery store. They are exotic, dangerous. Foreign beers. But you are a beer novice, and you don't dare leave the safety of your Budweisers and Michelobs. Or maybe you have graduated to American microbrews. This is nothing. Not until you try a pilsner from the place where pilsners were born.

Now, another chance for beer enlightenment. Herold beers, from the Czech Republic, are coming soon to Charlotte, and with them you get a good story to tell your fellow beer initiates.
What are they? Fine brews from Breznice in the Czech Republic, arriving at Charlotte stores and taps in early June. The beers will cost $5.99-$6.99 for a six-pack.


What kind of beers are they? Tamve, which translates to English as "dark," is a black Bohemian lager. Svetle, which means "light" or "pale," is a pilsner-style beer - golden and delicately flavored. This is not to be confused with American mass-produced pilsners, which are golden but have the delicate flavor of dog sweat.


Hey. Are you some kind of beer snob? No. A beer snob would describe American mass-produced beers as "insipid mono-swill."


Why not just call Svetle a "pilsner"? The first pilsners were brewed in the 1840s by Josef Groll at the Peoples Brewery of Pilsen, a town in what is now the Czech Republic. No other beers brewed in the republic are allowed to take the name.


Why haven't we heard of Herold before? Until three years ago, it was a local, struggling 500-year-old brewery south of Prague. When the owner couldn't keep up with the payments, word of opportunity reached Charles Corry, a 39-year-old semi-pro soccer player - and beer lover - from Virginia.


Corry, who lived in Prague and worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, gathered a group of investors and bought the brewery. Corry has little money for marketing, but he has deals with distributors in New Jersey, Virginia, the Washington, D.C., area, and now North Carolina.

But are the beers good? Did you not see the words "fine beers" above? Renowned beer taster Michael Jackson, in a review last year on his Web site, lauded Herold Svetle as "A beautifully balanced beer of some delicacy." He also said it had "a delicate spiceness."


Sounds like a beer snob. Yes.

Chappaquiddick Ale:: Chappequiddick Ale is a Boston style ale that is characterized by a malty body and medium bitterness with a very clean finish devoid of yeast characteristics. It will be medium to dark amber in color. A refreshing ale with the hues leaning towards tan. An excellent session beer! (Starting Gravity: 1.042-1.048) (Finishing Gravity: 1.007-1.013) (Approximate Alcohol Content: 4.0-4.5%) (35 IBU)
Bounced Pay Czech Pilsner:: Golden hued, highly hopped, light to medium bodied beer. The exclusive use of Saaz hops throughout the boil gives this beer its distinct floral nose and bitterness.

Tadcaster Ordinary Bitter:: Amber Ale related to the Pale Ale family. Mildest in maltiness, hop bitterness, and alcohol in the Bitter family, an Ordinary Bitter is a fine example of a "session beer"...the beer to have when you want to hoist a few pints without falling down!
Bridget's Love Potion Saison:: Saison beers are distinctive specialty beers from the Belgian province of Hainuat. These beers were originally brewed in the early spring for summer consumption, though contemporary Belgian saisons are brewed all year round with pale malts and well dosed with Belgian hop varieties. Lively carbonation ensues from a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The color is classically golden orange and the flavors are refreshing with citrus and fruity hop notes. (Starting Gravity: 1.066-1.070) (Finishing Gravity: 1.014-1.018) (Approximate Alcohol content: 6.5-7.2%)
Ludwig's German Pilsner:: Not as alcoholic as its Czech neighbor. Golden in color with a light to medium body and floral nose. The perfect beer for the dog days of summer.

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