During the course of a survey mission up Leicester's Narborough Road last Friday (blog entry to follow in the next day or so) I happened to pop into Na Rogu, a Polish bar which has opened in the last year or so.
Situated on the corner of Saxon Street and Narborough Road, this small and unassuming cafe-type bar caters primarily to Leicester's Polish population, offering a selection of beers you will find mirrored in most supermarkets these days.In addition however I found something a little more unusual sitting amongst the Tyskie's in the fridge - a beguiling brown bottle of something called Debowe Mocne with an eye-catching label and a 7.0% ABV.
My curiosity aroused I purchased a bottle (500ml for £2.90 - available at around £1.65 online) and took it home to sample at my leisure.
After a fairly hectic weekend I sat down on Sunday evening ready for Top Gear and decided this would be the perfect time for a nice cold one, so I cracked open the bottle and poured myself a glass.
I'd been expecting very little here - previous experiences of polish beer have been pretty uninspiring, and accordingly I was very pleasantly surprised by what I'd found.A deep, golden-amber in colour, this strong lager initially kicks off with a well developed malty flavour which is swiftly balanced by a fulsome and pronounced hoppiness.
As the flavour develops further a lightly roasted character emerges, which remains with you right through to the finish, which is long and quite dry.
This beer has a full, malty aroma and quite high carbonation. It drinks deceptively easily given the ABV, and in my opinion is actually more enjoyable than a number of respected German beers of similar strength that I've sampled.
Interestingly enough (or not, depending on your point of view), the Debowe Mocne brand is part of Kompania Piwowarska's portfolio, which includes Tyskie, Lech, Pilsner Urquell and Miller Genuine Draught. If you fancy a laugh, read the summary bullet points for each beer on their website...(!)
If you come across this cracking Polish offering I highly recommend trying it - you won't be disappointed.
Pan-C
This seems to split people. The Beer Nut likes it but I thought it tasted like tramps brew...
ReplyDeleteIMHO Polish beers have got a problem with excess strength - I spent some time in Poland and lots of Polish blokes proudly boast about how strong their beer is on average compared to everywhere else. Lots of the Polish beers I've had are OK, but way stronger than an equivalent tasting beer from, say Germany.
Maybe it's being a vodka-country that influences it!