Zywiec Porter - Traditional Polish Beer
May 21 '02
The Bottom Line May be the biggest and best Porter from Poland. One of my favorite beers from Poland. Highly Recommended.
The Best Porter from Poland?
I've tried a number of different Polish beers -- Lomza, Okocim, Zywiec -- and, to this date, I'd have to rank Zywiec's Porter as my favorite beer. Zywiec is Poland's most famous brewery and one of the country's oldest. It is not the largest Polish brewery (Elbrewery is), but it the biggest exporter of beers in the country and is one of the most modernized breweries, thanks, in part, to a recent 25% investment in its operations by Heineken. It was founded in 1856 near the city of Kraców, and it was owned by the Habsburg family until World War II. The Porter that it produces today is made from a recipe that the brewery has used since 1881.
Zywiec Porter
Zywiec Traditional Polish Beer
Alcohol: 9.5% by volume (BIG and rich)
Appearance: Dark reddish-brown; virtually opaque and fairly clear; not filled with sedimentary material. Very light carbonation. Modest tan-colored head of foam.
Nose: Deep aroma of baked plums and dark fruit.
Flavor: Slight chalky texture; excellent entry, with good plum and black currant fruit expression and a light smack of coffee flavor. Thankfully, this beer steers clear of some of the syrupy, medicinal and sometimes more sour tones that one might experience in other Porters, like St. Peter's Old-Style Porter (Scotland, U.K.; 5.1% alcohol by volume). Lightly sweet finish with a modest amount of alcohol warmth.
Price: $1.99 per 330 ml (11.2 fl. oz.) bottle.
Availability: Fairly hard to find. I purchased this beer at Alpine Village in Torrance, California. Imported by Stanley Stawski Distr. Company, Inc., of Chicago, Illinois. I imagine, to the great delight of the Polish community and to beer fans in Chicago, this beer is pretty easy to find in Illinois and environs.
Recommendations: Serve at cellar temperature. A range of 50-55ºF is fine. An excellent, rich, full-bodied Porter to serve with a cigar like the CAO eXtreme Belicoso. I also think this would be an excellent beer to serve with some Cajun-style blackened fish or chicken. Other Porter's from Poland to consider: Okocim's 9% ABV bottom-fermented Porter, Dojlidy's 9% ABV Porter, and Lech's 7.4% Porter. For a great American Porter, I recommend Stone Brewing Company's Smoked Porter (much lighter at 5.9% alcohol by volume).
Verdict: on the Epinions' rating scale, this Porter gets 4½-stars from me. Definitely better than most and worth the effort in tracking it down. I recommend it and would buy again.
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Member: Tom Carr
Location: Southern California
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