Tatra - Zywiec Breweries PLC

    Tatra is a Pale Euro Lager brewed by Zywiec Breweries PLC located in Zywiec, Poland. I honestly have never had a Polish beer before, and after seeing this at the store I had to try it out! As far as beer goes, I know next to nothing about Poland's traditions and styles, so I'm interested to explore the country's brewing.

    The beer pours a straw color that is darker than most Lagers. Thousands of bubbles froth up a white head that stands about an inch tall and shows surprising retention. There really isn't any lacing to speak of.

    Similar to other Lagers, Tatra's aroma is pretty light. Sweet, grainy malts are really all there is to smell here. At least there isn't an overabundance of sour corn malt like in some beers...

    The beer sports a light body and a medium level of carbonation. Tatra somehow just barely avoids the common watery beer character that macro Lagers so often have. Proving it isn't your normal Lager, Tatra contains an alcohol level of 6% ABV.

    Tatra's flavor starts out nice, sweet, and grainy. From there things start to get weird as the hops flavor comes in and confuses my mouth for a few seconds. The grain and hops flavors don't seem to mix well together. The beer's aftertaste is of clean grains, though you likely won't notice it with the weirdness of the hops/grain combo lingering in your mouth. The can advertises that Tatra is full flavored, but I would disagree to a certain extent. It's definitely more flavorful than a lot of American Lagers, but it still falls short of its "full bodied taste" slogan.

    After looking into Zywiec Brewery, I was surprised to learn that the company actually has quite a bit of history. Founded in 1852, Zywiec Brewery has been making beer for Poland longer than many of our American breweries have existed. Surviving through both world wars, Zywiec continues to brew under the Polish flag, even if they are currently owned by the Dutch company Heineken.

    With all the history behind the brewery, I still can't believe they haven't changed their recipe to include hops which jive a bit better with the sweet grain malts. Even though the beer's flavor wasn't exactly pleasant, I'm still glad to have tried the beer. If Tatra is an accurate example of Polish beers, they definitely have a unique flavor that I look forward to trying more of.

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