Steiger - Tmavy
Overview: The first of the Slovak beers to be reviewed. Slovak beers have pretty much the same taste and variety ranges as Czech beers – in general terms. Admittedly, they do seem to lack the exposure and worldwide name that Czech beers get, which is a pity because there isn’t much in the way of quality and taste difference, if at all. There are some cracking beers waiting to be discovered. I am lucky to have spent the last six years traveling in and around Slovakia and discovering new beers to drink. I hope that in some way I encourage those who can to visit and try the beers for themselves.
Tasting Notes: Steiger “Dark Beer” – 4.2% obj.; Rich, dark brown, almost molasses in colour (I reckoned it looked like crude oil); not too much fizz; a sweet taste at first, then giving way to a more bitter, dark roasted, almost coffee-treacle taste; strange aftertaste, which does not linger in the mouth for too long which is good.
Overall: Everything was going well up to the point of reading the label, especially the ingredients, but then you have to. Something wasn’t right. There, seemingly pushed to one side was the answer. It has an ‘E’ number (additive) – Caramel colouring – which is bad enough. But THE worst sin of all can be found at the end, Saccharine! Why, why, why does anyone decide to add this dreadful chemical into anything, most of all why does the brewer decide to spoil a perfectly good beer by sticking an artificial sweetener it. This is nothing more than a desecration. This explains why there was this strange aftertaste. Its a pity to start off with such a bad beer, but that is the way it goes. Simply by adding chemical spoliers they watse an otherwise good beer. The only positives to say are that the bottle looks good and so does the label.
Unless you are in to chemical beers I would not recommend it
Website: Pivovar Steiger
