A taste of ram

One of the lagers you often find in Czech pubs and bars is Velkopopovický Kozel Světlý Výčepní. This pale beer is a 10° lager with an alcohol content of 4%.

I have tried this beer as a draught beer many times in the Czech Republic. This time I had it from can, and in the glass the pale Kozel beer had a medium sized head and some carbonation. In the nose I felt grass and flowers, while the beer tasted of malts, some caramel, butter and some hops before a watery finish. This was another good Czech pale lager, but I prefer other beers to it.

Ram on

There are many beers available on import here in Norway, but one of the newest ones is Velkopopovický Kozel dark lager. Velkopopovický Kozel hails from the Czech city Velké Popovice in Bohemia. The beer's label features a ram, and the word Kozel means exactly that in Czech.


The Kozel brewery makes several beers, and I have tasted both their dark and pale lagers from tap in The Czech Republic without thinking of them as something special. Finding Kozel here in Norway was a very welcome sight as I like being able to have a good variety of beers in the shops. Here the dark lager is sold in 0.5 litre bottles. The price is 35 NOK, which is about 3.50 GBP or 4 EUR.


Poured into a glass the bottled Kozel dark lager is black with a nice and lasting head. There is much carbonation, and I would call the beer fizzy. I smell caramel and coffee, but in the mouth a sugary feeling takes command. In the end the dark lager becomes much too sweet in my opinion, and I feel it is difficult to drink the content of my glasss.

I am afraid that the Velkopopovický Kozel dark lager will not be among my favourite beers. The sweetness kills what might be interesting tastes. But perhaps the local women will pick it up?