Sound Czech

Sound Czech by Terrapin Beer Company is being evaluated as a Czech Premium Pale Lager (Category 3B) from the 2015 BJCPguidelines.

This beer pours an interesting shade of yellow -- a very light haze in the clarity give the beer almost a neon glow. A tight, bone white head is sustaining and very nice for the style. A lovely lacing is left on the glass as it is consumed. The aroma of this beer is relatively subdued with a low malt aroma which is slightly bready with a touch of grainy cracker. The malt aroma hides behind a moderate-low spicy and grounded herbal hop note. There is no detectable character from the yeast and the fermentation is clean and lager-like. Moderate-high hop bitterness is at the forefront of the flavor with this beer. Moderate floral and spicy hop flavor compliments the hop bitterness well. The bready and grainy malt takes a back seat to and hides behind the hop character of this beer and the balance is decidedly bitter. This beer leaves a little bit of residual sweetness after the swallow but the bitter character of the beer quickly negates this in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel of this beer is a medium bodied beer with ample carbonation which slightly tickles the tongue. Overall, this is a well executed and enjoyable beer with a soft and rounded flavor profile but misses the mark on a traditional Czech Premium Pale Lager in terms of depth of malt complexity in the flavor and aroma as well as a darker color and seems to fall more in line with a German Pils (Category 5D).