For Father’s Day, my lovely bride purchased a bottle of exotic beer all the way from the Czech Republic. The Žatec Bright Lager is one of six beers brewed by Žatecký Pivovar. Brewing in Žatec, dates to around 1004 when the first hops (Saaz noble) were grown in the area. The current brewery dates to 1800 and survived several world wars and a long era of communism. In 2001, the brewery was purchased by Rolf Munding and with the assistance of brew master, Tomas Lejsek began the process of putting Žatec back on the world beer map.

Here is what ŽŽŽatec has to say about their Bright Lager:

This beer of Žatec is sold on the world’s markets at the highest price and quality level as a top Czech lager made of the top quality raw materials and by the classical Czech technological procedure in a region which is renowned for the growing of top-quality hops, the main material used for the brewing of beer, all over the world.

I found the Bright Lager to be…

• Appearance: Clover honey with good foam and lacing.
• Aroma: Sweet malt and citrus.
• Taste: Light on carbonation and heavy on the malt. A little doughy and a little sweet with a minimal finish.
• ABV: 4.6%

Beer Advocate labels this a Czech Pilsener and if you considered this more of a lighter, summer beer, I guess it would be okay. I thought it was a little thin, a little flat and little short on flavor. Maybe they should throw more hops into the mix and elevate the flavor profile into something a bit more interesting.