Description
Cerná Hora PGI is a bottom fermentation beer produced with water from the local sources, barley malt produced from two-row spring malt, brewer's yeasts, and dried hops or hop extract of the Zatecký poloraný cervenák variety.
Production Area
Cerná Hora PGI is produced in the municipality of Cerná Hora in Southern Moravia, Czech Republic.
Production Method
Cerná Hora PGI beer is produced solely by means of the double mash decoction process. Bitter wort is cooked depending on the beer's original gravity. The process of primary fermentation takes place separately from that of the maturing of the beer. After mixing the ground malt with the water, just a third of the volume is gradually warmed. The mashing process is repeated twice, and each mash is warmed separately. After the mashing out process, the residue of the malt culms is separated out, giving rise to the first portion of wort. The resulting wort is heated for 80 to 120 minutes with separately batched hops or hop products to obtain a hopped wort. The heated wort is then cooled to fermentation temperature, brewer's yeast is added, in particular bottom-fermenting yeast strains, and the first, and indeed main, stage of beer fermentation takes place in open fermenting rooms at a temperature of maximum 9,5 °C for 6-12 days. After the completion of main fermentation comes the lagering stage. This takes place at lower temperatures than the main fermentation stage, around 0 °C and under moderate excess pressure in closed tanks. The lagering process takes 21 to 60 days, depending on the gravity of the beer, and in this phase the beer becomes clear, is saturated with carbon dioxide and its flavour is rounded off. In the lagering stage, the taste and aroma of every type of beer is achieved. After the lagering process the beer is filtered or left unfiltered.
Appearance and Flavour
The light lager is golden yellow to golden brown in colour, has a good head with strong bite, medium flavoured, with clean flavour of malt and hops and a hoppy aroma. It can have a very faint yeasty or fruity taste and aroma, it has a medium bitterness, slight harshness, with longer finish. The light draught beer is golden yellow to golden brown in colour, it has a good head with strong bite, it is full-favoured, with a clean flavour of malt and a hoppy aroma. It can have a very faint yeasty or fruity taste and aroma. The beer is high in bitterness, moderately harsh, with a longer finish. The unfiltered draught beer is characterised by a good head, golden yellow to golden brown colour, good bite and fullness of flavour, and by a yeasty flavour and aroma. The beer has a significant, moderately harsh, hoppy bitterness, leaving behind a feeling of pleasant, gradually diminishing bitterness, without any hint of harshness or astringency. The dark lager is a beer with the addition of caramel and coloured malt, garnet to red-brown in colour, caramel to sweetish taste with delicate bitterness. The semi-dark draught beer is reddish to garnet in colour, it has a strong bite, a pleasantly hoppy and a moderately caramel aroma and flavour with good head.
History
Cerná Hora PGI has been produced continuously in the municipality of Cerná Hora since the 13th century. The first written record of the local brewery dates back to 1530. Records of the brewery's rich history and beer production in Cerná Hora are contained in many documents stored in the Moravian national archive in Brno and also in the archives of the brewery Cerná Hora, a.s. Testament to the quality of Cerná Hora PGI beer and its popularity is the many prizes it has won in domestic and international competitions and fairs. The fame and popularity of this beer is also evidenced by the fact that in the municipality of Cerná Hora a wide-ranging cultural and social event to present the beer produced there has been held every spring and autumn for the last ten years.
Gastronomy
In order to maintain its characteristics unaltered, the beer should be kept in a cool place, away from direct light sources, which modify its aroma and flavour, at a constant temperature. It is recommended to cool it in the refrigerator or, however, to keep it at lower temperatures only before serving it. Once opened, the beer should be consumed within a short period of time, since contact with the air causes oxidation.
Marketing
The product is marketed as Cerná Hora PGI in the following varieties: pale lager, pale draught, unfiltered pale draught, dark lager and semi-dark draught. Cerná Hora PGI is sold in bottles of 0,3 l and 0,5 l, in kegs and tanks of 10, 20, 30 and 50l and eventually cans.
Distinctive Features
The Cerná Hora PGI is produced following classic methods without intensification processes. For its production the Zatecký poloraný cervenák variety of hops are used, which are highly specific and differ form other hop varieties in their ratio of alpha to beta-bitter acids and in their beta-farnesene content.
