Beer # 31 Żubr Lager Browar Dojlidy

Tonight's offering is from the Browar Dojlidy in Bialystok Poland wich traces it's roots back to 1768, however it is said that the beer itself predates the brewery. Żubr beer has a tumultuous past and the brewery has changed hands many times. The original brewery went still for about a hundred years. It was purchased and a new facility was built in 1891. During the first world war the building survived intact however, the retreating Russians stripped the brewery of all its equipment. During the twenties the ownership of the brewery came under dispute, and it was finally sold in 1921 for five million German Marks (not really a large sum due to post war inflation). In 1939 the Nazis invaded Poland and the brewery became a POW brewing beer for the thirsty German soldiers. When Germany retreated out of Poland in 1944 they destroyed the brewery. Idle for another four years the reconstruction started in 1948 and continued until 1954 In 1996 the Brewery was purchase by a German Binding Brauerei which later changed it's name to Radeburger Gruppe. The Germans expanded and modernised the plant and then sold it to it's current owners Kompania Piwowarska  who we have talked about before in the Tyskie post: "Twofer" Kompania Piwowarska, as we know is part of the SAB Miller group the second largest beer conglomerate in the world. By the way Żubr is Polish for European Buffalo hence the label.

The tasting:

Dark gold in colour with an off-white head made up of small bubbles. The export version comes in a 500 ml brown glass bottle and shows a respectable 5.6% ABV (the domestic and European versions are shipped at 6%). Warm bready nose, some fruit and mineral quality hint of citrus and oak. Very smooth delivery, rainwater, mild chemical, tea, giving over to herbal zing of some hops, (Czech? perhaps) Aerations gives us a seemingly unnatural sweetness similar to corn syrup.

Overall results: (Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional)

Taste: Pass
Cost: Exceptional ($2.30)
Colour: Pass
Beer Style: Pass
Re-order: So-so
Experience: Pass

Final Thoughts: I will put this to a low pass. The brew is very commercial and does nothing to stand out. Aside from a little chemical attributes there is nothing significant, it is a smooth, beer and would be alright to sip ice cold on a warm day, but I mean ICE cold you would need to kill as much of that chemical as possible.