With untold numbers of Poles now living and working in Britain, it was inevitable that their foods and drinks would follow them. One such drink is Tyskie Gronie Premium Lager.
Available from nearly every corner shop, off-licence and supermarket here in the East End, Tyskie is widely available. And on the face of it, not bad value either at around £1.35-ish for a 500 millilitre bottle. Interesting that 500ml is the only size available when most other imported beers come in at around the 300ml mark. Presumably there is some logic behind only importing this larger size to the UK. One this is for sure, it does stand out on the shelf next to smaller bottles from the rest of the world.
The white background labels also help make it eye-catching. The front label is both Polish and English in language and gives us some useful information. With heritage going back to 1629, this must be one of the oldest beers/breweries that I have yet tried. It is also an award winning beer. And unlike some other beers, this time we can see what and when: some five beer competitions over the past few years in Europe. Impressive.
Sadly, the rear label is rather less coherent. With several dozen different languages, the rear label becomes in impenetrable block of text.
After sending out a search party, the ingredients of water, malt and hops eventually turned up. A volume of 5.6% also turned up which definitely places it at the premium end of the continental lager spectrum.
Poured into a glass, the 500 millilitres came in just short of a pint. A thick head accompanied the drink. Whether that was because of my pouring or what was supposed to happen, I’m not certain. If you think it looks right or wrong, leave a comment.
The colour looked fine. It was dark gold-ish in colour. Is that what lager is supposed to look like? I don’t drink enough of it to know. What I could tell that was different to some others were the number of gas bubbles rapidly making their way to the surface. Likely the cause of the head, this could also make it a gassy drink.
Tyskie manages to smell as if it is premium. The malt and hops are there giving it some class, but nowhere near as prominently as Leffe. Starting to drink it, Tyskie Gronie lager tasted exactly how I thought lager should taste. It has that bitter taste and slightly sour aftertaste. Albeit, the aftertaste isn’t as strong as some others. And that is a good thing.
As I glugged my way through the bottle’s contents, my opinion started to change. I began thinking “this is a good, solid, decent lager”. Toward the end of the bottle, I had more than become used to the taste and was quite enjoying it. Unusual for me considering my indifference to lagers. This must be what makes Tyskie Gronie ‘premium’ and multiple award winning: drinkability.
Once you adjust to the taste, you’ll find Tyskie Gronie to be a good quality lager. Good if you like lagers. Maybe worth a try if you want to see what the fuss is about.
Rating: 3.5
Have you tried Tyskie Gronie? What did you think? What do you want me to try next?
Leave your comments in the usual place…
Hywel's Big Log 