Kozel

Have you tried Kozel dark beer?

If you like speciality beers, you’ll love Kozel dark beer.

This rich and flavourful beer is a highly drinkable 3.8% ABV, and has won seven ‘Dark Beer of the Year’ awards

When poured, you’ll notice the ruby colour and distinctive dark foam.
When sipped, you’ll taste the caramel sweetness of barley mixed with a hint of bitterness from hops.

Kozel dark beer is brewed in Velke Popovice near Prague, following the recipe that’s been unchanged for decades:

First, the brewmasters draw pure soft spring water from Kozel’s own well in the forest. They add four types of crushed malt – including a dark caramelised malt made from toasted local barley – and boil the liquor to extract the sugars, flavours and colours.

For bitterness, they use the finest quality Saaz hops. They add yeast and wait while the sugars ferment into alcohol and release their natural CO2 for a gentle fizz. Finally, they add whole flower hops to give the beer its fruity flavour, citrus aroma and signature grassy finish.

Using a traditional Czech two-phase process, the lager is transferred into maturation tanks to develop its rich and balanced taste.

See what beer-lovers say:

“THE best dark beer ever. I really like the kind of chocolate/coffee aftertaste.”
Kidman199

A nice example of a dark Czech beer with some complexity and none of the heaviness of an English porter or stout.”
MikeyMisfit

Since I tried Kozel, every dark lager I've tried has paled in comparison. It's so deliciously hoppy and refreshing.”
Pinkystan

Kozel dark beer
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Benefits

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Beer has a number of natural antioxidants and vitamins (dark beer the highest of all beer) that can help prevent heart disease, rebuild muscle, reverse cellular damage

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It has one of the highest energy contents of any food or drink

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Beer is great for hydration, it is 93 percent water - according to a Spanish study, beer may actually provide better hydration than H2O alone when you’re sweating it out under the sun

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Beer has a high content of iron, out of which dark beer has higher iron content compared to lighter beers. Iron is an essential mineral that our bodies need.

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Hops contain polyphenols, which help lower cholesterol, fight cancer and kill viruses. The more hops the better - again dark beer wins!

Beer

Kozel Beer
Kozel Beer Title

Velkopopovický Kozel Dark beer is brewed to the original recipe using a special mix of dark malts, clean water from our own well close to the brewery, and a selection of the best hops. The caramelized malt gives this beer a unique ruby color and sweet flavor, thanks to which it is appreciated and respected all over the world.

Food pairing

Pair these foods with Kozel Dark:

  • sweet treats like gingerbread
  • BBQ ribs
  • dark sauces

awards

Kozel Beer Title

Mascot

Kozel Mascot Title

After the First World War, brewing became fiercely competitive in the Czech Lands. Kozel’s founder, Emanuel Ringhoffer realised that his brewery could stand out by embracing the local tradition of a strong, dark beer known as a billy goat .

When translated to Czech, the word ‘goat’ becomes Kozel – which gave us our recognisable name. Around this time, a French painter was passing through Velké Popovice and was touched by the hospitality offered to him by the people of the town. To say thank you, he offered to make an emblem for the brewery. Using the Kozel goat as his inspiration, he created the image of our mascot that has now lasted for nearly a century. Since this time, the beer has been registered as ‘Velkopopovicky Kozel’.

In the 1930s, in an effort to further cement Kozel as the best ‘billy goat’ beer, a buck the size of a calf was brought to the brewery. The caretaker regularly combed the animal's hair and polished its hooves, making the well-groomed goat a source of fascination for visitors ever since…

Billy goat

Kozel Mascot

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