Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week": Samson Premium Czech Lager

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jan 2, 2008 6:44PM

We're still suffering from the post-New Year hangover, so we're going to start off this year's run of "BotW" with a crisp, refreshing palate cleanser.

Before Augie Busch and his progeny set a low standard for how lagers should taste, the Czechs were making the brewing of them an art. We've been known to hoist a bottle of Czechvar in lieu of the King of Beers. The folks at our new local watering hole, Bernice's Tavern, have put together a pretty good selection of Bohemian and eastern European lagers. One of our newer favorites there is Samson. There's nothing fancy about this beer; it's a straightforward lager. But sometimes we want to keep things simple, and the flavor of Samson is conducive to that.

Samson has that fine balance of spicy hops and sweet malt nailed cold. Ultimately, the one overriding aspect we look for in a beer is that it go down like water, without actually approximating water. Enjoying a bottle of Samson while staring at the toys, artwork and other vintage bar materials at Bernice's is a great way to pass the time, and you might even meet an interesting person or two in the process. Samson Premium Czech lager is Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week."