Pilsner Svetlý Ležák

Svetlý ležák, or Bohemian Pilsener, brewed by the only brewery in Belgium specialising in German styles, for the occasion of the opening of La Dérive, a new brewpub in Paris. Can from - oddly - an Okay supermarket in Ghent carrying a few other beers that seem 'out of place' for the city. Medium thick, snow white, quite loose and quickly opening to eventually dissolving head over a misty yellow-golden robe with ochre-ish tinge. Aroma of soggy wholegrain bread, cow fodder, freshly cut grass, something soapy (as in Styrian hops), soggy chicken food, damp straw, green onion, something sulfurous in the background. Restrainedly sweetish onset, some basic fruitiness (more so than expected seen the intended style) - almost vaguely hinting at green banana or hard pear, probably from the yeast suspended in it; finely tingling fizz, perhaps just a tad too weak in this case, soft and slightly soapy body. Cereally and thinly bready pale malt core gradually and gently but effectively bittered by grassy and floral hops, with again this vague soapy touch and a retronasal hint at cooked leek. The bitterness last for a while - perhaps even a little bit more so than is usually the case in actual Czech Pilsener, but in any case ensuring a dry and almost mildly spicy ending, with very quenching effect on a hot summer night like this. Needs a tad less yeastiness and a bit more effervescence and head retention, but generally decent for the very precise and clean style they intended; I do applaud the fact that they went through the trouble of the double decoction method to get closer to an original Czech Pilsener so have a point for the effort.