NEPO Brewing/Browar Nepomucen – Let's Learn Beer!

canned cocktail

por Ceit
agosto 29, 2026agosto 28, 2026

I had it in my head that I was saving myself a stout, maybe a pastry stout, and now that we’re in a trough of relief, it’s time to bring it out. Alas, it is pastry, but a pastry sour. Still, it sounds pretty luscious, and some dark chocolate is involved, so it should work out. No disappointment! It’s Nepo Brewing, which I think I’ve come across before, and a healthy looking selection – Smoothie Bowl Fruit Fondue. Ok, maybe the fondue part isn’t the healthiest, there are several fruits in there, including grapes, unusually. Will this be a happy distraction from the craziness of entertainers leaving us and madmen unable to comprehend geography? Most likely, I’ve been lucky with my beer choices of late.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but the apricot color, full opaqueness and less than exuberant head just make sense once there’s liquid in the glass. The head is snowy white but doesn’t build up, and stays a jaunty little cap for a couple of minutes before dissolving into a delicate ring around the edge. The aroma is hardly beery at all, but very much like a fruit cocktail, heavy on the sour tropical fruit. There might be some old grape in there, not as clawing as in a wine, a touch of pineapple, and the strawberry, but in a preserve, not a jelly. It’s the banana that I’m not getting, or dark chocolate, but that might wait for the taste. Oh yeah, big banana on top of the sip. The other fruits hustle by in the middle, and a soft note of chocolate brings up the rear. It’s kind of a banana split smoothie more than a general fruit one, but I am not very familiar with fruit fondues. Maybe that’s just how they end up when bananas are involved. I’m not sad about this one, it’s a sweet treat that makes up for not being a stout. Now come September…

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €6.80

anniversary ring?

por Ceit
abril 18, 2026

As the heat grows, some people gravitate away from dark beers, preferring to match sunlight and beer shade. There’s something to be said for a sharp or bitter beer, or even a light and sweet one, but I cannot be swayed from my path of darkness. I picked up a special one too, an anniversary beer from Polish brewery NEPO. 11 years, it says. They also hint at going for a full century, and why not? The beer industry may be floundering a little these days, but it’s hardly the first time. Small breweries with good product and loyal following have survived to another boom before.

In a shadow it’s a rich black beer with an off-white head, but once in a brighter spot it takes on a warmer brown shade. The aroma hints at syrup and smoke and the flavor does not diverge from that. It’s lighter than I expected, almost effervescent. There’s an undercurrent of pastry and chocolate. It builds in body and strength, expected really, since it is something that happens with a strong beer. It still goes down easily, without leaving a slick behind or tumbling its way down the throat like a slinky. It takes quite a long time for the coconut to start coming through, I guess because it’s natural “aroma” and not a flavoring. It’s very tasty and a good cozy evening beer. I might be worried about the apparent thinness at the beginning of the can, but as it expands itself over time and warmth it starts to grow in robustness too, making it more of a formidable beverage. Here’s to 11 years, NEPO, if you make it to 100 you’ll deserve it.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €7.30