Amber and dark lager

Czech Dark Lager

BJCP 3D

A dark lager with more going on than a dunkel: caramel, toast, liquorice and occasionally a plum-like fruit, over a full body from the characteristically high finishing gravity.

Vital statistics

Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles

Original gravity

1.044 - 1.060

Final gravity

1.013 - 1.017

Bitterness

18 IBU - 34 IBU

Colour

14 SRM - 35 SRM

Alcohol

4.4% - 5.8%

Colour also 28-69 EBC

What goes wrong

Over-attenuating. Drying it out strips the body that carries the caramel, and the beer turns thin and roasty instead of rich.

Commercial examples

Bernard černý ležák 12°Budvar tmavý ležákKozel DarkKrušovice černéU Fleků Flekovský tmavý 13° ležák

Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.

Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.

The rest of the amber and dark lager family

International Amber Lager

4.6-6% · 8-25 IBU

International Dark Lager

4.2-6% · 8-20 IBU

Czech Amber Lager

4.4-5.8% · 20-35 IBU

Marzen

5.6-6.3% · 18-24 IBU

Rauchbier

4.8-6% · 18-30 IBU

Vienna Lager

4.7-5.5% · 18-30 IBU

Altbier

4.3-5.5% · 25-50 IBU

Munich Dunkel

4.5-5.6% · 18-28 IBU

Schwarzbier

4.4-5.4% · 20-35 IBU

Plan a batch to these numbers.

Bitterness Colour Alcohol