Lomza Polish Beer – This Week’s Lawnmower Beer
May 12, 2010
Two unplanned things happened today which led to me trying – and reviewing this Lomza lager from Poland. One, Liz (of Brew Club Fame) brought me a six pack of beer – a tribute of sorts. And two, I had to mow the lawn!
Now we’ve all heard of the ‘lawnmower beer’ right? Its that beer that awaits you after busting out some tough yard-work. Something light, crisp, refreshing – a beer that refreshes as you soak in the fresh-cut grass aromas – and in my case, tree pollen which forced me to retreat to the air-conditioned safety of the indoors!
So, for today Lomza lager is my lawnmower beer!
Now, we’ve reviewed a few Polish beers here on The Brew Club in the past (well, Bob the Brit has) and they’ve ranged respectively from 3 to 4 stars and include the Polish pilsners Okosim and Zyweic and Lech and Tyskie.
I’m not really sure if my Lomza is a pilsner – I don’t think that it is at least from what I can gather from the label. It does, however, say that it is a ‘Premium Beer’ which to me is usually a secret code for ‘boring lager’. But let’s not pre -judge, right?
I popped open the funky little bottle and decided to pour it into a funky glass which is most inappropriate for a lawnmower beer – but I drink in style, see?
We’ve got a decent foamy white head that fizzes for a bit and offers up some faint smells of sweet malt and biscut. Nothing really stands out and especially absent is any real hop aromas. Not bad, but rather plain.
Not surprisingly, the beer is a straw-color, and otherwise looks good in the glass – remember now, I’ve just cut the grass so the beer looks pretty good to me!
The taste is maltier than I would have expected, actually I’m finding this beer to be quite refreshing. Lomza is a 6% ABV beer, but there’s barely any alcohol flavor to it. Again, I’m surprised by the malty character of this Polish lager – I was expecting something more crisp and more hoppy, although the tongue does feel a little bit of that hop bite.
Overall, the beer is an easy drinker, and it actually did hit the spot for me after cutting the grass. It isn’t anything special as far as I can tell, but for the moment it does the trick. Considering this is my first Polish lager, I don’t want to rate it too harshly for two reasons. One, I personally haven’t tried any other Polish beers to compare it to, and two, I think I’m enjoying this beer more as a result of having just cut the grass than I would have otherwise.
So, is Lomza Polish lager a good lawnmower beer? I’d say yes it is. As a matter-of-fact, I’ll be having another just as soon as I finish this post! On the other hand, while better than almost any domestic macro lager I can think of, it isn’t a beer I’d likely buy again for myself. Still, if Liz feels like bringing more in for me, I’ll gladly accept it!
Rating: 
What do you think? Can cutting the grass make any beer taste better?
Related Posts:
Posted in 2 Star Reviews, European Beers, Lager
Subscribe Here!
May 12th, 2010 at 9:48 am
I confess that Liz has stolen a march on me with this one, I have never heard of Lomza Beer – and I worked in Poland for 6 months back in the early nineties – but then back in those days (just after the fall of the Berlin Wall) Poland was very provincial and the beers were quite frankly appalling.
Regarding the ‘premium’ title – over here ‘premium’ tends to describe a lager that’s over 5% ABV to differentiate from supermarket lagers. And as for the absence of hop nose, that’s not uncommon in east European beers, the hops are the most expensive ingredient, and is often the thing that is skimped. Also, the hop oils are the first things to go when beers go stale, were these well within their ‘mow lawn by’ date?
.-= Bob Massey´s last blog ..The Number of the Beast =-.
May 12th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
What do you think? Can cutting the grass make any beer taste better?
You bet! After mowing my lawn, or spending any significant amount of time in the heat, water, iceberg lettuce, and even celery taste amazing. I figure it’s driven by our body’s desire to rehydrate. I’d be curious to how Lomza tastes as a night cap, when you aren’t particularly dehydrated.
.-= Big Tex´s last blog ..Homebrew at Home =-.
May 12th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Most awesome graphic used in a beer blog post, EVER.
Was the beer highly carbonated? Usually those funky bottles are thicker to withstand higher CO2 pressures.
Yeah, beer tastes awesome after mowing. I actually gravitate towards beers like this. Light and less flavor than say, a stout or IPA.
Seeing as my Grandma came to the US on a boat from Poland, I had better find and try this brew.
.-= nate´s last blog ..Is It Legal To Let My Kids Sample My Beer? =-.
May 13th, 2010 at 8:16 am
@Nate – Thanks, I spent about a minute on that picture but it got me laughing too! Regarding the beer, it didn’t feel very carbonated, but you had to be real careful with the pour because it could easily foam up. I found this out last night. Bottles were definitely thicker though. You should try it!
@Big Tex – thanks for the science! I suppose even beet juice or soy milk might even taste good after cutting the lawn thanks to our physiology! I tested my theory and had 2 bottles (just to be sure) last night and I have to say I really do like this beer! I may need to rethink my rating a bit I think Lomza should get at least another half-star.
@Bob – Liz is very current on Polish beer trends and is hard to beat! I’d agree with your description 100%. Hardly any hop, but it didn’t other wise taste skunky (or even goaty!) I didn’t see any best-buy date but I have no reason to suspect it was old. I quite liked it for a lager, and I think I’ll try some of the Tyskie you rated so well for comparative purposes!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Avery Hog Heaven-Barleywine Style Ale =-.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:26 am
I will look for it this weekend Scott. I’m always up for a new light beer, and like taking a break from the heavy American Craft scene.
.-= nate´s last blog ..Is It Legal To Let My Kids Sample My Beer? =-.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Hahahaha Scott you crack me up! But I too had this Lomza beer and I thought it was pretty good as well. It was definitely light and crisp and the 6% ABV was a pleasant surprise. I definitely think you should give it at least one more star.
One more star! One more star! One more star!
May 13th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Liz- I think I will give it a little more credit not that I know its decent beer without having to cut grass first. I don’t think it rates three stars though – 2.5 I think is more appropriate. Good pick – I would have never bought it myself!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Samuel Smith’s Famous Taddy Porter =-.
September 6th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
?om?a beer is on of the cheapest beers in Poland. When I’ve spotted this beer first time at the store (it was about 5 years ago) this beer was really, really good! But it became average after one bigger company took this brewery.
September 6th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
@Raptusso – Thanks for the comment. I hadn’t had this beer prior, but it does seem that beers tend to lose ‘something’ when they are bought up by some other company. Perhaps this happened to Lomza as well.
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Stiegl Radler Lemon Beer Review =-.
March 11th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Effort of any kind – be it physical or mental – makes a beer taste better. As I write this, I have just turned in a bunch of major assignments for school and am relaxing a bit on a Friday evening with a pint of Lech.
March 11th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
@Dave – Absolutely true! Enjoy your beer and keep up with your studies!