The beer comes back Friday

Attic Brewing pours Common Nightjar on Friday, the first time the Czech dark lager has been available since it won gold at the World Beer Cup in April.

Six malts, one crisp finish

The 5.2% ABV lager uses six malts, including Pilsner, Munich, chocolate and roasted, with a touch of saaz hops for low bitterness and a clean ending.

On tap and in cans

You can get it both ways at the Germantown taproom. No tour, no lottery, just show up.

Brewed maybe three times ever

Co-owner Laura Lacy says Attic has made this beer two or three times since opening in 2020. This is the first pour since the medal.

They entered on a hunch

The team liked it and drinkers kept praising it, so they threw it into the world's largest professional beer competition to see what would happen.

“Hey, let's try to enter this one and see what happens, and it ended up winning.”

Judged on seven things

The World Beer Cup scores appearance, smell, mouthfeel, taste, flavor, technical execution and style. This year it was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Poured from a Lukr tap

A side-pull faucet gives the thick, foamy head that Czech-style pours are known for. The serve is part of the beer.

Darker, but not a stout

Lacy says it is richer in color and flavor than most dark lagers without going as heavy as a stout or porter.

“a different kind of experience to drinking a dark beer”

Why the wait until now

The brew schedule came first, and the team wanted a longer fermentation on this batch for better taste. It will be brewed more often from here.

The world knows it now

Common Nightjar beat 117 entries in the international dark lager category, and Lacy says the medal turned the team's own confidence into public fact.

“We always knew that our beer was really good... but the world knows it's that good, too.”

Two more local golds

New Ridge Brewing in Roxborough won the American-style amber lager category out of 61 entries, and Wander Back Beerworks in Vineland topped 156 Munich-style helles.