27.3.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 73/45

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Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2009/C 73/07)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘ČERNÁ HORA’

EC No: CZ-PGI-0005-0409-19.10.2004

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:	Úřad průmyslového vlastnictví
Address:	Antonína Čermáka 2a 160 68 Praha 6-Bubeneč ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA
Tel.	+420 220383111
Fax	+420 224324718
E-mail:	posta@upv.cz

2.   Group:

Name:	Pivovar Černá Hora, a. s.
Address:	Černá Hora 3/5 679 21 Černá Hora ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA
Tel.	+420 516482411
Fax	+420 516437201
E-mail:	ekonom@pivovarch.cz
Composition:	Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

This application derogates from Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on account of the fact that there is only one producer in the area. The requirements laid down in Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1898/2006 are fulfilled.

3.   Type of product:

Class 2.1: Beer

4.   Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1.   Name:

‘Černá Hora’

4.2.   Description:

The light beer is medium to highly attenuated, golden yellow to golden brown in colour, good head with strong bite, medium to full-favoured, with a clean flavour of malt and hops, and hoppy aroma. The fullness of flavour is mainly due to the presence of unfermented residual extract, characterised by a difference between apparent and real attenuation. A very faint yeasty or fruity (ester) taste and aroma is permitted. The low intensity of the whole aroma is indicative of the relatively low content of unwanted fermentation by-products. The beer is medium to high in bitterness, and has a slight to mild harshness, with longer finish.

The dark beer is medium to highly attenuated, reddish to red-brown in colour with good head, pleasantly hoppy taste and aroma. It has a medium bite and a typically full flavour, owing to the difference between apparent and real attenuation and to the unfermentable compounds in the raw materials. Caramel and treacle are admissible by-flavours.

Varieties of beer and the sensory characteristics thereof:

The Světlý ležák (light lager) is medium to highly attenuated, golden yellow to golden brown in colour, good head with strong bite, medium-favoured, with clean flavour of malt and hops and a hoppy aroma. A very faint yeasty or fruity (ester) taste and aroma is permitted. The beer is of medium bitterness, and has a slight harshness, with longer finish.

The Světlé výčepní pivo (light draught beer) is medium to highly attenuated, golden yellow to golden brown in colour, good head with strong bite, full-favoured, with a clean flavour of malt and a hoppy aroma. A very faint yeasty or fruity (ester) taste and aroma is permitted. The beer is high in bitterness, moderately harsh, with a longer finish.

The Nefiltrované výčepní pivo (unfiltered draught beer) is characterised by a good head, golden yellow to golden brown colour, good bite and fullness of flavour, and by a yeasty flavour and aroma. The beer has a significant, moderately harsh, hoppy bitterness, leaving behind a feeling of pleasant, gradually diminishing bitterness, without any hint of harshness or astringency.

The Tmavý ležák (dark lager) is a beer with the addition of caramel and coloured malt, medium attenuated, garnet to red-brown in colour, caramel to sweetish taste with delicate bitterness.

The Polotmavé výčepní pivo (semi-dark draught beer) is medium to highly attenuated, reddish to garnet colour, strong bite, pleasantly hoppy and with a moderately caramel aroma and flavour with good head.

All types of ‘Černá Hora’ beer are low-fermentation beers characterised by particular sensory qualities, especially unique aroma and flavour with strong bite.

Light beer — quality benchmarks:

		Pale lager	Pale draught	Unfiltered pale draught
Original gravity	(% by weight)	11,00-12,99	8,00-10,99	8,00-10,99
Alcohol	(% by volume)	3,8-6,0	3,5-4,5	3,5-4,5
Colour	EBC units	8,0-16,0	7,0-16,0	7,8-16,0
Bitter substances	EBC units	20,0-45,0	16,0-28,0	16,0-28,0
pH		4,2-4,9	4,3-4,7	4,3-4,7
Difference between apparent and real attenuation	(% rel.)	1,0-10,0	1,0-10,0	1,0-10,0
Polyphenols	(mg/l)	130,0-230,0	130,0-230,0	130,0-230,0

Dark beer, semi-dark beer — quality benchmarks:

		Dark lager	Semi-dark draught
Original gravity	(% by weight)	11,00-12,99	8,00-10,99
Alcohol	(% by volume)	3,6-5,7	3,5-4,5
Colour	EBC units	50,0-120,0	16,0-40,0
Bitter substances	EBC units	20,0-45,0	16,0-28,0
pH		4,1-4,8	4,3-4,7
Difference between apparent and real attenuation	(% rel.)	1,0-10,0	1,0-10,0
Polyphenols	(mg/l)	130,0-230,0	130,0-230,0

Raw materials:

Barley malt

This is a light malt, known as ‘Czech malt’, which is produced from two-row spring barley. This barley malt is characterised by low solubility and fermentation.

The following table shows Congress Wort values produced from barley malt:

Extract in dry malt	(% by weight)	min.	80 %
Kolbach index	(%)		37-41 %
Diastatic power	(WK units)	min.	220
Actual attenuation	(%)	max.	82 %
Friability	(%)	min.	75 %

Hops

This is the Žatecký poloraný červeňák variety. These hops are highly specific: they differ primarily from other hop varieties in their ratio of alpha to beta-bitter acids and in their beta-farnesene content. Either dried hops or hop extract is used. (Keep the original wording, where the Žatecký poloraný červeňák variety rather than SKVN Žatecký chmel is used for the preparation of beer).

Water

Water from a variety of sources is used in the production of ‘Černá Hora’ beer. In terms of hardness, this water is considered soft to medium-hard.

Brewer's yeast

Bottom-fermenting yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae subs. uvarum) are used for producing ‘Černá Hora’ beer as they offer the requisite difference between apparent and real attenuation under this specification.

4.3.   Geographical area:

The municipality of ‘Černá Hora’ in Southern Moravia, Czech Republic.

4.4.   Proof of origin:

The applicant for registration of the geographical designation ‘Černá Hora’ keeps a register of suppliers of raw materials and a register of buyers of the finished product. For each product, compulsory data on products, including addresses, are provided, thereby enabling product traceability.

The entire beer production technology is continuously monitored. The implementation and results of checks are continuously recorded. All raw materials brought in for producing beer are also subject to quality control. Water quality is checked for microbiological suitability and is regularly controlled. A written record of all checks is kept. A record is also kept of the individual batches of raw materials used in the production of individual batches of beer.

Compliance with the specifications is monitored by the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority.

4.5.   Method of production:

‘Černá Hora’ beer is produced solely by means of the double mash decoction process. Bitter wort is cooked depending on the beer's original gravity. The process of primary fermentation takes place separately from that of the maturing of the beer. This is classic production without intensification processes.

Beer production begins in the brewing house. After mixing the ground malt with the water, just a third of the volume is gradually warmed. This enables the starch and other substances of the malt extract to be transferred into the solution and the starch to be split. The mashing process is repeated twice, and each mash is warmed separately. After the mashing out process, the residue of the malt culms is separated out, giving rise to the first portion of wort. The culm is then drained off with hot water and the digest is mixed with the first portion of wort. The resulting wort is heated for 80 to 120 minutes with separately batched hops or hop products to obtain a hopped wort. Each brew is heated at the original concentration of the wort corresponding to the required gravity of the beer. In other words, during further production, the gravity of the beer is not altered.

The heated wort is then cooled to fermentation temperature, brewer's yeast is added, in particular bottom-fermenting yeast strains, and the first, and indeed main, stage of beer fermentation takes place. This main fermentation stage takes place in classic, open fermenting rooms. The main fermentation temperature must not exceed 9,5 °C. The main fermentation takes 6 to 12 days, depending on the gravity of the original wort.

After the completion of main fermentation comes the lagering stage. This takes place at lower temperatures than the main fermentation stage, as low as around 0 °C and under moderate excess pressure in closed tanks. The lagering process takes 21 to 60 days, depending on the gravity of the beer. During this stage, the beer becomes clear, is saturated with carbon dioxide, and its flavour is rounded off. This gives the beer bite, with a dense, firm head. During the lagering stage, the striking flavour and yeasty smell disappears, the bitterness softens and the aroma typical of certain types of beer emerges. After the completion of the lagering process, the beer is filtered immediately without first altering the original gravity and transferred into barrels, bottles and, where applicable, cans or tanks. Unfiltered beer is also permitted. The end product must satisfy the quality benchmarks set out in the tables in Section 4.2 of this summary.

4.6.   Link:

The beer for which registration of designation of origin of the term ‘Černá Hora’ has been requested has been produced continuously in the municipality of ‘Černá Hora’ since the 13th century. The first written record of the brewery in ‘Černá Hora’ dates back to 1530.

Since then, there has been a rich history of breweries and beer making in ‘Černá Hora’. Many owners have come and gone, but the production and quality of ‘Černá Hora’ beer has steadily increased. In 1949, the brewery was nationalised and gradually incorporated into various national firms. The production of ‘Černá Hora’ nevertheless went on uninterrupted, following traditional production methods and processes. In 1996 the brewery became independent as part of a privatisation drive.

Records of the brewery's rich history and beer production in ‘Černá Hora’ are contained in many documents stored in the Moravian national archive in Brno (for example, the Dominican era in ‘Černá Hora’, the Josefinsky estate for the municipalities of ‘Černá Hora’ and Bořitov and land transfer registry for the municipalities of ‘Černá Hora’ and Bořitov etc) and also in the archives of the Pivovar Černá Hora, a.s. (Černá Hora brewery).

With the development of the brewery, beer production increased and the buildings and production equipment were expanded and modernised accordingly. These changes had only a minor effect on the uniqueness of ‘Černá Hora’ beer, which can ultimately be considered a beverage derived from a centuries-old tradition. All ‘Černá Hora’ brewers have endeavoured to protect the historic uniqueness of ‘Černá Hora’ beer, which has been only minimally affected over time.

Testament to the quality of ‘Černá Hora’ beer and its popularity is the many prizes it has won in domestic and international competitions and fairs (for example, the Táborský palcát (Tabor mace), Cena českých sládků (Czech brewers' prize), Pivo spanilých jízd (Beer of the Hussite campaigns), Zlatý pohár Pivex (Pivex golden cup) and Česká pivní pečeť (Czech beer seal)).

The fame and popularity of ‘Černá Hora’ beer is also evidenced by the fact that in the municipality of ‘Černá Hora’ a wide-ranging cultural and social event to present the beer produced there has been held every spring and autumn for the last ten years. In April, it is the Vítání jara (APRÝLES) (Spring Welcome) and in September the Pivní pouť (Beer fair). These events regularly attract several thousand visitors, who come not just from around Černá Hora but from all over the Czech Republic, and indeed abroad.

Beer from Černá Hora is also mentioned in various encyclopaedias, for example Verhoef, Berry: Large Encyclopaedia of Beer, Čestlice, Rebo Productions, 2002; Jackson, Michael: Great Beer Guide, Prague, Fortuna Print, 2001. Many articles have also been written and published about it in national and local newspapers and magazines. In Černá Hora itself, the periodical ‘Černohorský máz’ is published, which among other things provides information on the successes of ‘Černá Hora’ beer in various competitions and fairs.

In 1995 the Brno historian Leoš Vašek wrote about ‘Černá Hora’ beer in his 1995 book ‘V ČERNÉ HOŘE PIVA MOŘE — z historie černohorského pivovarnictví’ (IN ČERNA HORA A SEA OF BEER — on the history of the Černá Hora brewery).

4.7.   Inspection body:

Name:	Státní zemědělská a potravinářská inspekce, inspektorát v Brně
Address:	Běhounská 10 601 26 Brno ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA
Tel.	+420 542424011
Fax	+420 542426717
E-mail:	epodatelna@szpi.gov.cz

4.8.   Description:

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(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.

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