Waiter, I'll have the Czech, Please!
Written: Jun 30 '01
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Pros: Drinkable, malty and crisp, delicate hops won't offend non-craft beer drinkers.
Cons: Green bottles.Yuck.
The Bottom Line: A nice Czech Pils. I still prefer Urquell, but it's nice to finally see this one in the USA.
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| Bruguru's Full Review: Budweiser Budvar 12 |
Up until now, this Bud has not been for you. Anheuser Busch’s Budweiser beer is the most popular beer in the United States by far, but as Yoda once said, “There is another”. Ask most Bud drinkers in the United States what the name of that other Bud might be and they’ll likely reply, “Bud Light?”, but they would not be thinking of the same Bud I’m referring to. That beer would be Budweiser Budvar, the Bud from the town where American Budweiser got its name.
Is Budweiser Budvar the original Budweiser? Actually, no. Anheuser Busch began brewing Budweiser beer in 1876, fully 19 years before the Budweiser Budvar brand entered production in the Bohemian town of Ceske Budeovice. The German name for this town is Budweis, hence the name Budweiser. For the longest time the Bohemians went about their business brewing Budweiser Budvar while across the pond here in the states we Americans brewed our own Bud, and everyone was happy. Well, almost everyone.
Almost since Anheuser Busch introduced its version of a Budweiser beer to the world, brewers from the town of Ceske Budeovice have challenged the American Brewer’s right to do so, maintaining in effect that the name of the town should be an appellation controlee, or controlled style name. Anheuser Busch countered with lawsuits that kept Budvar out of the United States until the turn of the 21st century.
For some reason, Czech Budvar has generated a mystique about it in beer connoisseur circles. I’m one of the ones who was caught up in that mystique, and at least in my case it was inspired when I saw Michael Jackson’s exceptional Beer Hunter series, which featured the Budweiser Budvar brewery in it’s segment on Czechoslovakia. All of those wonderful bottles with bright red and gold labels parading down the bottling line to the tune of a boisterous Slavic melody created an air of “must try” appeal for the beer. Alas, it wasn’t that easily obtainable.
That changed when one of my beer students took a trip to Ireland and brought me back a few bottles of Budvar. This was it, a holy grail of beer for me, finally within my grasp! I popped open the bottle, admired the amber colored liquid as it filled my glass, marveled at the generous head of foam as it formed before my eyes, wondered at the grassy hop nose. I took my first sip. Wow. I was…slightly under whelmed? This was great beer, to be sure, but I suspect I had built it up to much in my mind. Still, knowing it was a beer I wouldn’t soon taste again, I savored every last drop.
As it turned out, that was not the last I’d hear from Budvar. Curiously, though Anheuser Busch sold its Budweiser under different names in Europe to get around the prohibition against it selling it under its American name, Budvar never did that here in America. Sometime last year, though, tremors started to go out in the beer geek world. Czechvar was coming. It was to be the American name for Budvar. Finally, it would be available in the United States. Finally, the Czech Bud would be for you.
Tonight, I walked into a local liquor store and saw Czechvar for the first time. It’s certainly being promoted heavily enough. A salesman was putting out bottles (that looked exactly like Budvar bottles except that they said Czechvar on them) and giving out samples (that tasted exactly like Budvar). I struck up a conversation, and he seemed delighted that I knew all about the beer. He gave me a beautiful Czech-style Czechvar beer mug (that looks exactly like a Budvar mug) and a pile of coasters (that look exactly like Budvar coasters).
Czechvar pours to a medium golden color with a light head formation and a grassy hop nose. The palate is fairly light and crisp, there’s a good biscuity malt character in the body with just a touch of butteriness that is typical of Czech pilsners. There’s a bit of hop bitterness in the finish, just enough to make the beer drinkable and refreshing.
Czechvar is Budvar, make no mistake about that. The only real difference between the two is the color of the glass bottles they are sold in: Good and Righteous brown in the case of Budwar; Evil, Insidious green for Czechvar. The beer is not all that dissimilar to American Bud, although it’s maltier without the rice and hoppier in the nose and finish.
I know I’m drinking the Czech Bud rather than the domestic one, but it went nicely with an All-American Philly cheese steak loaded with mushrooms, peppers, and onions just the same.
Recommended:
Yes
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