Myths aside, this is still an above-par pilsner.
Written: Sep 30 '09 (Updated Oct 02 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Crisp, almost dry pilsner with distinct floral hop character. Very flavorful, very well-balanced
Cons: Often sold less fresh than it should be. Green bottles.
The Bottom Line: Budweiser Budvar, now sold as Czechvar, is one of the best easily-found pilsners, especially if one prefers the less better Czech style to the more bitter German pils.
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| bkalafut's Full Review: Budweiser Budvar 12 |
Now sold in the USA under the Czechvar brand, this pilsner has been the subject of considerable myth-making.
Following the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, long before I was old enough to drink beer, rumors circulated, even making it to schoolboys, that there was a "real Budweiser" made in Budweis. This beer was supposed to be craft-brewed by villagers, far superior to the acetaldehyde-flavored rice brew of the same name, but suppressed by megacorporation Anheuser-Busch.
This isn't entirely accurate. Budweiser Budvar is actually a newer beer than the Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser, by 19 years. The "original Budweiser"--and I don't know if they're using the original recipe--is the beer sold in the U.S. as B. B. Bürgerbräu. And the Pivovar Budějovický Budvar brewery in the town now known as České Budějovice (the name change was due to migration of Czechs to the city due to industrialization, and made permanent by the post-WWII ethnic cleansing) is perhaps the only thing more "evil" than a megacorporation: a state-owned enterprise. Privatization is in the works, but so much depends on the outcome of its trademark dispute with Anheuser-Busch that this has been slow to happen.
Anheuser-Busch did hold up this beer's introduction to the U.S. The part about it being an outstanding beer is also not a myth. Budweiser Budvar aka Czechvar is easily better than the thinner and less aromatic B. B. Bürgerbräu, which itself is quite good. It's one of the best pilsners on the market, especially if, like me, you prefer the hoppy but not bitter Czech style to the more bitter German style.
Czechvar is pale gold in color, perfectly transparent, wth a big, frothy, but quickly dissipating head. Very strong floral and bergamot-like hop aromas come forth. On taking a sip, more hops, over a biscuity malt backdrop. Medium-to-light bodied (I did mention that it's a pilsner!), Czechvar has slight residual sweetness and a crisp, moderately bitter finish.
The only problem with Czechvar is that it's inconsistently fresh. Lagers have a relatively short shelf-life and hoppy lagers, even more so. Transatlantic shipping can mute a beer, and by the time this makes it to Tucson, it has often seen better days, especially in the summer. This is compounded by the absurd choice of green glass for the bottle. Brown glass admits much less of the ultraviolet light that will turn hop flavor compounds into skunky mercaptans.
As long as it comes from a retailer with high turnover, who keeps it out of the light, Czechvar (Budweiser Budvar) is my go-to pilsner, one of the excellent "cold ones".
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bkalafut
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 in Restaurants & Gourmet |
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Member: Bennett Kalafut
Location: Tucson, AZ, USA
Reviews written: 258
Trusted by: 42 members
About Me:
Stretching single molecules for fun and profit.
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