Pilsner Urquell

Brewed by Plzensky Prazdroj (SABMiller)
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Plzen, Czech Republic

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

Bottle. Good carbonation. Slightly bitter hop flavor. Fresh tasting beer.

Bottle: Big airy frotty white head on top of a clear golden colored beer. Smell hops (light skunky), malts and dust. Taste is a well balanced mix of hops, bitter, some herbs, light spicy, malts and pretty crispy. Nice bitter hoppy aftertaste (the bitterness in this one is pretty good). Low to medium carbo, tingly mouthfeel, medium body and a watery texture.

Serving glass: Poured from bottle into tall glass that somewhat looks like a Pilsner glass. Appearance: Clear rich gold with slight white head and spotty lacing. Aroma: Spicy Saaz hops, fruity malts (apple, pear, lemon) and some graininess. Taste: Very fruity malts consisting of apple, pear and lemon, with some fresh cut grass. Ends spicy, peppery and bitter. I feel that the spicy kick at the end is just slightly off compared to some other Czech Pilsners. Palate: Moderately high carbonation, medium body for a lager, crisp dry finish. Overall: The prototypical Czech Pils but there are some better ones out there, particularly Czechvar (Budweiser Budvar).

12 oz. bottle. Pours a clear yellow with a small off-white head. The aroma is cut grass and earthy hops. The flavor is sweet up front, with a sour and bitter note rising in the finish. The palate is light to medium and crisp. Overall, this is a fair beer. Good mouthfeel, but an unpleasant flavor.

Haven’t had this one since the 90s. I think the last time I had it it was skunky. I made sure to carefully select this one from a case so it would have minimal light damage. No skunky taste at all. Very drinkable and not nearly as bitter as most pilsners seem to be these days. Thanks to Michael Jackson’s "The Beer Hunter" for getting me excited to try this one again.

Tasted 9/3/11. 12oz bottle. JAN1112 21:47. Pours filtered and golden hued. A shade lighter than the Czechvar I had right before. Moldy white head. Aromas of cereal grains, but no trace of a hop profile in the olfactory. Medium bodied and a more rounded effervescence than the Czechvar. It has a nice, dry body to it, but it also comes with a bit of diactyl. Mildly sticky with a decent punch of grassy hops. A lingering astringency mingles with the carbonation and the hops to add to the palate and flavor profile. Solid, but from what I just experimented, Czechvar wins.

Can 500ml. Pours light golden color, high foam that disappears quickly. One of the classics in Czech beers.

Gyllengul med lågt skum som snabbt lägger sig. Blommig humledoft, lite hö och mineraler. Måttlig men fin gräsig beska, liten sötma men ändå ganska torr och stram, mineraler, järn och en lätt touch av sommarblommor. God, men ändå bara en sorglig rest av sin ofiltrerade och opasteuriserade förlaga.