The more I drink this beer the better I like it. On first tasting it is so different to anything else it is difficult to know what make of it. Once the taste is acquired, accept no substitute.
On the opposite.. In Czechia it is generally considered to heal hurt-burn & promotes good digestion. I'm from Pilsen, by the way and when we go to a pub, 4 of these is a good standard - no headaches, no stomach problems afterwards. I guess Your tastebuds are just not compatible with this..
I appreciate your brutal honesty in your beer reviews. Pilsner Urquell is my favorite beer of all time but I enjoy hearing others' differing perspectives.
Given that the likes of Staropramen already have been brewed outside the country of their origin for some time now, we can safely assume the same to be the case for Pilsener -Err-kell- Urquell.
I, for one, drank my 1st Urquell - 0,5 l for _50 Pfennig_ - when I first visited Prague in 1986. The bottled stuff that is sold under the Urquell label outside of the Czech Republic these days, is a far cry from the beer I drank in Prague almost 40 years ago.
Like lots of commenters, if you're a real fan of pilsners it doesn't get much better than this. If you don't, well there's lots of other beers and special beers, but again if you're really into original urtyp pilsners than this is one of the best. Brand Up or Gulpener Urtyp also are great real pilsners.
I agree with you too. I never really enjoyed this beer. I felt I got all of the worst tastes from the hops and malt. Way too much stale hoppy bitterness and no floral on the nose, and not enough yeast character or malt sweetness to balance everything out. Just a very unbalanced beer.
I agree with you, that Pilsner Urquell is not very good.. From bottle. From can it's considerably better, but to really experience this beer in it's top form, you have to get on tap in a pub, where they know how to properly draft this beer. Even in most pubs in Czech Republic, they don't. If you are ever in Prague, I recommend getting this either U Zlateho Tygra or in Brambory restaurant
The difference is insane. You can't get the creamy foam out of a bottle. If you ever find it on tap, order a šnyt - a small beer in a big glass with lots of foam. The pour makes it taste sweeter.
I prefer pilsners to be dry and have hop character, as opposed to sweeter like a German helles or. god forbid, a euro pale lager. Just my personal preferences, though
Fantastic when served in a tank pub in Prague , possibly as good as any beer I have tried when drank in that situation, if you find a good Czech tank pub away from the obvious tourist attraction areas , you can get a large urquell for aprox £1-1.50. Cheers all 🍺
I had some of the best nights of my life drinking in Prague so I should be down with this..but I stand with you on the old PU...I just don't get it..it is flat and tasteless...strangely enough I really really wanted to love it...taste buds are funny old things..
Would you be able to review the relaunched Hofmeister Helles would love to know what you think? In the 80’s it was a terrible lager! Now it’s a great pint!
Didn’t like the taste at the start at all. Always thought it tasted ‘off’. Fooled myself into drinking it over in Prague as well as other cities around the world. One day I ended up liking it, except I didn’t just like it, I loved it. Now it’s perhaps my favourite.
Hey man….I also think Budvar is better. Love this too, but for my taste buds bitter vs. Sweet and sweet wins. Budvar just hits every time. But this is still an amazing beer…
I agree, it is very bitter and dry. Having said that, this one, I feel you can’t knock it until you have it off the tit in the Czech Rep. Even then though, I would not want more than 1 or 2.
You must have had a bad bottle as I never get the feeling of heartburn. The bitterness is part of its charm but I wouldn’t say it is too much. That said I’ve only had it out of the cans and the dates seem much fresher as they priced better than a bottle. Btw you butchered that pour, it's bad for any beer but even more so for PU.
No surprise you didn't enjoy the beer since you BROKE ALL THE RULES OF HOW TO POUR IT PROPERLY - way of pouring Pilsner beer affects its taste! Watching this video in between 1:44 and 2:08 was PAINFUL! In Czechlands, everyone knows that the glass (ideally thick-walled to better keep temperature) into which you want to pour your pilsner beer must be CLEAN, COLD and WET (propper pilsner beertender never has dry hands!). 1) You don't keep it clean because after pouring the beer you can see lots of bubbles on the sides of the glass - a sign that you have dust in it, or that it's been badly washed and therefore greasy on the inside. 2) It obviously wasn't wet either, as there were no drops on it. 3) And cold is also not, because it is not dewed (to prevent beer from suffering thermal shock glass should be cold accordingly to beer - for Urquell best 6-8°C - definitely not 5°C or less, as then the beer may foam less or even become cloudy). 4) You'd get your hands shot off in the Czechlands for banging the bottle to make the beer foam up more! It is pilsner - it is not ale! It does not get carbonated artificially - it carbonates naturally during fermentation! Then you can't be surprised that you weren't impressed... By the way, if you like sweet beers - like Budvar - you will never like Urquell which is bitter one (besides Budvar also make bitter version - named "33"). There are even more bitter Czech beers - Radegast, for example (Radegast Ratar is the most bitter version). But you might also like Velkopopovický Kozel - it is mildly sweet. Besides - there is a way how to taste Pislner Urquell i sweeter version - go to pub where they have it on tap and if they do their job properly they should be able to pour you "mlíko" (in English "milk") - it is glass of wet beer foam so dense that you can eat it with spoon and it tastes sweeter. But you have to drink it quickly otherwise it shall dissolve into a common beer (about one third of glass). Anyway - do your homework and learn how to pour Czech beers properly - otherwise you'll always make a mess of them and you will never enjoy them as much!
