Pardubice Pilsner
Pardubický pivovar a.s.

 

 

16.9oz brown bottle, lot #1405, Bottle claims 4.8% ABV
It's ok, the hop notes seem to be different and more restrained compared to some Czech Republic Pilsners I've had.
Some what malty. It seems like this beer is about the malt not the hops.

Bottled on date: ???? Lot #478

A - Dark gold pour with steady, moderate carbonation and thin lacing.

S - Grainy honey caramel malt.

T - Sweet grainy honey malt from start to finish. At trhe very, very end there's a tiny bit of lemon citrus but it's so faint you really have to dig to find it. There's a tiny bit of earthy bitterness mixed in but this is pretty much all malt.

M - Medium body with prickly carbonation and a wet finish.

O - Did the brewer actually intend for the beer to be like this or is the bottle that old? If the beer is that old, shame on the bottle shop I bought it from (I wouldn't put it past them). I always check bottle dates for certain beer styles and this is one of them. Decided to roll the dice and once again got burned.

 

Pours a clear yellow straw color with visible and highly audible carbonation. A very large foam head displays very good retention.

The aroma highlights mostly the malt profile. Grainy and bready with a hint of honey and sweet notes of granola.

Sweet malt forward taste upfront, with notes of toasted bread, cracker and a touch of caramel. The malts are balanced by earthy hops flavors that provide a gentle spice. The finish is dry and clean with a hint of bitterness.

Medium bodied with a mouthfeel that is more smooth than crisp. The balance leans more towards the malty sweet. The carbonation is moderate.

Not bad; certainly easy to drink. I wish it had a tad more bitterness and that the mouthfeel was more crisp.

Pardubický pivovar a.s. "Pardubice Pilsner"
500 ml brown glass bottle, coded "LOT NUMBER 1644"
$1.99 @ Roger Wilco, Pennsauken, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: I'm hoping I've got something good here. The label mentions Saaz hops and the glass is brown so those are both good things. It's a deep gold in color, bordering on amber, and in my opinion that's not really a good sign but we'll see At least it's clear. It's got a pretty tall head of off-white foam on it and I'll have to let it settle and top it up. The aroma is clean and bright with both grainy malt and some noble hops. I'm not getting the spiciness of Saaz, nor any clear floral, grassy or herbal notes though, it's more of a mix. I was hoping that the head would have held well, and that I'd get a nice creamy cap but that's not the case, it just keeps dropping down to a thins surface covering. Disappointing. On to the flavor then... well it's like the aroma in that it's got malt and hops but they just run together, and it's what I tend to describe as "flabby". There's not quite enough bitterness to make it snap, and the malt flavor is dull and far from the brightly grainy and grassy Pilsner malt that I was hoping for. It seems to have a light caramel note to it and I wonder if they've used a kilned malt. That would explain the color, but that's not common in a Pilsner. In fact, my guess is, and I'm probably wrong about this but it seems like it, that that's coming from a little bit of caramelization during the first runnings into a direct-fire, or even steam-fired kettle if the jackets are opened up early. The hops are limited but there is a bit of spiciness here, as opposed to what I found in the aroma, although it's hardly exciting. Floral character lingers in the finish along with just the lightest touch of herbs. In the mouth it's medium bodied, and it's got a gently crisp, fine-bubbled carbonation to it. I've had beers like this in Prague and they're OK, but this doesn't cut it as a Pilsner. They should have labeled it something else.
Review #6,931

Pours clear, gold in color with 1/2 inch head. Taste is grass and grain. Slightly bitter, medium bodied and carbonation. Makes for an above average Czech pilsner. Not bad, but I prefer others in the style.

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high white head that died down, leaving a short head covering the surface and a coating of bubbles around the sides of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of biscuit and bready malts are present in the nose along with hints of grassy and spicy hops.
T: The taste starts out with flavors of biscuit malts and finishes with hints of floral hops, the latter of which also contribute a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and clean on the palate with some dryness towards the finish.
O: This beer goes down very easily as it isn't that heavy on the palate. It is a good representation of the style.

Serving type: bottle

16.9 oz. bottle poured into pilsener
(no obvious dating I can find on bottle, but label does have "LOT NUMBER 479/17" printed on it; beer courtesy of @TongoRad)

L: pure gold, clear as water, topped by 1-inch head of white foam; slight sticking off head; keeps collar of white foam and a piece of skin early on; collar whittles down to a wisp with no skin about halfway into glass; no major lacing

S: peach kolache ... so sweet and so bready it's like walking into a bustling bakery on a busy morning, but peach (apricot) kolache is the specific note

T: follows the nose closely but with an added spicy hop bite ... the bite's flavor is black pepper or something like it, for it's bitter but not exactly earthy ... yep, the lingering aftertaste centers on the tip of the tongue like black pepper will do; slight metallic flavor early on, but it subsides

F: light middleweight, very crisp, perfect for drinking in bulk ... the carbonation often joins that hop bite and pummels the tip of your tongue in a way that just screams "beeeeer!!!"

O: except for the early bit of metallica, there's not a thing out of bounds with this beer; the aroma is a bread-malt explosion, and the spicy hop bite reminds you you're not drinking soda water; great beer and a must-try for the pilsener fan