Staropramen Lager
Pivovary Staropramen

Staropramen LagerStaropramen Lager
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From:
Pivovary Staropramen
 
Czechia
Style:
Czech Pale Lager
Ranked #24
ABV:
5%
Score:
77
Ranked #27,215
Avg:
3.36 | pDev: 16.07%
Reviews:
363
Ratings:
926
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 10, 2024
Added:
Aug 21, 2001
Wants:
  25
Gots:
  193
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by biegaman:
Photo of biegaman
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)

3.28/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Melted butter with eggshell frothing at its top. Its complexion is magnificently clear and causes not even a slight blur to my finger on the other side. The surface is dotted with plenty of well profiled bubbles. It appears tenacious enough that the pasty rings which it's etched around the glass should last. As far as pilsners go I don't suppose I could ask for much more.

Asking a little more from the aroma, however, should be considered rather reasonable. I don't know how macro breweries ever think they can entice anyone to drink their products when they smell like this (granted, I suppose most of their consumers drink straight from the can or bottle). Still, I can't find any way of imagining that this smell of flavourless malt could possibly be considered enticing. Neutral - sure, maybe; enticing - definitely not.

One consistent, invariable trend I've noticed in regard to my tastes in beer is as follows: the beers that taste good, I like; those that do not, I tend not to. This doesn't really taste bad enough for me to dislike it but it doesn't have enough flavour for me to find anything appealing about it. Therefore, following my own logic, this is a beer I neither like nor dislike.

Which seems a fair way of summing it up. For you see, this doesn't have so much of the stale, cloying, off-putting chemical adjunct taste of most mass produced (especially exported) beers. That said, it has none of the lightly toasted breads, sweet malts, and zestfully spicy hops that a true Czech Pilsner should have. Normally I would punish the beer on account of the latter but I've had so many beers guilty of the former that I'll call it even.

From my very limited brewing experience I would say that two of the most difficult styles to reproduce effectively are British milds and German/Czech Pilsners. These are very delicate styles that require quality ingredients. They hide little room for error and really demand experience and craftsmanship to capture their subtlety and balance. It's no easy feet to brew (let alone export) a tasty, quenching, balanced pilsner - not by a long shot.

My experience having lagers in Poland, Weißbier in Germany, and fresh hop Harvest ales in California has also taught me that beers can be unfathomably better when served as fresh and as close to the source as possible. By my own admission, I've yet to have a *real* Czech Pilsner at its best. I'll have to stop wasting money on these crappy cans and start saving up!
Feb 21, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.4 by SierraFlight from Virginia

Mar 10, 2024
 
Rated: 3.89 by Supper1

Jan 29, 2024
 
Rated: 3.5 by Monkeyknife from Missouri

Dec 20, 2023
 
Rated: 3.51 by Aitor from Spain

Nov 11, 2023
Photo of vinicole
Reviewed by vinicole from England

3.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Can. Golden amber with a fluffy white head.
Lightly perfumed grain like nose with hints of spice.
Tastes of white sliced supermarket bread with a bitter aftertaste.
Light. Well carbonated.
Haven't had this in years and now I know why.
Nov 01, 2023
 
Rated: 4.03 by JoshuaPerraton from Ireland

Oct 16, 2023
 
Rated: 2.45 by PaulanerDelRey from Croatia (Hrvatska)

Oct 05, 2023
 
Rated: 3 by BrisLoganite from Australia

Oct 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4.06 by ScrantanDave from England

Sep 28, 2023
 
Rated: 3.53 by Catalinmunteanu from Romania

Sep 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.54 by BillyNoonan from Ireland

Jul 14, 2023
Photo of Lunnex
Rated by Lunnex

3.7/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Smells nothing special,but tastes pretty good,its not overly carbonated,might be a bit heavier than an average pale lager.A good drink overall.
Jul 11, 2023
Photo of waydowninthehole
Rated by waydowninthehole

3.76/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Until I tried it on tap I was underwhelmed with this beer, but ever since I've enjoyed it much more
Jun 13, 2023
Photo of Snowcrash000
Reviewed by Snowcrash000 from Germany

3.69/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a slightly cloudy, golden amber coloration with a medium, fluffy, lasting head. Smells of doughy, bready malt and grassy, spicy hops. Taste follows the nose, with a good balance of doughy, bready, slightly grainy and caramelly malt and grassy, herbal, slightly spicy hops, with just a hint of citrus zest coming through as well. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some bready malt and grassy hops lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

A rather malt-forward Pale Lager with some distinct, slightly sweet malts that are balanced by bitter and grassy hops well enough though. Feels rather crisp and somewhat dry in the finish despite that light malt sweetness, thanks to a good bitterness. Overall, I enjoyed this better than I thought I would. Nothing special, but pleasant enough, with that balance of sweet malts and bitter hops working rather well here.
May 13, 2023
 
Rated: 2.98 by MrJones07 from Spain

Apr 13, 2023
 
Rated: 2.94 by hardy008 from Minnesota

Apr 04, 2023
Photo of Bitburger
Reviewed by Bitburger from Vermont

3.73/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Nice long lasting foam head. Adequate carbonation and good mouth feel. Not a Pilsener Urquell but not far away and much cheaper than his famous brother.
Apr 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by seakayak from Massachusetts

Mar 28, 2023
 
Rated: 3.29 by Eychung from New York

Dec 04, 2022
Staropramen Lager from Pivovary Staropramen
Beer rating: 77 out of 100 with 926 ratings