Vltavan
Brnovar

 

 

 

 

 

Part of a 10 pack 16.9oz cans Costco $29.99
231 days old assuming 07.11.2024 means November 07.
Clear golden color
Medium mouthfeel
Medium-high carbonation
Taste of malts, light bitterness, easy drinking
Overall a good beer. Nothing fancy, just straightforward beer and well made

 

Great flavor and no after taste. I am guessing that this beer is well balance. It tastes like a US craft ale but made in the tradition of European beer. Best of both worlds.

Says on the can: "Traditional Beer." Yup. Good job.

This is a high quality Czech lager. It's not quite a Pilsner Urquell clone, but it's a similar beer. There are no real surprises. It's just an excellent "beer flavored beer."

Hazy copper pour. small head. Perfect bready, grassy scent. Bready malty flavor.

Graham cracker, slightly sweet. Nice bitter edges, robust malt feel despite the low-ish alcohol. More sweetness and maltiness right down to the hoppy lingering finish. Well crafted and rich flavor experience.

Very approachable yet formidable Czech brew with a well assembled profile.

From the can, it pours a clear golden color with a white head that slowly reduces to a thin layer and leaves lacing. The scent is malt forward, with a touch of hops behind. The mouth follows, with a nice malt flavor overall. Decent!

Why do the colors and type on this can look to me so much like Pilsner Urquell. Is Brnovar copying the classic? Or do these colors have a cultural significance among Czech drinkers ? I'd like to think the latter. But the two lagers also taste very similar to this lover of ales.

As such, I had Vltavan as part of lunch; to wash it down and prepare me for a nap after playing tennis in the AM. (It all worked out... but the nap was best.) As for Vltavan, I'd appreciate a longer lasting foam and lace. Smells are classic mostly malt with the hops in the back of my nose. Tastes follow closely, but the hops take over in the finish... again classic. Medium-mouthed and stimulating on my tongue. A good lager at lunch.

My copy came from Costco in a European Beer Collection box, a good way to introduce obscure beers to the U.S.; much like Costco's Advent Calendar. Trying to follow the multi-year success of Advent Calendar, this Limited Edition box was organized and imported by a different firm, Webster Barnes, who I don't know but welcome this sort of work. Brnovar has two beers in the box and I give them a micro-review on my review of TUP... also worth having but not necessarily worth repeating.

Brnovar S.R.O. "Vltavan"
500 ml can coded "ALC 4.7% 28.10.2024 PO 272 80723". Sampled on 19.02.2024.
$29.99/12-pk European Beer Collection @ Costco, Christiana, DE

Notes via stream of consciousness: A clear amber colored body with golden highlights rests beneath a thumb's width of white foam. Plenty of bubbles can be seen facing upwards within the glass. The aroma is clean, malty and bready with a touch of caramel, and spicy, grassy, and lightly herbal due to the hops. The taste follows quite closely, and a firm bitterness balances it and brings it to a mainly dry conclusion with some spicy hops left lingering. The combination of caramelish malt and spicy/grassy hops is really quite nice. It's medium bodied and crisp across the palate. If there's a fault here it's that the head retention and lacing weren't the best they could have been, otherwise it's fairly classic.
Review #8,926