Beer Of The Week: Budvar, The REAL Budweiser

Remember when I blogged about my favorite beer EVER, Zywiec from Poland? Well, there's also a few other beers I had during that six-month bende... er... trip to Eastern Europe. One of them was this one, Budějovický Budvar, also known as Budweiser Budvar:



Now, before you scream, "BUDWEISER?", let me clarify. This is the one of THREE beer companies (2 in Cezch and 1 in America). Of course, while the American Budweiser took the name 'Budweiser' and made it a world famous for being piss, they can't call their beer 'Budweiser' in Europe. On the other hand, the other two Czech companies have retained the rights to market Budweiser beer in Europe, but can't call themselves that when marketing to US. For the full story of how the whole mess came about, check out the Wikipedia article on it.



But enough about the name. I LOVE this beer. I've loved it ever since the first time I drank it in Prague almost 10 years ago. I also had some last year in Munich, but because I also had some Zywiec later, I completely forgot about Budvar.

Anyway, this Hong Kong version is imported all the way from Czech. Is it as good as I remember though?

Well, Disappointingly, it didn't seem to taste as great as I used to think it was. Maybe because I'm drinking it in HONG KONG, and not PRAGUE. I don't remember why I liked it so much ten years and 19375839 beers ago, but at least its still a pretty damn good beer. It's smooth, citrus-y, and has a very pleasant flavor, with a slightly hoppy finish. Unfortunately, it also reminds me a little of Heineken. At 5% ABV, it's a standard lager's strength. It's also an easy drink, but not as piss-lite as the American Bud.

Oh well. I'm not so much into lagers and pilsners these days anyway. But I'd still take this over the American Budweiser ANYDAY.