Soproni - Brau Union Hungária Sörgyárak / Soprony Brewery

Guinness4me

Florida

3.63/5  rDev +21%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

After a couple years, beer reviews lost their luster for me. However, I owe this beer a review and it feels rather good to be back. A dear, dear friend of mine hand carried this from Budapest to my clammy hands, and I thank her dearly. (That's you, Ginger.) She has told me for years it was her favorite Hungarian beer, but we could never find it in Florida. Ginger has good taste.

She brought me both the bottle and can variety, but it's the bottle I'll review now:

It was a bright gold color which kind of surprised me; I think I was expecting something lighter. It had a disappearing head, which might not be indicative of the beer, but could be very indicative of this little guy's journey over the past week. It left a nice lacing which flowed slowly down the inside of the glass.

The smell was neither offensive nor exceptional, but did have a slight hint of skunk followed by a moment of sweet corn. Those genres were carried on to the taste which was quite crisp. It reminds me of that one great Heinekin you get after a few too-skunky ones. A slightly metallic finish paired with a wisp of tea at the end.

The mouthfeel was pleasant with tiny, tiny bubbles. It was easily drinkable and would be even better if it had a higher alcohol content.

Thanks, again, Ginger.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2006 01:57:44 | More by Guinness4me

sagabrews

Hungary

2.98/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

A: Darker gold. Pours pretty clear.
S: Smells like your average run-of-the-mill beer. Not very hoppy, somewhat watered down.
T: It wasn't horrible but it wasn't complex at all and not very intriguing. The aftertaste was ok.
M: Echoes what I said about taste.
O: Mehhh. Not too impressed, and not too keen on having again anytime soon.

Serving type: can

03-30-2013 14:19:49 | More by sagabrews

abcdefghijkyle

New Jersey

2/5  rDev -33.3%

10-24-2012 22:03:26 | More by abcdefghijkyle

Blumstein

Tennessee

3/5  rDev 0%

08-14-2012 03:18:39 | More by Blumstein

StonedTrippin

Colorado

2.73/5  rDev -9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

a totally forgettable hungarian brew, akin to some of the lesser american mass market stuff. it pours clear and thin, yellow to gold, but pretty flat looking. light white head gone in minutes. nose is spent grain and corn syrup, flavor to match. must be made with some very mineral rich water because it has a sort of irony taste, not metallic and cheap, but definitely minerally. feel is bizarre, its got some bready body which can be filling after a few, and it doesnt have enough carbonation, but its also quite light. confusing really. also never had one that was quite cold enough, draft or bottle, so that may have been weighing it down a little bit. overall this is one to skip, some much better beers made in hungary.

Serving type: on-tap

06-26-2012 14:47:24 | More by StonedTrippin

selator

3.75/5  rDev +25%

04-30-2012 19:58:02 | More by selator

Berecki

Croatia (Hrvatska)

2.73/5  rDev -9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Chilled, from 0.5 L can into a standard pilsner glass.
It's an average (tending to under-average) pilsner-style beer, with nothing to point-out in any way - not a good beer, but not a awful one either.
Clear light gold color, semi-persistent head, medium-carbonation, unrecognizable smell of hops and yeast. Tastes industrial. Mouthfeel is somewhat washed-out.
Overall - a correctly brewed, but not an interesting pilsner beer.

Serving type: can

08-24-2011 08:13:01 | More by Berecki

JohnW

United Kingdom (England)

3.03/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pale gold in the glass, reasonable head, not overly carbonated. Light aroma, slightly sweet and grassy rather then dry and acid. Taste is fairly smooth, hint of bitterness from the hops but also a hint of sweetness from the malts in the finish. Better than I expected, and whilst I would not buy this in preference to anything better, it was enjoyed on tap several times in bars and cafes while in Budapest.

JohnW
B'ham UK July 2011

Serving type: on-tap

08-07-2011 13:35:34 | More by JohnW

crossovert

Wisconsin

2.88/5  rDev -4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to my friend Leah. 500ml can with some kind of advertising on it. Bottom says 07.11.2011.

It pours a pale gold, nothing to write home about, but nothing horrible. The head is bright and white and lasts for a while before receding to some industrial-looking lacing.

The smell is unique. It smells like medicine with some tropical fruit and somehow some "skunk" even though it is from the can. Very much like a better version of Heineken, but that isn’t saying much.

The flavor is light and rather unoffensive. It has a lot of simple bready malts, some noticeable just bland/plain sugar, herbal hops, and a subtle fruitiness. It doesn’t have enough flavor for it to be really good and too much sweetness to call it subtly complex.

It is just an EPL really, nothing more.

Serving type: can

06-06-2011 17:52:24 | More by crossovert

djura

Serbia

2.85/5  rDev -5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

It looks typically for pilsner,and this is not bad pilsner at all.
Smell is medium,nothing special.
Taste-Grain aromas,with some citrus,but not much.
M- is good,medium bitter with some more carbonation.
Very nice beer,drinkable,but nothing more then that.

Serving type: can

05-15-2011 16:58:55 | More by djura

BucBasil

South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +21%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Had this on my trip to Budapest recently and reviewing from notes. Had on tap at a restaurant and poured into a pilsner style glass.

The beer is very typical of a Euro Pale, but that was expected. What wasn't expected was that it was pretty good - above average for its style. Light citric hop bite at the end. Hint of lemon. Some bread in there. Nothing special, just a nice solid beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-30-2010 04:41:39 | More by BucBasil

Mosstrooper

California

2.35/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Picked up a bottle in Budapest over this past weekend.

Poured from half liter bottle into nonic pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a pale straw color with a small, thin white head that dissipates quickly. Leaves a good amount of lace, which I did not expect given that the head was thin.

Smell: Very faint, but somewhat grassy and floral with hints of citrus. I had to really try to get a smell out of this one.

Taste: Not very strong tasting and actually a bit watery. Almost no taste up front (but the little that is there is sweet), with some hop spice at the end

Mouthfeel: Thin and pretty sharply carbonated. Redeeming only in that it's refreshing.

Drinkability: Not terrible, but below average overall and this is a beer that I do not think I would go for again.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2009 22:11:53 | More by Mosstrooper

cvfish

Louisiana

3.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Had this on tap at the Aranyhomok in Keskemet, Hungary

A - This beer poured a straw yellow with a thin white head that surprisinngly left some lacing around the glass

S - The aromas produced by this beer had some citrus hints, but mostly was stale smells

T - The taste of this beer was a lot along the lines of Heinekin and other Euro Pales, so you really get what you expect here

M - Light to medium bodied, with lots of carbonation

D - Moderate beer, its appeal comes from the way you want to drink the country's beer your in

Serving type: on-tap

12-09-2008 03:02:40 | More by cvfish

atis

Finland

3.58/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours golden with large head which dissipates within a few minutes and good lacing. Quite low amount of carbonation is visible.

The aroma is very strong grassy hops with hints of lemon. Taste is similar - lemony and mildly bitter grassy hops, maybe a bit skunky. The beer feels fizzy.

Dry and crisp beer, quite refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2008 20:50:32 | More by atis

hunteraw

China

3.13/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Very golden in color, quite clear. One-finger white head, with decent retention and some lacing.

Smell: Flinty mineral character and adjuncty corn. Little in the way of hops in the nose.

Taste: On the whole, fairly light. Balanced bitterness, but slightly astringent aftertaste. Slightly spicy, continental hops. Mild bread note.

Mouthfeel: Quite creamy mouthfeel for the style, surprisingly so. Makes me wonder whether they might be using beer gas for this lager, instead of CO2, or if it's just a characteristic of the beer.

Drinkability: Decent for the style, but not very distinctive.

Serving type: on-tap

09-08-2008 18:21:28 | More by hunteraw

bark

Sweden

2.63/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

The colour is bright yellow; the finger thick head is white and airy. Some lacing occurs.

The smell is sweet with some notes of wet paper, hop-extract and a hint of black pepper. Quite anonymous.

The taste is watery and neutral. Some notes of white loaf, some light sweetness. The bitterness is almost invisible. The aftertaste got some chemical flavours including alcohol.

The carbonation is relatively strong, a bit too strong for me actually. Small bubbles.

Yet another boring Hungarian standard lager. OK on a hot summer day, but nothing to write home about.

Serving type: can

06-24-2006 19:23:39 | More by bark