Staropramen Lager - Pivovary Staropramen

jhtipton

Spain

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served into a Lowenbrau pint glass from a 500 ml can. Gives a small white foamy head with some mild lacing. It is a medium golden color. Smells slightly sweet, a little metallic and malty. Taste is somewhat bitter and malty. Mouthfeel is medium to light bodied and carbonated. Drinkability is fine, probably even better ice cold on the beach but I'll have to wait a few more months for that.

Serving type: can

01-22-2011 17:31:02 | More by jhtipton

BBP

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Very nice dark golden colour with little head. Looks quite good.

S- Typical Czech pilsner aroma with a bit heavier grain/wheat smell.

T- Grain and wheat tastes in the front leading to a great bitter and sweet aftertaste, almost like honey. I found that I enjoyed every sip more than the last. Really started to enjoy it when I knew which flavours to look for.

M- Medium body and carbonation. Very crisp.

D- Quite good. All around good beer. I expect to purchase it again.

Reminds me of Pilsner Urquell, but seemed a little less smooth to me, although it had more interesting flavors. Left me with an exceptional aftertaste which made me want another sip after I finished my last.

Serving type: can

08-24-2010 02:34:56 | More by BBP

decimator

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml can poured into a pint glass.

A - Poured a golden yellow colour with a bubbly white head. Decent lacing is produced.

S - Sweet malts with some grassy and zesty hops in the background.

T - Sweet malts followed by the bitter hop finish with a hint of spice.

M - Good carbonation. A bit on the heavier side for a Pilsner. Crisp finish.

D - Decent beer but for me it doesn't stand out from the pack.

Serving type: can

07-31-2010 02:32:38 | More by decimator

ludachris

Ontario (Canada)

3.15/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a perfectly clear bronzy gold with two fingers of fluffy white head that displays great retention and slowly receeds from the middle outwards, eventually creating what looks like a crown of head, leaving sheets of puffy lace.

Grassy hops with a bit of a herbal character to them and a light cracker-like malt is what composes the nose.

Grassy hops combine themselves with a pleasant citrus character that makes a quick appearance in the middle and receeds to a more pronounced grassy/herbal hop finish. Biscuity and cracker-like malts are detectable but faint, and seem to be there more for making sure the hops don't get too pronounced.

Mouthfeel is light and somewhat wet for the style. Easy to put down but not all that flavourful.

This seems like a decent Czech pilsner, but nothing out of the ordinary. Simple and refreshing with all of the usual going on. A decent intro into the style, but not a standout.

Serving type: can

03-21-2010 22:47:47 | More by ludachris

BucBasil

South Carolina

3.78/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

This is my second visit to this beer, one of the better choices you can find here in Bulgaria on a consistent basis... This time in can form...

Appearance: Pure gold color with a good amount of pure white head that sticks all over the glass after going down.

Smell: Somewhat bready with a hint of citrusyness to it. Smells very fresh and refreshing. Hint of metallic twang from the can I'm guessing.

Taste: Bready up front and smooth all the way through with a light sweetness. Finishes with a bit of bitterness that is cleansing rather than displeasing.

This is a solid choice almost every time. Well balanced and extremely drinkable. A good session, especially here in BG.

Serving type: can

02-03-2010 14:43:28 | More by BucBasil

rarbring

Sweden

3.7/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A golden beer with a white head leaving lacing on the glass.

The smell is rather clean, some grassy hop tones with a sweet malty component.

Taste of sweetness from dried apricots, somewhat alcoholic with a good complement of bitter hops.

Rather mild carbonation makes it creamy and pleasant to drink.

In all a very decent Czech lager.

Serving type: can

01-24-2010 14:16:07 | More by rarbring

atomicbolt

Ontario (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

500 mL can I grabbed. There are 9 different languages on the can, so you know it's a pretty international brand.

Pours a nice golden-straw with a thin white head that laces quite nicely. Pretty average smell - grainy, grassy, an edge of bitter hops, a bit of citrusy fruit - smells like a pilsener.

The taste's pretty mellow, with a fairly immediate hop punch, residing into a fairly neutral graininess with just a bit of fruity sweetness. Feels fairly aggressive on the tongue, then subsides into a mellow smoothness on swallow. Leaves behind a fairly neutral aftertaste, just a bit of hop bitterness. Really aggressive carbonation, maybe my can was a bit shaken up but it made me want to swallow as quickly as possible.

Overall I'd call it average. Not quite enough taste character, but not bad, either.

Serving type: can

04-23-2009 03:03:11 | More by atomicbolt

EatsTacos

Yukon (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours a bright straw yellow with a thin, bubbly head. Laces the glass pretty well.

Aroma: Grassy and lightly hoppy. Floral Saaz hops, but nothing overwhelming.

Taste: I would've hoped for and expected more of a spicey Saaz hop flavour, but this is pretty bland really. I appreciate that its pretty dry, and the finish is quenching and bitter.

Mouthfeel: Pretty thin and carbonation is medium and sharp.

Serving type: can

04-18-2009 02:00:14 | More by EatsTacos

drpimento

Wisconsin

3.9/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This is (or was) one of my fav Czech, nay, ALL pilseners. But I'm having a little difficulty in pinning down exactly which one it is due to varying label styles and info. A certain other beer review site has what I think I have as a different beer. eh. Usually I drink it, when they have it, at Bodega Brew Pub in
La Crosse, Wis. USA. This .5 l can I got here at the nearby Supermercado Carrefour in Recoleta, Buenos Aires. Poured with a nice head and some lace. Clear gold color. Beery, malty, slightly sweet yet a bit hoppy nose. Flavor is very similar to aroma but with the good texture. Just right carbonation. Not too bitter, not too sweet. Quaffable. Decent finish. Session beer. I likes it!

uh, PS.- The label is much cooler than the one shown here!

Serving type: can

03-28-2009 22:52:40 | More by drpimento

DoctorStrangiato

Alberta (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a 500-ml can into a tall draught glass.

Appearance - bright gold with a thin head. Wicked lacing, low to medium carbonation.

Smell - soft, sweet aroma of biscuits and grain. Further nosing provides fresh dough, with light apple notes.

Taste - immediate hoppiness punches through, with mellow grainy sweetness following. The end features some spicy hops with a lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel - an interesting effect on the tongue, very fizzy for the carbonation then smooth and then fizzy once again. Novelty.

Drinkability - not a bad brew, decent flavouring and character. Not my first choice of a Czech Pilsner, but nothing wrong with having a few of these.

Serving type: can

03-20-2009 01:55:41 | More by DoctorStrangiato

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%
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!

Serving type: can

02-21-2009 00:24:33 | More by biegaman

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

While visiting Prague not too long after the Velvet Revolution, I was new to beer, and found that the lagers throughout this new country were the perfect antidote to the mid-summer Continental heat and humidity. Of all the beers I tried, I recall this being my favorite, but it has never been available where I live. A recent trip to Toronto allowed me to grab a tall can of this trip down memory lane...

Poured into my souvenir Staropramen 50cl mug, from a pub in the backstreets of Prague whose name I don't remember, this pilsener is a very nice light golden colour, with a copious amount of light, white head, which disappears quickly, leaving lace all over the place. The smell takes me back to those dark, cool pubs near the Strahov Stadium, taking refuge in wonderful 50 cent frosty beer, no-English environments. It's all bready, biscuity malt and grassy green hops on the nose, and crisp hops and white crackers in the taste, very easy to drink, moderately carbonated, with a clean finish. I'm not saying this can is as good as a pint in a Prague pub, but that was a long time ago, so this will have to do, and do nicely.

Serving type: can

10-18-2008 03:10:07 | More by biboergosum

nighthawk

Nova Scotia (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500 mL can with best before date stamped on bottom. Pours a clear golden yellow. Large white head, dissipates in a short time, leaving gobs of lacing around the glass. Smells strongly of bread: grainy, yeast, sweet with faint floral hop notes. Smooth sweetness up front, light sourness like green apple, spicy and bitter hop finish with some light fruit notes. Carbonation is nicely crisp, light body, but never watery. Somewhat refreshing, but not quite so much as some other Czech Pilsners.

Serving type: can

05-31-2008 02:21:23 | More by nighthawk

Antilochus

Ontario (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Another Czech Pilsener to review, best thus far is Kozel followed closely by Budweiser Budvar/Czechvar. Best before 11/12/2008. 5.00% abv, 500mL. Poured at fridge temp into a oversized wine glass.

Big bubbly white head over a rich amber body. Leaves some lace.

Aromas are stronger of caramel than I've seen in other Czech pilsener. Classic noble hop aromas, but can smell the bitterness.

Feel is on the watery side, but carbonation creams it nicely. Palate is super spicy, lots of bitterness, but some undesirable vegetably sweetness too. Finish is more spice and bitterness, which is better than sweetness, but it switches over to maltiness after a few seconds. Overall medium length.

I find these Czech pilseners to be more and more of the same...

Serving type: can

03-24-2008 21:13:07 | More by Antilochus

MMansfield

Nova Scotia (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Picked up can at NSLC.

Appearance: Pours a clear golden amber colour with a big fluffy white head. Resides slowly to a lacey ring. Leaves gobs of lacing in its wake.

Aroma: Floral hops and a nice grainy aroma. Sweetish, bready.

Taste: Bready and grainy. Not a whole lot of flavour. Bitterness is medium. Finish is bready.

Mouthfeel: Light mouthfeel, very high drinkability.

Final Statement: Not a mindblowing beer, but very drinkable, nothing wrong with it at all. A decent czech pilsner.

Serving type: can

02-02-2008 02:03:17 | More by MMansfield

MTNboy

Missouri

2.63/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I believe I actually tried this in Czech a few years ago and I enjoyed it. Maybe this review does not do the beer justice but this is the impression I got when I recently tried in a can I got from the BeerStore in Kingston Ontario.

Appearance- This beer is almost an orange amber color. It has both a full head of foam that will form some nice foamy lace.

Smell- A very cheap and adjunct mass produced lager smell. A bit grassy

Taste- The first thing I tasted was metal then I tasted a bit of hops and even less but some malt. I would say the flavor was less than average.

Mouthfeel- It feels watery and there was not much for carbonation.

Drinkability- I thought it was very bland and cheaply made.

Serving type: can

01-05-2008 02:35:01 | More by MTNboy

ThatWineGuy

Ontario (Canada)

2.48/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Medium-gold colour but see through. Light head, some lacing, but none of it lasted very long. Lightly carbonated. When first poured, there was an aroma of apple / spice, a hint of cinammon that made me think this could be interesting. Carbonated mouthfeel, dry with a bitter sharp taste, some hops, malt but not in great tandem. The finish drops off quickly and I found it a little harsh and rough on the palate. The ingredients listed on the side of the can include mollose syrup and hop extract, at least they're up front about that, it looked and smelled better than it was.

Serving type: can

10-05-2007 03:51:37 | More by ThatWineGuy

drinkininthewood

Ontario (Canada)

2.68/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served from a 500ml tall can BB 27.03.08.

A- straw yellow in color. decent head settles down to a layer of foam, lace.

S- hops, a little malt sweetness, mint, also a little grainy.

T- skunky, malt sweetness, bitter hops, bread/bran muffins, traces of caramel.

M- nice body and moderate carbonation.

D- fairly good drinkability.

Overall not my favorite example of the style(way too skunky), but compliments grilled chicken with vegetable dishes quite nicely.

Serving type: can

05-08-2007 22:08:43 | More by drinkininthewood

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3.39/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this over a friends house the other night.
Pale golden straw color with a thin white head. It lacked carbonation and looked pretty boring just sitting there.
The aroma has a pale malt, grassy smell with barly any hop presence.
The taste is plain and boring but is drinkable. There is a slight hop taste, I'm guessing saaz.
A bit more malty with pale malts and pilsner malts only with a breadiness at finish.
Drinks dry and slightly bitter on the palate.
This was an okay beer but I think the hop profile could more pronounced.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 10:35:36 | More by micromaniac129

Roman5150

Michigan

3.86/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle into Duvel glass

Appearance: Piss yellow, typical lager color, 1 finger off white head

Smell: bready notes, slight roasted malt, nothim much else.. very subtle earthy hops

Taste: very bready, almost rye taste, for the style there is plenty of flavor for sure.

mouthfeel: great carbonation and relatively full bodied feel for a lighter beer

overall: Probably my favorite lager, with Summerfest close behind. Basically, it's a Macro made the way it should be, with some actual flavor characteristics. Very smooth and refreshing, also if you are ever in Prague, visit the brewery and try this on draft, it's amazing.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 01:11:15 | More by Roman5150

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.96/5  rDev +46.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Staropramen has a thick, off-white head and a clear, somewhat bubbly, golden appearance, with thin lacing left behind. The aroma is of sweet, biscuit and bready malt, with a touch of hop zing. Taste is of those elements, with a wonderful and dead-on hop bitterness rounding it out. Mouthfeel is light to medium and prickly, and Staropramen finishes crisp, clean, refreshing, dry, and delicious. Really, this is about as perfect as a beer can get, and I score it world class. This might be the best lager I’ve ever tried. Just fabulous and a must for beer lovers!

RJT

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 13:58:00 | More by RonaldTheriot

nukem5

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

A: Pours a nice orange color with off-white foamy head.

S: Aroma is of malts and orange peels.

T: Taste is nice rich malts with some orange zest and floral touches in there.

M: Mouthfeel is of medium bodied dry and lightly carbed.

O: Overall a decent beer with a solid backbone. Well worth the money.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2013 23:19:25 | More by nukem5

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.05/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

I picked this up as a part of a mix-a-six at Giant in Linglestown PA, poured chilled into a mug.

The color is deep amber with tranparent clarity and off white cream with tight bead and no lace. The smell is not very impressive, it has a slight skunky hop nose probably from the green glass bottle and it overpowers the mildly bready undertones. The feel is malty with highly carbonated and semi-slick diacetyl texture with dry finish and semi spicy feel.

The Pils has a taste that is mineral and toasted with slight creamy element from yeast and possibly carbonation with subtle yeast dryness after the swallow with some spiciness from the hops in the finish. Overall I was bit underwhelmed as the beer was overwhelmed by the skunkiness it suffers a lot as a result of this and is marginally drinkable as a result. I would pass unless I saw it on tap somewhere.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 14:02:41 | More by Slatetank

RickS95

Indiana

2.93/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a pale straw golden color with some darker orange hues that help it not look like piss. Very clear, think American macro only slightly darker. The head is the only reason it scored as well as it did because it's a brilliant with, a couple fingers thick with a lot of different sized bubbles. Really nice retention, with a medium sticky lace when all is said and done.

I'm not a fan of the look, the smell or the style. It's classic American macro with an earthy, dirty Czech hop scent. Again, not a fan of this at all. However, if you really let your nose dig deep, there is a lingering citric note hiding in the depths that makes this tolerable.

Not sure how Czech beer ever became popular, but this matches the style. It's not something I care for, but it is what it is. Being an old school lager, it's almost devoid of taste. If anything, there's a crackery taste.

It's dry and has an earthy, flowery bitterness to it. Complete lack of sweetness, though as it warms it tries. Somewhat smooth.

It's not the worst thing I've ever had, but it's certainly nowhere near the best, even for a Czech beer. Fairly easy to drink if you can get past the smell and lack of flavor.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 03:31:37 | More by RickS95

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.31/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

A finger and half of head on a clear, medium straw colored body. Looks great.
The aroma is milled grain and a touch metallic.
The taste is lighter with mild lemon bitterness, bit of malt sweetness and finishes with a mild puckering bitter note. Easy to drink.
The texture is crisp with moderate carbonation.
Not amazing but worth a drink or two.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2013 04:38:41 | More by Fatehunter