Staropramen Ležák (Premium Lager) 12°

Brewed by Staropramen Breweries (InBev)
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Prague, Czech Republic

Pale gold- small white head – candy, bubblegum nose – sparkly, slightly bitter, bubblegum taste – dry body- aftertaste short crisp

Pours a deep gold with a frothy 1/2 inch head. Lots of fine lacing. Smells grassy, hint of skunk, nice level of hops. Taste is grassy, nice noble hops in the finish. Not very complicated. Just the tiniest hint of skunk. Pretty tasty, just a bit watery. Could be a bit more crisp but overall a decent pilsener. Good fo the Atlanta summer.

I have 3 beers remaining in my fridge that must be gone by the close of business tomorrow so I can get out of state. This beast is one of them. Don’t know how I got it, don’t know why I’m about to drink it. I cracked the green bottle open and before I could do anything else I was hit with the most unpleasant (unless you are lumpy) aroma of skunk. The smell got worse once I poured it. Ugggh. Pours a copper body with a good sized lasting head. Stinks like few beers I have had. A bit of straw flavor, sweeter than I expected too. Metallic notes take over after the initial taste and this one gets ugly. Ramen noodle taste rough chemical bitter at the end. I’m going to go brush my teeth again after I pour this out. I just saw the fly I have been trying to get rid of turn around once it got close to this. Ap-3 ar-1 tas-2 pal-1 ov-2

[Bottled] To get this strait it never really was half the beer the Pilsner Urquell once was, but at least it used to be a dry, firm and freshly hoppy pilsner. That has chnged. It pours pale golden with average head. Perhaps the slightest hint of saaz hops remains, but it’s really Heinekenized and void of any real character. Medium bodied with somewhat mellow mouthfeel and low-medium bitterness. Hasn’t got much to separate it from the Carlsberg’s of the world anymore. I’ve had my last bottle of it...

Bottle. Tried in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Small white head. Clear golden color. Nice flower taste. Really nice overall !! I’m suprised because I really don’t like Pilsner usually (because of a lack of taste). This is the best Pilsner I’ve had so far !!

Rating Czech pilseners from the bottle half a world away seems a bit like rating Prague Castle from photographs. Sure, you get half an idea of what it’s about but it’s a far cry from being there. Bohemian pilseners are all about freshness, and the bottled versions that reach us elsewhere in the world are anything but - especially if they’re exported in skunky green bottles. I remember the disappointment of returning from Prague raving about the beer and opening several hugely underwhelming bottles for friends who wondered what on earth I saw in them. I can’t think of another style that loses its magic as quickly. However, if they export it, it’s available for rating, so here goes. Staropramen Lezak (labelled as "Premium Beer"" for the Australian market) is deep gold and poured with boisterous lacing head. The aroma is marginally light-struck but better than expected. At fridge temperature, it’s quite metallic, like sniffing a watertank, with some Saaz grassiness. Overall, it’s quite flinty and austere under the nose. Pale malts dominate the palate initially - breadsticks, butter, sugars - with a firm bitter finish. Very smooth and integrated. Quite dry in the swallow. A decent bottled Bohemian. (33cl bottle from Clovelly Vintage Cellars; best before 10/3/07)

Bottle. Another cheapish pils. Good head, but a little lite on the body and the flavor was only so so.

Clear golden orange with few bubbles but a decent head that laced quite a lot. Floral hop aroma, with a bit of buttery diacetyl. Some bitterness, but not as much as you’d expect from a bohemian. It is smoothed out by some sweet malt but it would serve the beer better if it was a touch drier. Thankfully there are many better examples of the style out there.