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| Budvar Premier Select - Sessionable AND boozy |
One of the things that I like to do on weekend afternoons is to have a wander around some good local bottleshops (I'm a booze nerd after all) largely to see what's around. Now being the weekend, I'm often also dressed like a homeless man in, with a dark hoody and thongs the normal attire. Actually I'm sure it distracts shop assistants as to why - given my weekend attire - I seem to be fingering the imports, and more than one has followed me around a Vintage Cellars recently, but I really rather like travelling incognito as I get a lie of the retail liquor land.
This particular find then was hiding in the middle shelf of one particular store and immediately caught my eye. A Budvar with an orange label and 7.6% alc? What is this then? Read the fine print and it's like a Buvar 2.0: fitter, happier, more productive etc. and no doubt generally better (if boozier) all round. Naturally, a bottle had to follow me home....
Happily, said bottle was a winner too, showing all that is good about Budvar just with more stuffing - more booze, more weight and more fullness. More to like of it then really, or at least when I'm in that particular mood.
As for the beer itself, it even looks more robust and darker in the glass, pouring a more macho bronze colour than 'normal' Budvar. There's still that sweaty Pils hop nose, but overlaid with more malty power, with a little Duval channeling also going on. The palate too is quite golden and malty, unmistakeably wamer though not hot, built in that same simple, water + hops + barley = beer style that Pilsener is meant to be like, yet even more malted, honeyed and richer,
In the end then I rather liked this. It's still sessionable (agreed Mr Bennie) but just a little tougher and more hardcore. You probably couldn't drink this for a whole night (as you'd be smashed. We both would be if on this) like you can with the 'standard' Budvar, but I'd be happy to have a few on my fridge's middle shelf. Yum.
2009/10 WCA Wine Journalism 'Young Gun; Wine Judge; Gourmet Traveller WINE and Breathe Hunter Valley magazine contributor; LattéLife & The Retiree columnist; National Liquor News tasting panellist and Chablis lover who fell into the liquor industry chiefly to buy cheap beer.
I didn't like it so much Andrew. I'm almost surprised that you did : ) It's malt liquor lite, or a more refined version of the preferred drink of homeless people in the Netherlands and Belgium, usually in canned format - so perhaps you liked it because of the clothes you were wearing. Not many get high alcohol lager right in my view. The brews often turn out too sweet and syrupy. Lagers just don't hold their alcohol as well as their top-fermented brethren. This isn't as bad as some admittedly. Normal Budvar is good stuff in a 'classic' Czech format, but this didn't really convince me. It almost seemed a bit gimmicky.
ReplyDeleteFor a stronger lager with more balance, but still some agreeable warmth, try Peroni Gran Riserva or that Alhambra Reserve 1925 (both great with spicy pizza!!) - more around 6.5% or something like that. Some of the German Bocks can also be good (e.g., Paulaner Salvator), but a bit too much sweet alcohol for my taste. One is usually enough.
Sorry for being grumpy this morning!!
MichaelC
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DeleteDuvel by the way. As you might know, it means "devil" in Flemmish (pronounced sort of like "doo-v'l", with the "v" sounding like a cross between our "v" and "f", and the emphasis on the first syllable). Sorry if you already knew this. I supposed that the misspelling was because you were pronouncing it in a French way, as many do (my brother-in-law still pronounces Leffe all Frenchy as Lef-fay instead of Leff-a despite my continued protests, probably just to annoy me). Duvel is the prototype for all the strong golden ales that use a pilsner malt and have infernal names. But I still think the original is the best!!
ReplyDeleteMichaelC
Interesting that I can't spell Flemish. Pot, kettle, black :)
ReplyDeleteMichaelC
Such is the peril of being a spelling Nazi... you shortly follow it up with a blooper of your own! :)
ReplyDeleteAs for beer, I do love the Peroni Gran Riserva (and my local VC has started stocking it) but I'm still sticking up for this one. It's malt lite but also has the purity of Budvar. It's not got the weight of Duvel (note the correct spelling :)) but it does have the cleansing Pilsener edge. It's that balance that I like.
On Duvel, the only challenge seems to be that there is some out of condition stock floating around. When will importers realise that beer is like wine and needs to be transported in reefers?
Okay Andrew, I'll buy another when I can. I might have been in one of my moods : ) I will try to be objective. But I am anti-high-alcohol-in-lagers-iste. Have you tried the dark Budvar? It's pretty good and earthy, if a touch on the sweeter side.
ReplyDeleteMichaelC
I've just tried the standard Ceske Buvar for the first time, think it's a really good beer. Definitely malty, a bit sweet but with fine hop bitterness on the finish. The high octane version could leave me a bit overwhelmed. But then my favourite beer that's been referred to as, "German VB" on a wine forum I visit is Konig Pilsner. It's not as sweet and malty as the standard Budvar and I think has better balance.
ReplyDeleteCheers
daz