Budweiser Budvar / Czechvar Original

Budějovický Budvar — České Budějovice 4, Jihočeský kraj Czech Republic

4 Oct 2025 · Stephen

Czech Pilsner Budějovický Budvar

6.0% ABV

22 IBU

Golden Color

Contributing Factors

Presentation ✓

Character ✓

Experience ✓

Return –

3 / 4 I'd recommend trying it

Tasting Notes

Appearance Beautiful golden colour with a rich thick head — the brewery's own description, and accurate. Brilliantly clear, luminous in the glass with fine persistent carbonation. On draught in Prague, right now at James Dean and the Schweizerhaus in Vienna, this is one of the finest visual presentations in the European pilsner tradition.

Aroma Mild hop aroma from the Czech Saaz — that characteristic herbal, floral, and spicy quality that defines the variety, present but restrained at 22 IBU. Behind it, a clean Moravian malt sweetness, subtly bready and warm. A Finnish drinker describes it simply as easy start, a little bitterness at the end — which captures the Saaz aromatic arc perfectly. The 90-day lagering produces an aroma cleaner and more refined than a shorter-conditioned pilsner at the same IBU.

Palate Medium body — fuller than Pilsner Urquell's character at the same ABV, which is the 90-day lagering showing its work. The Moravian malt sweetness carries through the middle with a round, smooth quality that the extended conditioning produces. The mild medium-strong bitterness the brewery promises from the Saaz builds gently on the back half — present and real without being assertive. Clean, balanced, and more complex than its commercial ubiquity might suggest.

Finish Clean, short to medium, and gently bitter — the Saaz herbal note fading completely and refreshingly. The 90-day lagering delivers a smooth close with no harshness, no residual sweetness, just a clean, complete resolution that makes the next sip as natural as being in a Czech beer garden in August.

The Verdict

A 750-year brewing tradition, 90-day lagering, artesian well water, Moravian barley, and Czech Saaz hops. Whatever you call it in your market, the beer inside the glass is the same. And it's very good.

— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 4 Oct 2025