Tuesday 22 November 2016

It comes in cans!



At the 2014 European Beer Bloggers Conference in Dublin, we were given some 500ml cans of Pilsner Urquell to try. (I also brought a few home with me). This followed on from a detailed presentation on the merits of the humble can as a means of storing beer and keeping it brewery fresh. The cans had some nice retro designs, based on old Pilsner Urquell adverts from the 1920’s and 30’s.

Two and a half-years on I have yet to see these cans on sale in any UK supermarket, so last weekend I was surprised to find these six-packs of Budweiser Budvar in my local Sainsbury’s. At £5.50 for six cans, the packs represent good value, for a quality Czech beer which has been lagered for am impressive 90 day period, so I picked up a couple. Compared to certain “craft” beers, which are also starting to appear in local supermarkets, these cans of Budvar represent excellent value.

Packaged in 330 ml retro-size cans, they fit nicely in the fridge and come in handy when you fancy a quick beer, but haven’t got time for a good session. The merits of cans have been discussed on several occasions, both on this blog as well as on others, so it is good to see a quality beer packaged in this manner.

I’m sure you don’t need me extolling the merits of BudweiserBudvar, so I will just say the beer is a premium lager brewed in the Czech town of České Budějovice (Budweis in German). It is produced using the finest Moravian barley, whole Saaz hop cones and local water drawn from deep artesian wells, before being matured in lager cellars for 90 days. I believe the Czech government retains a major stake in the brewery.

So, if like me you appreciate a decent lager and fancy a “cold one” from time to time, it’s well worth keeping a pack or two of these cans in the fridge.

5 comments:

Cooking Lager said...

keep a look out. Sains often discount them 6 packs to a fiver.

RedNev said...

There's no reason why canned beer can't be as good as bottled beer, with the exception of real ale in a can where pouring a clear pint must be almost impossible, as we've discussed previously.

Paul Bailey said...

I knew I could rely on you Cookie, for pointers of where to buy cheap grog.

I agree with what you say Nev, but canned beer had a really bad reputation, for many decades. This was almost certainly due to the poor quality product contained therein, but once lost; it takes a lot of time for confidence to be regained.

Brett said...

Cooking Lager - the offer at Sainsbuty's is on at present - well, it was on Friday (not sure when they switch deals).. 6 wonderful cans of Budvar for a fiver - bargain :-)

Paul Bailey said...

My local Sainsburys had sold out yesterday evening.