Beer Report page 2
Margin Island, Budapest
11:50 am "It's noon somewhere!"
Zlaty Bazant $1.89 .5L bottle 5%
A little of the harsher, cheaper taste but it's cool on a hot day and now we will walk back through the park.
Unrecorded bar near the Synagogue in Budapest
Dreher $1.65 .5L tap
Low carbonation. Nice golden light amber color. Goes down smooth, very smooth. Some hop bitterness but kind of malty mouthfeel in taste. Good.
Sidewalk seating after the Hungary FTC football match.
Pilsner Urquell $2.62 .5L tap
Best PU of the trip. Smoother maybe lower in carbonation, goes down pretty smooth. Bitterness is there but it's not too strong due to higher than desired carbonation. Still, not quite as good as in Czech Republic.
Weinhaus Danko (red wine) $3.11 750ml bottle
Sweet red quality wine. 11% Product of Hungary
When they say sweet, they mean it. It can literally be gulped, which of course is not only not normal, but not recommended. It tasted very good and was like a mild Sangria.
Siofok train station
Borsodi Sor $1.11 .5L bottle 6.5%
Pretty nice. Good hop bitterness, crisp, little thin on the Mouthfeel which is probably ok for style. Fair enough.
Kapitany Vendeglo restaurant, Szantod, Hungary
Edelweiss Weissbier $1.94 .5L tap
Similar to when I've had it before. Almost a hint of sour. Cloudy, hazy appearance. Strong wheat taste. Good for ending a hot day and hopefully welcoming a cooler evening.
Bar across the street from above restaurant
Topvar $1.45 .5L tap
Hmm. Never saw this before. Pretty light in color and a little light in taste. Decent flavor. Nothing too strong. But definitely better than AMS.
Cafe/outdoor seating where we spent most of this night
Hofbrau Haus Helles $3.39 1 L tap
What the?! Lots of Germans/Austrians come here and I found this. Damn is it good. Maybe better than the time in Munich. At least it taste better than a lot of the lagers I have been having. Great drinking stuff. A real unexpected treat.
Under thatched huts while finishing the rap, near the Hotel Rev Balaton
(these 8 bottles were shared among Dan, Dave and I)
Dreher Bak $1.30 .5L bottle 7.3%
This must be a bock. Tastes like it and higher in alcohol. Quite nice tasting. Tastes basically like a bock should. So far the Dreher stuff (Hungarian) has been decent.
Kobanyai Sor $ ? .5L bottle 4.5%
Just had taste from Dave's bottle. Fair enough. Nothing great.
Dreher Classic $ ? .5L bottle 5.2%
Dang good, even from a bottle. I'm relatively impressed with this brewery. Good malt flavor and body with decent hop bitterness
Tuborg Gold Label Deluxe Beer $.92 .5L bottle 5%
Copenhagen, Denmark. Maybe ore like Grolsch. Light lager with ok flavor but doesn't do a lot for me.
Arany Aszok $.92 .5L bottle
Maybe slightly better than Tuborg but only so so.
Dreher Lager $1.11 .5L bottle 5.1%
Odd. Has a good head but for some reason tastes like lower carbonation, or smoother at least. Good quality taste.
Mammut $.63 .5L can 4.2%
So So. Little like Bitburger. Decent average Pils. Very cheap.
Steffl $1.21 .5L can 5.8% Hungary
First impression was that I can taste the alcohol. It's a little too noticeable for this style. Not much else to say because that kind of overshadows the other tastes.
Hot, cellar pizza place in Pecs, Hungary
Szalon Sor $1.26 .5L tap
Just average. Not much to say. Not great but not undrinkable.
VIP Cafe, Zagreb, Croatia
Ozujsko $2.30 .5L bottle 5.2%
Little light in flavor but not bad. "Product of Croatia" so it is good to try. Tastes like might have adjuncts and not be 100% malt. Made in Zagreb, actually, just down the street from where we just were.
In hotel room
Karlovacko $1.31 .5L can 5.4%
Got a little warm in 45 min commute. Not bad though, maybe better than Ozujsko. Made in Croatia. Since 1854. Decent malt, crisp taste with some bitterness.
Rab, Croatia
Holba Classic Free .5L can 3.5% Czech Republic
Very light in flavor and body. Not a lot going on. But after 6 hour bus ride, it's free, cold, and works for me. They picked us up from the bus station which as also nice. [Our room wasn't ready so the hostel owners gave us a drink and a snack while we waited.]
Karlovacko $1.64 .3L tap
Pretty good stuff on tap too. Nice to try it this way with my mackerel dinner. "It's smiling at me," I could paraphrase A Christmas Story about the head on the fish. The beer and fish were both just right as we sit overlooking the sea.
In hotel room
Zlatorog $.89 .5L bottle Spilt, Croatia
Wow. Spicy nose, little pepper(?) Good taste with spiciness in finish. Tastes a lot like an ale, actually. Haven't tasted anything like this on this trip. It's rather good.
Ozujsko Pivo $.87 .5L bottle 5.2%
Had a bottle of this before at a restaurant. Tastes better today, more malt flavor. Wonder why. I am very hot and thirsty, and that could help.
Karlovacko Pivo Beer $.85 .5L bottle 5.4% 1854
Pretty crisp with some bitterness. Today the Ozujsko tastes better but previously I thought the opposite. Head dissipates immediately. Fairly standard Pils taste.
Pizzeria Bracra, Rijecka, Croatia
Tuborg $2.46 .5L tap 11:10 am "It's noon somewhere."
Last night at dinner I ordered "Tocerno Pivo" thinking it was a brand. I got something I have never tried before, maybe Hifter. Today I asked and Tocerno means "draft." Today it's Tuborg and it tastes better than the bottle I had. Has more flavor and better impression this way. Still, fairly average.
Leopold restaurant, Vienna, Austria
Schwechater Hopfen Perle $3.26 .3L tap
Pretty tasty. Nice hop spiciness in finish. Clean malt taste. Maybe try to bring one back.
Blue Box Cafe, Vienna
Schwechater Zwickel $3.73 .5L bottle 5.4%
Cool, raised glass green bottle with pull-off cap. Nice mild yeast aroma. Taste is great for a wheat yeast beer - smoother than usual. Quite nice.
Velkopopovicky Cerny Kozel Dunkel $3.73 .5L bottle 3.87% from Plzen, Czech Republic
Holy sweet brown mild tasty goodness! Very smooth, almost incredibly so. Partially due to low alcohol? Pretty unique. Almost tastes like an ale. In a blind test I think I would guess it is. Made by Kozel? I recognize that name. No aftertaste. Nice beer.
Airporthotel Vienna
Ottakringer Helles $4.21 .5L tap
Ottakringer is a suburb of Vienna I found out. If I had more time I could have gone and seen the brewery via the metro. Pretty nice tasting. Nothing different, but a solid Helles. Trying to differentiate it from a Pilsner in my mind, something I should probably do with these Austrian, German (Hungarian, Croatian, Polish...) light lagers. I bought a can of it and I will try to bring it back. Last beer in Europe of the trip! Getting up at 5:00 am tomorrow...
What came home...