We thought it would be fun to compare beers from Czechoslovakia with beers
made in Texas. In all fairness, the Czech breweries have centuries of tradition
and experimentation behind them, while most Texas brewers have a few years of
experience at best. Still, the Texas beers held their own very well in this
very unscientific taste test. We matched five Czech beers with similar Texas
brews, then threw in one wild-card Czech brew and America’s top-seller for good
measure.
The judges were Robb Walsh, Pat Earvolino, and Gerald E. McLeod with The
Austin Chronicle, Michelle Breyer and Lori Hawkins with the Austin
American-Statesman, and Lynne O’Connor, president of St. Patrick’s Brewers
Supply. The scores are averages of the six score sheets.

Czech VS Texas Beers Beer 1 2 3 4 Total Selected Comments

Pilsner Urquell (CZ)
Celis Golden		3.0
2.7		 3.3
1.8		 8.8
6.8		 3.0
2.0		 18.2
13.3		 Great, hoppy, crisp, brilliant, the
definition of a Pils. —R. Walsh
Gold color, spicy finish. — L. O’Connor
Kosmos Lager (US)

Vratislav Lager

 2.7
2.7		 1.8
1.7		 6.5
6.2		 2.0
1.8		 13.0
12.3		 Tangy, sassy, fresh, aggressive. — M. Breyer

Light sweetness, not bad, but not a lot of
flavor. — G.E. McLeod
Budweiser Budvar (CZ)

Cowboy Lager

Anheuser Budweiser

 2.8
2.5
0.5 		2.8
1.7
0.3		 8.5
5.0
3.3		 2.5
1.2
0.8		 16.7
10.3
4.8		 Dense head, wonderful flavor — no
mistaking this with the American version. — L. O’Connor

No flavor. They’re focusing on the label, not
the brewing. — L. Hawkins

No comment. — P. Earvolino
Zubr Premium (CZ)

Poindexter Pils

 2.7
2.3		 2.7
3.0		 7.8
7.3		 2.5
2.5		 15.6
15.2		 Fruity, sweet, nutty, buttery. —
M.Breyer

Perfumy nose, a good malty Pilsner. — L.
O’Connor
Bernard Polotmavepivo

Sam Houston (US)

 2.7
2.3		 2.5
2.2		 7.5
6.7		 2.5
2.2		 15.2
13.3		 Malty, but not too sweet, nice
balance. — R. Walsh

Fruity, good clarity, amber color, very
good flavor. — G.E. McLeod
Lubkowicz (CZ)* 2.0 2.8 8.8 2.5

16.0 Very, very soft. — P. Earvolino
*Only
four of the six judges scored this beer.

1= Appearance (scale of 0-3) 2= Odor (scale of 0-4) 3= Taste (scale of 0-10)
4= Aftertaste (scale of 0-3) Total: scale of 0-20

Special thanks to
 The
Campaign to Protect the Czech Brewing Heritage, The Bitter End, and
Waterloo Brewing for supplying the beer, and to Sam Castro at Threadgill’s for
helping with the tasting.

This article appears in July 19 • 1996 and July 19 • 1996 (Cover).

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