Staropramen

in article Q9Rsb.3191$ snipped-for-privacy@news-text.cableinet.net, Robin Cox at snipped-for-privacy@spam.for.me wrote on 13/11/03 19:43:

I believe that Interbrew WAS going to start trying to brew Staropramen in the UK (and maybe did) but quickly realised that the reason it had fans was because it was an authentic Czech-brewed beer, and if they moved production they would blow the beer's credibility, so that the decision was quickly reversed and all SP will continue to come from Prague. R Protz had a piece about this in the Morning Advertiser (licenses' weekly trade paper) which unfortunately I do not have about me right now ...

Martyn Cornell

"Not one subject in the universe is unworthy of study." Karl Pearson (1857-1936)

I can't help, but thinking of this, my local supermarket has bottled Pilsner Urquel which is advertised as "imported from Prague". I was at the brewery last month, and the surrounding city looked suspiciously like Plzen, not Prague. Would they really have two breweries? I suppose it could have come /via/ Prague.

I posted about it on rfdb a month or 2 ago (it sounds like the same piece?) - it's from July & is on RP's own site at

visiting US beerfan, DonS (an rfdb regular) was in London for GBBF & wrote the following back in September -

a CAMRA editorial a while back had this - "The lengths to which global brewers will go to traduce great beers can be seen at Staropramen. While the beer in Prague will continue to be made in the Czech fashion, with lagering in horizontal tanks, the draught version for sale in Britain has been switched to Samlesbury in Lancashire. Interbrew, the owner of Staropramen, says fermentation will be in conicals and lagering time will be reduced. The fact that yeast from Prague will be used is irrelevant: it will adapt to its new surroundings and the character of the beer will change. Interbrew has also admitted that brewing syrup will be used as an adjunct to malt. Brewing syrup, outlawed by the German Purity Law to which Czech brewers adhere for their premium beers, is highly fermentable and will result in a thinner, less flavoursome beer." cheers MikeMcG

cheers MikeMcG

This is more likely ignorance on the part of the supermarket than deception. I've also seen Anchor Steam labelled "imported lager" and Caledonian 80/- sold as "Englisches Bier" in Germany.

Arthur Figgis13/11/03 11:55 PM

The "imported from" is the important part. Surely this is just marketing "creative licence" as Prague is currently trendy and more people in the target group could place Prague than Plzen.

CR

Interbrew announced on the 6th of November that Staropamen would once more be brewed exclusively in the Czech Republic, from early next year. Colin Pedrick, Interbrew UK's on-trade managing director, said: "Premium drinkers tend to be a bit more experimental in their choice of drinks and regard Staropramen as a brand that is worth paying more for." So expect a price rise!

I've also seen Anchor Steam labelled "imported lager"

You've seen it labelled correctly then.

JP

In article , Chris Rockcliffe writes

It was trendy several years back when a colleague, who handled the Staropramen account (for Bass, I think), organised a piss up at a brewery for Loaded magazine. Shortly after, I managed the Staropramen stand at the BBC Good Food and Drink show at the NEC, where I gave away free samples of draft and sold bottles to punters. Best job ever.

How did you arrive at that conclusion then? It may be fermented with a lager yeast, but that's as similar as it gets to a lager beer. It is fermented at ale temperatures of between 16 - 21C, in open fermentation vessels and has 3 weeks warm conditioning. Compare that to a (true) lager fermented at 5 - 9C in closed fermentation vessels, and cold matured for months. The end results are two totally different beer styles, and Anchor Steam is definitely not a lager.

Reminds me of Danny Baker when asked what his best job was he said it was when he and Jonathan Ross were paid 1000 quid each to attend a real ale festival. When asked what they had to do he said they were told just to drink beer and chat with the punters. That was it!

If by "correctly" you mean "by clueless dunderheads who don't have a clue about beer styles," okay. Anchor Steam isn't a lager. It's a "steam beer," also know as "California common." It's a hybrid of ale and lager styles. Lager yeasts are used, yes, but the production technique is much more like that employed to make top- fermented ales.