Starobrno Lager

6/9/04, drinking Starbrno Lager in a bottle. It is brewed in Brno, Czech republic. As a rule, Czech beers are very, very good. It's like the Pacific Northwest of Europe (yeah, yeah, with hundreds of years of brewing history, shut up). Anyhow, it is golden in hue, and very tasty, without the flavors becoming muddy or running together. It has the barest hint of the sweetness of a Darjeeling tea, especially in the nose. Rather crisp, but not overly so. Overall a pleasant beer, light enough for continued drinking, but with enough complexity and character to keep it interesting. A good lager, and affordably priced.

I bought this at Trader Joe's. They do a good job finding beers, keeping them inexpensive, and mixing them up often. The variety is not wide, but does change.

How long will this beer remain inexpensive, though? The Czech Republic just joined the EU. Hence they are in the process of switching to the Euro. Now I'm no economist, (although I can read graphs, which is pretty much all that macroeconomics requires, as near as I can tell) but I am a Beerconomist, and I have to imagine that if a country switches from a currency that is cheap compared to the dollar to a currency that is strong against the dollar the price of the beer will rise. Kenji the Beerconomist says "Buy now!"

WDTB? Czechs. People who fondly remember Prague (me). People who shop at Trader Joe's.

WSDTB? Budget shoppers. Europeans (trade barriers should fall, and prices should remain cheap, or even drop for Europeans, simple Beerconomics.) Those who are barbecuing but have a racist dislike of Corona.

Rating: 7.1/10