Pilsner Urquell Returns to Brown Bottles
In a move that harkens to the brewery’s roots, Pilsner Urquell is rolling out its iconic Czech pilsner in brown bottles for the U.S. market.
While the beer was originally packaged in brown bottles, in the 1980s the brewery made the switch to green bottles, which offer less protection from UV rays that can damage the quality and cause beer to taste “skunky.” However, since the company released its bottles in fully enclosed cartons in 2012, the potential for damage was not the driving factor in the redesign, said Chad Wodskow, the global marketing manager for Pilsner Urquell.
“As we started designing our cans and trying to celebrate our heritage, we felt it was really important to carry this all the way through and relaunch the bottle like it used to be, and that’s where we get the amber bottle we have now,” he said.
Absolutely the best beer in the world with Jever being a close second.
Absolutely!
TOO BAD THAT THIS BEER IS PASTURIZED
the new amber bottles are also 11.2 oz instead of the normal 12oz. Every article I see on this leaves that part out for some reason.
I’m with you Kristin. Not only did they do the sneaky, fewer ounces in a bottle switch, they also jacked up the price! Sounds like a pretty sleazy way of trying to distract consumers from their real intentions. I won’t drink it anymore as a result. I’m sticking with Grolsch and St. Pauli Girl.
More for me … YAY!
Do you realize the Grolsch flip-top bottles were reduced in size too? Used to be 15.9 oz., now they’re only 15.2 oz.
I didn’t like that change either, but I will continue to enjoy Grolsch (and Pilsner Urquell).
11.2oz = 1/3L
Same size bottle can be sold in different markets.
Why do supplies of PU at stores run out for weeks at a time?
It’s standard for European brewers to use 11.2 oz. bottles. I think because it comes to right about 1/3 a liter (.33 L), so it makes their production easier.
Do you really think that’s the reason$ Really$?$
why no long necks? I am Czech
Wake up! less beer same price! only beer I have ever drank for over 35 yrs. I refuse to buy 11.2 oz bottles. What’s next?
Next you’ll have to drink inferior beer … apparently.
When I noticed my new bottles were 11.2 ounces I found some 12 oz bottles at a local dealer but will not buy the reduced-size bottles again.
I actually hate the taste of the new bottles (as do several other die hard Urquell supporters I know. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, they actually taste much strong and more skunky in brown…
Nonsense. I’ve been drinking this beer for decades and the ONLY problem was that it skunked too easily and too quickly in green glass. Had one last night at my favorite pub … PERFECTION!
I agree with you 100%! I suspect they changed their recipe, although no one has admitted to it. I know that I am not reacting to the brown bottles versus the green, because when I saw that they switched to the brown bottles, I expected that nothing had changed and the beer would still taste exactly the same. No way! It definitely is NOT what it was, and if they say they didn;t change the recipe, or the brewing method at all, then the brown bottles do make it taste like crap. I’ve been drinking it for years – it was my “go-to” beer, and I drank plenty of it when I was brewing and trying to nail down the recipe, so I know full well what it tasted like then and what it tastes like now. If I had to guess, I’d say they either changed the recipe, or they probably stopped using the wooden fermenters with the pitch lining because it was too expensive and time-consuming to make it that way. All I do know for sure is that it went from my favorite beer to a beer I won’t even buy anymore.
11.2 Oz. bottles show arrogant disrespect for
the American tradition of 12.oz bottles. The United States of America has run on this standard for decades. Wake up, Czechs! Dumb way to market.
If America could make a beer that tastes like this, I wouldn’t give a damn WHAT size bottles they put it in.
Some very good Pilsners are brewed in Pennsylvania, try Victory Prima Pils, Troeg’s Sunshine Pils, Sly Fox, Stoudt’s. Even Straub just came out with a Pilsner. These all have more flavor than PU.
Can’t find it on the shelves any more. I hate the new packaging.
I tried the beer in its new bottle and…
1/ It tastes different! Worse. Slightly more bitter I suppose.
2/ I don’t like the look of the new packaging.
3/ I’ve noticed the Czech Republic is being referred on the new labels as ‘Czech’, which doesn’t look right.
Oh well there’s always Spaten which tastes very close to this and oh they’re 12oz bottles. This won’t be tolerated by the buyer for long and the new brown bottle is exactly that, a distraction to the reduced size. I look forward to enjoying a beer after a hard day at work and the last thing I need is my very own and favorite beer trying to screw me over!
Dont like in brown bottle,green is my fav
It’s Bill Gates doing, he’s behind all this kind of stuff.
I’ve got both a green bottle and the new brown bottle in my hands. They are both 330mL. At least in Canada it’s been 330mL for as long as I’ve known. The beer is as good as ever.
And regarding the location on the label, the Czech Republic consists of two regions, Moravy(Moravia), and Čech(Czech), each with distinct cultural differences.
Bring back the green bottles.
It is my favorite beer, but I have not bought PU since they changed to 11.2 oz bottles. I have not found a replacement, but will keep looking.
I agree, they definitely changed something else besides the color of the bottle. I won’t even buy the new crap. The closest I could find to a replacement so far has been “Czechvar”, which isn’t quite as good as the original Urquell, but is far better than the swill they’re trying to pawn off on us now. It’s tough to find, and not cheap, but my distributor orders it for me.
I’ve been drinking Urquell for years. The taste in the new bottles is definitely different and not for the better. They’ve definitely done something to this brew besides changing the bottle.
There have to be some empty suits responsible for this transparently brown ploy.
The brown does not taste as good to me as the green. I don’t think it looks as refreshing (as a beer should) either – and as for the reduced volume – another imported beer bites the dust. Still the locals are getting better and better so I guess it`s Urquell`s loss. I`m done with it.
I’m from Greece. We got the brown bottle a few months ago. In Europe it’s always been 330ml, so quantity didn’t change. But I too think it doesn’t taste the same. As a matter of fact I think it’s not so bitter any more, it’s kind of flat compared to the green bottle.
I’ll drink my old favorite Pilsner Urquell again when the green bottle returns–at the same size it was before the underhanded phony switch.
Right now Czechvar and Stella Artois are satisfying my needs as well as those of my friends.
I had been drinking Pisner Urquell for about 5 years. When they switched to the Brown bottles, I switched to other beers after about 3 6 packs of the Brown bottles. I can’t quite quantify the difference, but Pisner Urquell no longer has that special, satisfying taste, as does any of the substitutes I’ve tried. I just brought home a 6 pack of Brown bottled Pilsner Urquell, after over 6 months of abstinence, and it is still disappointing. Bring back the Green.
Yep! It’s still disappointing.
I have been drinking Pilsner Urquell since 1981. I loved the bitter tesate in the green bottle. A few years ago they changed the color and shappe of the bottle. The flavor changed, too-and not for the better.
They need to go back to the ld formula. This new formula just doesn’t make Pilsner Urquell anything special nor worth drinking anymore.