North East Beer Review

For Christmas, I received a Perfect Draft machine my amazing girlfriend’s family. This was something I had been toying with buying for while, constantly putting myself off but finally took the leap and thank goodness I did. I love it. My girlfriend bought me my first keg for the machine which was Samson 11, a Czech lager which is from one of the oldest breweries in the Czech Republic. So during the course of this review I will cover the history of the beer and brewery, the pour, the taste and aroma, my verdict and a bonus piece on Perfect Draft.

A story from one the oldest breweries in the Czech Republic

Samson Brewery or Pivovar Samson is one of the oldest breweries in České Budějovice which has roots back to 1795. Founded in a town known as the centre of Czech beer tradition.

Originally known as Budweiser Bürgerbräu, the brewery produced beer under that name for centuries, taking advantage of Budweis’s brewing rights in the Kingdom of Bohemia. In the 20th century, political changes and nationalisation after World War II led to restructuring; by 1960 the brewery’s flagship beer began being brewed under the name “Samson”, inspired by the local Samson fountain which symbolises strength.

Following several name changes including flirting with the original name briefly. Samson became the breweries permanent name in the 2010s after ownership by Anheuser-Busch Inbev. Although being owned by Inbev, the long brewing traditions are maintained. Today, Samson is still a player in the Czech brewing landscape allowing for the celebration of Czech brewing practices.

Samson 11 is regular Czech lager which means 11° Plato pale lager. This lager carries an ABV of 4.7% and this sits quite firmly in Samson’s Czech ‘export’ range. Samson 11 over the years has earned awards in various competitions such as medals in the World Beer Awards and European Beer Star.

A foamy golden lager

When poured from the Perfect Draft machine, a bright golden to amber colour presents itself. The carbonation is lively but fine with a stream of bubbles rising through out the experience. A foamy white head forms typical of a Czech lager which was about 2cm thick and lasted throughout the drink leaving a decent amount of lacing. Overall, typical clean and crisp lager you would expect from České Budějovice.

A taste and aroma you would expect

Aroma

When observing the aroma, it is noticeable that Samson 11 is a clean beer; it has light grain malt reminiscent of crusty bread. The noble Czech hops gave Samson a herbal and grassy note with a slight sweetness which balances the beer out. This has a very clean character and overall very inviting.

Taste

When it comes to taste it follows pretty much directly on from the aroma. On the palate after the initial sip, this has a soft bready taste with mixture of bread and biscuit. Mid palate is where the hop character kicks in with a herbal hops flavour. The finish is clean and dry with a noticeable but not overpowering bitterness that is refreshing. This was very easy drinking with a medium to light body. Overall, this is exactly what you would expect from a lager from Czech Republic.

Time for my verdict

Being that this is my first keg on my new Perfect Draft machine, I thought this was really nice. It has a decently balanced Czech lager which did what you would expect. This was easy drinking and refreshing with pours that look like a crisp pour from the pub. This is a seriously inviting beer with great hop character. Although this is not as good as a Budvar in my opinion but a pretty good contender. Overall, I would rate this a pretty solid 4 out of 5. Cheers

Where did I purchase this beer?

I got this keg bought by my amazing girlfriend for christmas. I believe she bought the beer directly from the Perfect Draft website. This full price is £37.50.

A quick piece on the history of Perfect Draft

The Perfect Draft machine first appeared in the late 2000s, created by Philips in partnership with major brewers like InBev. The idea was simple: bring proper pub-style draught beer into people’s homes without the hassle of barrels, gas canisters, or complex setup.

It launched around 2009 using sealed six-litre kegs that chilled beer to about 3°C and kept it fresh for weeks after tapping. That made it a big step up from earlier home beer machines, which were often messy or inconsistent.

Starting with big-name lagers like Stella Artois and Beck’s, the beer range gradually expanded, and the machine itself got quieter and more reliable over time. Today, Perfect Draft is best known as an easy way to get a near-pub pour at home especially popular across Europe.

Thank you for reading my review of Samson 11, if you enjoyed this review you will my review of Budvar x Omnipollo Triple Saaz. Cheers