Next stop on my tour of Polish beer is the easily pronounceable Zywiec.
I’m going to make a guess that one would pronounce it Zee-vi-ech. If you know the right was to say it, leave me a comment in the usual place.
Widely available in East End corner shops, off-licences and supermarkets, this is an inexpensive Polish lager beer. And one I think, looks a lot like Tyskie.
The resemblance is remarkable. Yet each is from a different brewery. Is every bottle of Polish beer so similar?
Zywiec, we learn, dates back to 1856. Exactly like Tyskie, it is 5.6% and, in the UK at least, only comes in 500 millilitre bottles. Helpfully, the front label also indicates that 500 millilitres translates to 1 pint. Or, if you measure your drinks in fluid ounces (and who doesn’t), a 0.9 fl.oz. measurement is included. I don’t mean to knock this however. In fact, I actively encourage all brewers out there to include more than meaningless millilitre measurements.
Perhaps my favourite aspect of the front label is where they allude to the winning of awards. Unlike the other brewers and their drinks, that hazily refer to their beer as “award winning”. Or “prize winning”. Or “champion”. No no. Zywiec has been “Awarded Medals”. What medals or for what, we are never told. But definitely the most Pol-glish way of expressing the concept.
Again, just like Tyskie, the rear label is an incomprehensible block of text in all known languages, dialects and accents. Studious examination of which didn’t reveal anything unusual.
In terms of smell, you can detect a weak malted barley odour. But one that is less premium than some others I have tried recently.
Poured into a glass, it looks like lager. There is also a surprisingly creamy and foamy head to it, but this dies down after a few minutes.
The taste had a slight bitterness. And the after taste was slightly sour. What little taste there was, certainly was not strong. The lager taste was thoroughly unexceptional. That said, it wasn’t a chore to drink and easy to reach the end of the bottle. The drinkability does redeem it somewhat.
But there’s no escaping that Zywiec was a bit disappointing. It’s not a bad drink for the money. It just doesn’t do anything special, new or different. And as such, I can’t give it high marks.
Rating: 2.75
Let me know what you thought of Zywiec in the comments. Have you tried anything else from the same brewer? And any tips for good Polish beers available here in the UK?
21 April, 2008 at 7:47 am |
It’s pronounced like that:
- ż is like in “garage”
- y is like y in “myth”
- w=v
- ie is like “yeah”
- c is like ts or tz (in German) or c in Latin.
The medals are often shown on polish billboards – they’re mostly form UK and Ireland I think. I’m not an expert here, but I think they’re just normal awards
28 April, 2008 at 2:49 pm |
Życies wins some precious awards before WWII. Today their brewing process is much shorter (for economic reasons) – and beer way less “awardable”
[Information source: guide at Żywiec brewery museum, Żywiec, Poland]
19 July, 2008 at 9:53 pm |
I think the correct prounciation is Zhiv-eats, with the zh like the sound of s in pleasure or leisure. The accent is on the first syllable. The little doo-dad mark above the z changes it from the normal English z sound to zh.
19 August, 2008 at 5:23 pm |
Just returned from Poland. Zywiec was my favorite beer-and I sampled many. It was smooth and very easy to drink down to the bottom of the glass or bottle. Its drinkability lends itself to the best beer to enjoy while people watching in any town square. Looking for pubs that have Zywiec on tap here in the states.
5 September, 2008 at 2:18 am |
zywieck is pronounced like
shiv yeck
7 September, 2008 at 5:23 pm |
My ancestors are from the Zywiec area. I just returned from
there. It is pronounced. Jev-ee-itz, like the town it is produced
and like the region it is from. Where can I buy it in the US?.
6 July, 2009 at 3:24 am |
You are perfectly correct in that pronounciation
Thanks for getting it right!
18 September, 2008 at 8:19 pm |
Its pronounced Sho-ve-ates, I spent some time in Zakopane in Poland (awesome place to go good skiing, cheap and crazily friendly people even when you can’t speak the language) and after many failed attempt to say it some cool locals taught us the way.
7 October, 2008 at 9:41 pm |
Its enjoyable and is found all over Polish areas of NYC (such as greenpoint brooklyn) and in Chicago (another major Polish area…don’t remember exactly but had it at a few pubs prior to a bears game). What was it compared to in order to receive such a low rating? Its not perfect but the “original beer” reminds me more of drinkability rather than the complexity of an IPA or other trendy beer
8 December, 2008 at 7:08 pm |
I can buy Zywiec beer right here in Jupiter Florida at a loacl distributor. $1.99 a bottle. Great beer.I drank it at a wedding in Olztynek this past October.
12 January, 2009 at 4:40 pm |
Hahaha… I love the discussion on pronunciation and the lack of agreement…. I thought it was a very mediocre beer but their porter is excellent….
here is my review:
http://ciceronito.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/zywiec-original-beer-by-zywiec/
14 January, 2009 at 2:19 am |
It is pronounced “jiviets” (but the ‘j’ is pronounced softly as the french pronouce it in ‘bonjour’).
27 January, 2009 at 10:00 pm |
Hi-
The beer in Polish is pronounced zhy-vyetz. When I first came to Poland in 1984 as a student it was a malty pilsner rich in aromatic hops (“Lubelska,” the Polish variation of Czech “Saaz.”) Over the years the taste has changed. When Heineken became the main shareholder of the Zywiec brewery it changed even more–into a Euro macro lager–easy to consume,
inoffensive to no one, but certainly not a beer worth bragging about.
That said, it is certainly better than 99% of the swill brewed in Britain.
23 April, 2009 at 3:01 pm |
Absolutely correct there, better than 99.9% of Britain’s draughts. I think the reviewer rates Budweiser.
18 June, 2009 at 3:47 am |
Anyone who does not enjoy a cold, smooth and refreshing pint of Zywiec obiously likes the weak and tasteless beers – but I guess everyone has their preference. You say it doesn’t do anything special, new or different? What do you want it to do? Dance around you in circles?? haha. Tell me what those other beers do for you then.
11 August, 2009 at 2:46 am |
Where can I find a supplier of Zywiec umbrellas like the ones you see in out door cafes. Seems no one here in the states can supply them. Please let me know as I’m having some Polish friends over the end of this month.
2 September, 2009 at 12:44 pm |
well this summer i was in cape hatterass north carolina and after a day on the beach in the surf i poured a bottle of zywiec into a frozen glass in the freezer and have to say it was delicious there is no other way to drink this and might add no better time ,by the way i bought the beer in toronto ontario its not available in montreal yet where i live, cheers