Michael Jackson, Na Zdraví!

I'm not going to make it out to a pub this evening to drink a toast to the great Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, so I'll just have recognize him here.

For those who don't know, MJ passed away last month, and his many fans have set this day aside as a day of remembrance.

In the Czech Republic, we say, Na Zdraví. That's NAHZ-drah-vee to you Mr. Jackson.

Peach Pit in Prague

This place is no joke. It's in Prague, on a little, hard to find street in the Vinohrady district. The interior is nothing like the Peach Pit on the television show Beverly Hills 90210, but it does takes its inspiration from the show. Yellow walls, covered in those old-fashioned vinyl albums, with some Art Deco ornamentation and furniture, along with some American flags.

It's not a restaurant, it's not a pub, it's more of a small, neighborhood, theme, music club. The kind that opens at 4 in the afternoon and closes at 3 in the morning.

In regards to beer, it's what's called a "Stella pub." It Prague, pubs only display one brand sign, and if that brand is Stella Artois, that means that the pub serves the Czech beer Staropramen, Stella Artois, and Hoegaarden.

Check out the website of Klub Peach Pit, here.

Generic Beer

This beer looks pretty tasty, eh? I purchased this small can of suds in Prague for about 15 cents. I have no idea by whom or where it was brewed, but it is marked with the brand of the Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize. In the Czech Republic, the stores were called Delvita. I use the past tense here because Delhaize recently pulled out of the CR and Slovakia. The store where I bought this beer is today a Billa, an Austrian supermarket chain.

Not that I have to say, but this beer was awful.

Švejk, Barroom Philosopher

When visiting Prague, it's nearly impossible to not encounter one image or other of Josef Švejk, the hero of Jaroslav Hašek's seminal comic WWI novel The Good Soldier Švejk. The Czech people were reluctant participants in the Great War, and there was no soldier more reluctant than Hašek's Josef Švejk. Part genius, part idiot, Švejk is a barroom philosopher without equal.

Inflatable Pilsner Urquell

The culture of beer is just a little more fun in Europe. It just seems to be a more integral part of family life. It is common for breweries to sponsor small festivals in city centers aimed at the whole family; and of course, part of that is creating temporary beer gardens in urban squares.

Gambrinus

Gambrinus is one of the leading selling beers in the Czech Republic. It's from the same town of Plzen that has given the world Pilsner Urquell and is usually sold as the "cheaper sister" at every Pilsner Urquell pub in the country. In Prague, Gambrinus is actually more popular than Pilsner Urquell. It is not only 15-20% cheaper on average, its quality is more consistent. Unfortunately, it is not exported beyond Central Europe.

Lion's Bar: for Stags in Prague

The Lion's Bar is not for everybody. That is to say that The Lion's Bar in Prague specifically caters to a specific clientele, and that clientele is British Sports fans and their mates. Or, to put it another way, The Lion's Bar is considered a "stag bar," whose clientele is almost completely comprised of visiting stags.

Many pubs in Prague deny patronage to stag groups, so it is highly recommended that stag groups coming to Prague come with a full itinerary before arriving.

That said, The Lion's Bar is a highly recommended place for any stag group coming to Prague from Britain. They have 15 plasma televisions and two large projection screens on which all the important football, cricket, rugby union, and rugby league matches are shown. The Lion's Bar is, after all, a sports bar! So you won't miss any of the games from back home.

To read my complete review, click HERE>>>

Kozel: the Czechs' Leading Export Beer

You can walk the streets of Prague for blocks and then kilometers before finding a pub that sells Kozel. It is a brand that is well known in the Czech Republic, but it's simply not that popular with Czech beer drinkers. That said, Kozel is the Czech Republic's leading export beer, selling more beer abroad that Staropramen, Budweiser Budvar, or even Pilsner Urquell. Finland and the United Kingdom are at the top of the export list. Which I guess accounts for all those English-language web entries proclaiming Kozel as the the greatest Czech beer.

For the record, the name of the brewery is Velkopopovický Kozel and it was opened in 1874. It is located in the city of Velké Popovice, which is located about 20 miles southeast of Prague. Kozel translates into English as a male goat or "billy goat." The brewery was purchased by Pilsner Urquell in 1999, which was later purchased by SABMiller.

Czech Pub Grub

Beer drinkers, of course, cannot live on beer alone, and the Czechs have their own way of doing pub grub. Probably the most popular beer-drinking dish is called Nakládaný hermelín. Hermelín is a soft cheese that is simiar to the French Camembert, and nakládaný means pickled. It is most commonly served with onions and peppers and is marinated in oil.

Beer & Fernet Stock

In the Czech Republic, they do boilermakers a little different. The spirit of choice is usually an 80 proof bitters called Fernet Stock from the Czech city of Plzen-Bozkov. Mixing the Fernet into the beer is frowned upon. Shooting the Fernet is optional. The preferred method is sipping the Fernet just before taking a drink of the beer. The Fernet prepares the palette for the beer, intensifying its taste.

U Bulinu Serves Pilsner Urquell

If you're in Prague, and you're looking for an authentic Czech dining experience at real Czech prices, in a conveniently located area, and free from the throng of tourists, you really can't go wrong with Restaurace U Bulinu in the Vinohrady section of Prague.

Like all truly Czech restaurants, finding the dining areas is the task of an explorer. When one first walks in, one gets the impression that U Bulinu is merely a small pub with a bar counter that seats a half dozen patrons accompanied by a half dozen tables that seats maybe two and half dozen. But if you walk past the bar you'll find a dining room, and if you walk past that, you'll find yet another dining room. If you walk through the corridor where the public toilets are located, you'll find yet another dining area, this one an open-air garden. All of this is traditionally Czech.

READ MORE HERE>>>

Budejovicky Budvar: a Review

Budvar is a lager brewed by Budejovicky Budvar in the Bohemian city of Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. It is sold as Budejovicky Budvar in many countries and Budweiser Budvar in others. In the United States and Canada, it is sold as Czechvar.

Brewer, Josef Groll, is credited with having invented the Bohemian style of lager beer in the nearby city of Plzen in 1842. (Today, that beer's brand name is Pilsner Urquell.) This new "Golden Beer" with its light and refreshing taste quickly spread across Europe, eventually making its way across the Atlantic to the Americas. And along the way, this new Bohemian style of cold fermentation was adopted by thousands of different breweries across the world during the 19th century. One of the late-comers was Budejovicky Budvar, which didn't open its brewery until 1895.

READ MORE HERE>>>

Beer Drinkers Fear Sale of Budweiser Budvar

A couple of months ago, an organization called the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU) held a press conference to denounce the idea of privatizing the Czech state-owned brewery, Budejovicky Budvar, brewer of the popular export beer, Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar in the United States).

Basically, their only argument was that they feared that the quality of the beer may suffer as a result. And why? Because the brewery will clearly be purchased by the American brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, brewer of the beer that much of the world knows as Budweiser, within in the next year or two. Unfortunately, the EBCU doesn't really know what they're talking about.

READ MORE HERE>>>

20 Questions with a Pub Manager in Prague

Francis Foley is a manager at U Draka, a pub in the center of Prague, and I recently sat down with him over a beer to ask him twenty questions about what it's like being a pub manager in Prague.

You can read the interview HERE>>>

Heinekein Beer Cooler

This is an idea long overdue.

Actually, there is a brew pub in Prague called Pivovarsky Dum that does something a little similar, if only on a much smaller scale. They offer 4 liter beer dispensers from which you pour your own beer. It's a bit of a gag for the tourists, but it's fun to do it just once.

You can read my review of Pivovarsky Dum HERE>>>

Svijany, a Beer You Don't Want to Miss

If you see this sign, and you're a beer drinker, do yourself the favor of stopping immediately and getting yourself a Svijany beer. (That's pronounced SVEE-yah-nee.) But be forewarned, you're not going to find a pub that serves Svijany on every corner. Even in Prague, finding this delightful Bohemian beer isn't easy. And that's because this small brewery located in northern Bohemia (near the border with Poland) in the Liberec region does not can its beer, it does not bottle its beer, it does not even keg its beer. No, Svijany only brews tankovna beer or what can be called tank beer. At no time during the brewing process are chemicals added and Svijany beer is non-pasteurized and is served from specially designed tanks which are supplied directly from the brewery (via a beer tanker truck).

In regards to taste, Svijany is a Bohemian lager in the tradition of Pilsner Urquell. It uses Zatec hops, which gives it a slightly sweeter taste than the average Czech beer.

Pilsner Urquell

Since SABMiller purchased this Czech brewery, Pilsner Urquell isn't the best kept secret it once was, but it's still under-appreciated outside of the Czech Republic. Part of the reason is that bottled Pilsner doesn't approach draught Pilsner in quality, and the beer simply doesn't travel very well. A true Pilsner, however, is a special treat. Golden in color and topped off by a light and almost frothy head. Its taste and bouquet come from Pilsner's use of Saaz hops, a product grown in the Czech Republic.

The original article is HERE>>>

Budweiser Trademark Myths

For the past decade or so, at any given time, the American brewer Anheuser-Bush and the Czech state-owned brewery Budejovicky Budvar have been involved in dozens of lawsuits in courts all around the world, from Australia and the Americas, to Europe and Asia, even Africa.
The subject of their dispute is the trademark regarding Budweiser, the most popular brand name of beer in the world and a brand name that both breweries claim as their own. Reportage on the dispute in the mainstream media has been poor, filled with recycled facts (as opposed to checked facts) and never presented in a context that provides the reader the information necessary to understand what the issues are and what's at stake. The blogoshere has been even worse, much worse. Anheuser-Busch is almost always portrayed as an evil, yet bumbling conglomerate giant feasting and profiting off the labors of a small, innocent, entrepreneurial brewery in a small town, in a far away place.It's time for a little truth. You can read all about it HERE>>>