Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Nation of Beer Lovers
No matter how many times you tell yourself, 'today is an alcohol-free day', Czech
beer (
pivo
) will be your undoing. Light, clear, refreshing and cheaper than water,
Czech beer is recognised as one of the world's best - the Czechs claim it's so
pure it's impossible to get a hangover from drinking it (scientific tests conducted
by Lonely Planet authors have found this to be not entirely true). Brewing tradi-
tions go back nearly 1000 years, and the beer has only gotten better since then.
TYPES OF CZECH BEERS
Nearly all Czech beers are bottom-fermented lagers, naturally brewed using Moravian
malt and hand-picked hops from Žatec in northwestern Bohemia. The brewing and fer-
mentation process normally uses only natural ingredients - water, hops, yeast and bar-
ley - though some brewers these days use a chemically modified hops extract that, re-
grettably, probably wouldn't pass German purity laws.
According to a 2003 British study, drinking beer does not give you a beer
gut.
While both light -
světlé
- and dark -
tmavé
or
černé
- beers are readily available,
the overwhelming favourite among Czech drinkers remains the classic golden lager, or
pilsner, developed in the city of Plzeň in the mid-19th century. These light lagers are
marked by a tart flavour and crisp finish. It's worth pointing out that the word 'light'
here is not to be confused with the light, low-calorie beers sold in the USA and other
countries.
Dark beers are slowly gaining in popularity but run a distant second to light beers at
most pubs, and among old-school beer drinkers dark beers still retain a faint wisp of
not being entirely a man's drink. It's perfectly acceptable, even common, in pubs to or-
der half and half, a Czech 'black and tan', known locally as
řezané pivo
(literally 'cut'
beer). This is an agreeable compromise that reduces the tartness of the pilsner without
adding the traditional heaviness of a dark beer.
Argentinean expat Max Bahnson has established himself as a local beer
expert, and his blog,
Pivní Filosof
(the Beer Philosopher), is a great place
