Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Breweries
375
A Pilsener Pilgrimage
Czech It Out
From Prague to Plzen, Czech Republic
Brewing industry statistics show that
Czechs drink more beer per capita than
any other people—on average, 320 pints
of brew a year (compared to 190 pints for
Americans). But once you've drunk Czech
beer, it all makes perfect sense: The
golden ale that the Czechs call
pivo
is what
the rest of the world's brewers only hope
to imitate.
Start your tour in the Bohemian forest,
in the birthplace of beer (
zde se narodilo
piv
): the town of Plzen (88km/55 miles
southwest of Prague). It has been a brew-
ing center since the 14th century, thanks
to a royal grant of brewing rights from
King Václav II. But its moment of glory
came in 1842, when the town's brewers
joined forces to develop a new brewing
process: the Pilsener method, which
involves bottom-fermenting and brewing
over direct heat in copper kettles. Sadly
ravaged in World War II, Plzen is a an
unlovely industrial town today, but what
you're here for is a clutter of stone build-
ings just west of the Radbuza River:
Plzen-
ský Pivovary
(U Prazdroje 7;
&
420/377/
062-888;
www.pilsnerurquell.com), where
the famous lager Pilsener Urquell (“authen-
tic Pilzn”) is brewed, as well as the popular
domestic brand Gambrinus. Built in 1869,
the factory (now owned by SABMiller) has
barely changed since then; the hour-long
tour includes visits to cool sandstone fer-
mentation cellars and copper-kettled
brewing rooms, as well as a tasting of
freshly brewed beer with that special
smooth texture that only the alkaline Plzen
water produces. Just inside the sculpture-
topped arches of the brewery gates, the
Na Spilce
restaurant serves good schnit-
zels, goulash, and
svícková na smetane
(pork tenderloin in cream sauce). There's
also a charming beer museum in an old
pub nearby, the
Pivovarské muzeum
(Veleslavínova 6;
&
420/377/235-574;
www.prazdroj.cz).
Head southeast 116km (72 miles) on
the E49 to Ceské Budejovice, home of the
original Budweiser beer, first brewed in
1895:
Budejovický Budvar
(Karolíny
Svetlé 4;
&
420/387/705-341;
www.
budvar.cz). The brewery is still govern-
ment-owned to protect it from Anheuser-
Busch, which has been fighting over the
name for years. Compared to U.S. Bud, the
delicate, semisweet Budvar lager—made
with Moravian malt, water from artesian
wells, and heavy Budvar yeast—is an
entirely different brew, deemed vastly
superior by most drinkers. Phone ahead to
arrange an hour-long tour of the gleaming,
modern plant. Although most of the tour is
a multimedia presentation, a fine beer
tasting takes place at the end. Follow up
your visit with a meal at the recently
restored
Masné Krámy
restaurant (Kra-
jinská 13;
&
420/603/154 649
), where
they serve unpasteurized Budvar on tap.
Another 147km (91 miles) north on the
E55, you'll reach the Czech capital, Prague,
and your last brewery visit: the venerable
U Fleku
(Kremencova 11;
&
420/224/934-
019;
www.ufleku.cz). Although U Fleku
was originally founded in 1499, the cur-
rent facility only dates from the early
1900s. Its stacked cooling vats and mas-
sive oak wood fermenters still look quaintly
historic. Don't miss the attached brewery
museum in an old malt house, which
includes a replica of a Renaissance-era
malt-drying room. Stop in the connected
pub for more tastes of U Fleku's only brew,
an unfiltered dark lager with an incredibly
strong and complex flavor. Also visit the
