"Sest PIVO Prosim"This was frequently our cry as we made our way around the many bars of Prague. Six of the branch had set off for a long weekend of sampling the beers that Prague had to offer, as well as seeing the sights.
On our first night we found a couple of good bars, including U Medvidku (the Little Bears) and Tesco’s. Suitably fortified, we set off next morning to climb the 287 steps to the top of the tower at St. Vitus cathedral. After oxygen, and wonderful views of the city, we headed for a bar in the castle grounds and revitalised ourselves with a glass of Krusovice. More beer followed later, although one bar refused to serve us because we were not having food as well. Prague has a number of brewpubs. One we tried served a light and a dark ‘misty’ beer. Czech brewers use a unique ‘Balling’ system to denote the strength of their beers; they are usually 10, 11, 12 or 13, 10 being apparently anything from 3.4% to 4.3%, while 12 can be 4.2% to 5.6%!
Next day we ventured around the old town. More beer drunk, including Budvar, (Pat thought she had died and gone to heaven), and the Prague brewed Staropramen. Due to the inclemency of the weather, we were forced to visit more bars than originally planned. In the evening, four of us enjoyed a concert in St. Nicholas’ church, then a meal in a vegetarian restaurant, oh yes, and more beer!
Sunday, and we headed for the Jewish Old Town, not before climbing another tower to view the surrounding buildings. Having visited various synagogues and the cemetery, it was back to the Old Town Square for more beer that turned out to be the most expensive of the week at the equivalent of £2 per pint. Later that afternoon, Bob and I ventured onto the public transport system and went off to a transport museum. As well as the trams etc., there was a small bar that served Staropramen at 44.5p per pint, the cheapest beer we came across.
In the evening we went to U Fleku, a bar that that brewed a stout that tasted of sweet liquorice with a slightly dry finish, and was the only beer they sold. The waiters walked around with trays of full glasses and offered to replace your empty glass. No having to queue at the bar. Whilst drinking we were entertained by two Germans, one playing the accordion, and the other a tuba.
On our final day we realised we hadn’t tried nearly enough pubs, and there were still some beers we hadn’t tracked down, so we spent the day on a pub crawl, starting with U Cerneho Viola (the Black Ox) a friendly pub which sold Kozel beers. Our last night, and we found a superb vegetarian restaurant. Later, we also came to Pivovarsky Dum, a wonderful brewpub that offered a choice of 8 beers including such exotic brews as Banana, coffee or cherry flavoured beer. We discovered that a few days before, some of the founder m embers of CAMRA had visited the bar, and given them an award.
During our stay we sampled a number of beers, all brewed locally, either in brewpubs or larger breweries, and enjoyed all we tasted. Amongst those beers were Staropramen, Branick, Budvar, Gambrinus, Kozel and Krusovice to name but a few.
Prague is really easy to get to from Newcastle airport, and we very much enjoyed our stay. We are already planning our next trip. Belgium sounds good!
Stephen Walker