Pivní Filosof - Beer Philosopher

There's a tram at the stop (I.P. Pavlova, in case you missed the first instalment ). I could catch it, but I'm no Bruce Springsteen—I wasn't born to run. And there's no need, anyway; any tram would do. It doesn't take long for one to come, the 22 to the centre. I'm trying to figure out where I'll have to get off, but I can't quite remember whether there is a stop between Karlovo nám. and Národní tř. There is. Újezd is my destination, then. I know where I'll drink my next beer. Kampárium was one of the new places I wanted to check out for the 2nd edition of the Pisshead's Pub Guide. I didn't make it in the end; I'm not sure why—laziness, probably. Good to have an excuse to see what this pub is like, and drink some Polička in the process. Other than the staff, it's empty. Both servers greet me with a wide smile when they see me coming in and going down the stairs, as if they were happy to finally see someone who will take them ou

Last week was a sad one for lovers of beer minimalist pubs, with two of them closing on Friday: U Klokočnika and Hrom do Police . I found out the former when I dropped by to make some photos for the new edition of the Pisshead's Pub Guide. There was a blackboard outside announcing the news, but I didn't take it seriously, anyone could have written it. It was true, of course. When I asked, the waitress told me it was because of the insanely high rent for the location—78,000 CZK + utilities (though I read 76K elsewhere)—and the shop's being in serious need of a refurbishing (on a side note, the premises don't belong to any greedy capitalist pig but to MČ Praha 4). Later that day, a couple of hours after having posted the news on U Klokočnika on my FB page, I read on Pivni.info the news on Hrom do Police. The reasons behind it are quite similar: high rent—more understandable given its prime location—and the need of likely expensive renovations that nobody was willing

I wasn't very much looking forward to April this year. Back in February I leant that my main beer supplier, Nápoje Charvát would be closing at the beginning of the month – some personal issues of the owner. When March was coming to an end and there was no news about someone who would carry one with the business, as was Mr. Charvát's wish, I started to worry. Loosing that bottle shop would be a real pain the ass to me as there's not a single one retailer in Prague that can match this nápojka in terms of brand diversity, price and convenience – we park nearby when we come to town by car, which gives me the possibility of buying beer by the case. And then came the sad news about Kaaba . Although it's true that now in Prague there are plenty of nice spots to have a good early pint, to me, Kaaba wasn't so much about the beer as it was about the people I met there, and that would be very hard, if not impossible to replace. But things have turned out well, after al

I love Kaaba , in Lucemburská. It's a small café in a quiet, tree-lined, side street of Vinohrady with an intimate atmosphere and fantastic soundtrack. Or at least that's how I find it on Tuesday and Thursday mornings when I go for an early pint or two of very well tapped Polička Hradební Tmavé , one of the finest exponents of one of the most underrated Czech beer categories, tmavé výčepní . Much of that atmosphere is generated by the štamgasty, who are a pretty colourful bunch. It's really fantastic to sit down and chat about history, films, music, Argentina, politics and what have you with people like a retired Mariner, an Investigative Journalist or the Chairman of the Czech Monarchist Party while listening to Cream, Tom Waits, Max Raabe or Chet Baker. This wouldn't be possible without the figure of the owner, a pretty interesting bloke himself, with a theatre background (not acting) and great taste for music, and with whom it's also very interesting to talk.

You can't blame Austrias for believing there is a crisis in the Czech brewing industry , they are seeing things from a distance and their information is sure second hand. To a certain extent, the general public can't be blamed, either. The 12% drop in production is an undeniable reality, the kind that the media loves for their bombastic headlines, knowing full well that not many people will bother with details. Jan Veselý isn't Austrian and, in this context, he can't be considered part of the general public. As chairman of Český Svaz Pivovarů a Sladoven (Czech Brewers and Maltsters Association) he is someone who should not much better and yet, when you read the interview he gave to Radio.CZ (kindly reproduced by kindly posted by Pivni.Info ) you can almost see him sobbing in despair. There, Veselý goes as far as to say that "in recent history, there have never been worse times than this". Really, Mr. Veselý? To me, as a consumer, these are the best of

The other day, as I was almost arriving at my client's office in Churchillovo Nám., my mobile rang. It was my client saying that she was just leaving the Parliament, where she'd had a meeting that had extended for longer than expected. I got off the tram at Husinecká counting that I would have to kill around 20 minutes and what is the best way to kill time in Prague? Got for a quick pint, of course. I quickly scanned my mental database of watering holes in the area, looking for a suitable one to stop by. I chose that small pizza place with a Ježek sign outside, almost opposite the square. It had been closed for some time, but it had recently reopened. I got in and, even before taking a seat at the bar, I ordered a jedenáctká (for 22CZK). I'm a big fan of the multi rotating tap pubs, but sometimes I just prefer to go to a place and just order a "pivo" without having to ponder about it. The first pint went down as if it hadn't existed and the second one

I'm sure many of you are wondering how the project of my book is going, specially those who have generously donated to the cause. Fear not! Here is the second (and very belated) progress report. The first words have been forged into bytes and I've already set up a work schedule that I hope (and doubt) I'll be able to keep. At the same time, research goes on and still provides something to talk about. Today is about a myth busted, popular wisdom confirmed and a pleasant surprise. The myth busted: "Service at Prague's pubs, etc. is crap". Or at least that is the impression you will get after reading many an expat restaurant review or forum thread. It's bollocks! OK, I'm not going to say that you won't come across bad service in this city, but the same happens in every city and tourist spot in the world. These last few months I have visited many places I had never been to before, and almost without exception I've found the service to be efficient

Just like I promised yesterday , here you have the list of winners of this year's Sdružení přátel piva awards, plus some comments. Desítka roku 1. Podskalák, světlé výčepní pivo (Pivovar Rohozec) 2. Moravské Sklepní (Pivovar Černá Hora) 3. Březňák, světlé výčepní (Pivovar Velké Březno) I must confess that I don't remember ever drinking this beer (which I hope to correct soon). The other two, however, are well placed, yes. Jedenáctka roku 1. Otakar 11% (Pivovar Polička) 2. Svijanský Máz (Pivovar Svijany) 3. Klášter 11% (Pivovar Klášter) Otakar is a very good, and not known enough, beer. Máz is my least favourite from the Svijany lot and I would put it well behind Klášter's (which dropped from the first spot for the first time in I don't know how many years). Dvanáctka roku 1. Svijanský Rytíř (Pivovar Svijany) 2. Březňák, světlý ležák (Pivovar Velké Březno) 3. Bernard, sváteční ležák (Rodinný pivovar Bernard) This first prize is going to be discussed a lot among Czech be

Las year I wrote a post about řezané , the Czech custom of mixing a pale and dark beer, something like the English black & tan, and I never spoke about the subject again. I used to drink a lot more řezané than I do now. In fact, since I have become some sort of "beer hunter" I almost don't drink "cut" beers at all, and if it wasn't for this pot by Ron Pattison , I don't think I would have thought about doing what you will see below. I decided to mix some beers at home, but not as it is usually done, i.e. a pale and a dark beer from the same brand or brewing group, I wanted to cut beers that are different from each other, always keeping the pale+dark concept. These were the pairings: First cut: Svijanský Rytíř + Pardubický Porter . 12° balling - 5%ABV for Svijany, 19° Balling - 8%ABV for Porter. The former, with a classic Bohemian pale lager bitterness to which some almost pale ale like fruity notes are added. The latter, with prunes, chocolate and po

La Ronda is the Spanish beer blogging community project very much inspired by (if not a rip off of) The Sessions. Every month a member of the community proposes a topic about which the other bloggers are supposed to write. This month La Ronda was invited by Catador , a beer blogger from Chile, who proposes a very interesting and fun topic that goes like this: "You have met a girl who somehow, after learning about your passion for beer, asks you to invite her to a private tasting. Not being of the shy or silly kind, you invite her to your place. Which beers would you give her to sample? And for what purpose? I am happily married and even suggesting something like that might get me in trouble. I couldn't do it with my wife because, since she is fortunate enough to be living with me, she already knows all the beers I know. So I decided to give the thing a twist and face it in another way, as if I was helping a friend that is in that very situation. This is how I see it: I am sitt

I chose to publish the list of winners separated from the previous post because I want to speak about about the awards. Analyse them, if you wish. I don't care too much about awards and medals of any kind, but these ones are for me of some importance because they are given by the association that represents consumers. I'm not sure how Sdružení přátel piva choose the winners, nor what criteria is used for some of the awards, and though many are questionable, I have no doubt of the honesty of the people of SPP. So, here they are. Desítka 2008: Fist: Moravské Sklepní nefiltrované from Černá Hora Second: Pardál světlé výčepní pivo from Budvar Third: Budweiser Budvar světlé výčepní pivo I couldn't agree more. Moravksé Sklepní is a very special beer and no doubt unique in its category. Now, the second place. Pardál better than Budvar světlé výčepní (and many others)? Jedenáctka 2008 First: Ležák 11° from Pivovar Klášter Second: Otakar ležák from Polička Third: Svijanský Maz fro

Well, at least sometimes. Like last year, I was invited to the annual award ceremony of Sdružení přátel piva , or SPP. I'd had a lot of fun last time, so you can imagine how much I was looking forward to this one. The meeting point was once again Hotel Beránek, near I.P. Pavlova. I got there a few minutes after 10, greeted the familiar faces and went to the table where some snacks and drinks had been served, and then to the fridge to pick a bottle of Pivo Hotel Beránek, actually Chodovar Zámecký Ležák with another label, which was not at all bad. There were some bottles of the superb Chýně Dvorní Ležák , which also got my attention. The rest of the guests arrived, ate and drank and a bit after 11 our bus was leaving to České Budějovice, where the event was going to take place. It was a very long trip due to the traffic. We used the time to chat and gossip (I could have some material for a post from that). When we finally arrived we were all thirsty and hungry. Tomáš Erlich, SPP ch

At the end of Spreading the Gospel I complained that at supermarkets it was easier to find rubbish like Stella or Heineken than any of the many and very good regional Czech beers. That thing kept going around my head, so much so that I decided to go out and see how true that was. So I started roaming the streets of Prague determined to go into every shop and supermarket that sells beer I cam across (which is a lot). In the meantime, Evan Rail posted an about the same topic in his blog . There he speaks about Pivní Galerie and Pivovarský Klub as great places where to find an unmatched variety of beers in Prague. Though the truth is that, when it comes to take away bottles, their prices are rather high, quite higher than what can be paid at a supermarket. It must also be considered that many people don't have the possibility of going all the way there just to buy a couple of bottles to drink with dinner, that is specially so for Galerie, that only opens during the week. Due to moral

Thus is the English translation to Hrom do Police, a hospoda lost in the streets of Vinohrady, a residential quarter of Prague full of restaurants, cafés and hospody for all tastes and budgets. There is also very interesting architecture from the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. A very nice place to wander around tree lined streets and escape the crowds in the centre. It was on one of those wanderings that I came across this place, well, actually, I came across a sign announcing it. What made me change my route was the logo of a brewery. Měšťanský pivovar v Poličce, Polička for friends, is an almost unknown brewery in Prague. Which is a great shame. Fortunately the brewery is the owner of this hospoda, so you can find there all their line. When getting to the corner of Moravská and Chodská, you can see the sign with the logo of brewery. The first impulse is to walk right to the door directly below, which would be acutally a mistake, since it belongs to some kind of h