by Martin Steinbach
Prague's status as a destination for beer lovers is undisputed: the Czech Republic is home to the original Pilsner, the original Budweiser and boasts the world's highest beer consumption, 160 litres per person each year. In Prague, great pubs are found on every corner, and it is not uncommon to see people drinking one or more of the country's outstanding lagers with breakfast. Ounce for ounce, beer is cheaper than water here, and often appears to be consumed more widely.
However, if you really want to sample Czech brewing, you need to leave the capital. This is far easier and less expensive than in many neighbouring countries, with excellent public transportation to nearly every Czech brewpub and regional brewery within a few hours. Trips are very easy to plan using the www.idos.cz website, which details all connections around the country. Not only will you beat the crowds, but prices are often lower -- and the beers are far more varied.
1. First off: the excellent Pivovarsky dvur at Chyne, so close it is actually served by Prague's bus line: from Prague's Zlicin metro station, take the 347 bus five stops to the "Chyne Pivovarsky Dvur" station, about a ten-minute ride. Here you'll find one of the country's best light lagers, a semi-sweet golden brew with just 3% alcohol and a sweet, honey-like finish. With buses leaving hourly, this is perfect for a lunchtime tasting of the brewpub's high-quality lagers with a traditional meal of hearty beef goulash and fluffy Czech dumplings.
2. Not too much further away is the excellent Berounsky Medved brewery, located right in the rail-yard of the commuter town of Beroun. Naturally, train connections are frequent, but hikers should consider the trail along the Berounka river starting from the town of Cernosice, just five kilometers away from Prague, passing by Karlstejn Castle, built in the fourteenth century by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. At a slow pace, the beautiful 25-kilometer hike takes about 8 hours, making the first Berounsky Medved golden lager -- slightly yeasty and with a pronounced vanilla finish -- preternaturally delicious.
3. Of course, not all travel requires such an effort. When James Bond boarded his bullet train to Montenegro in the last Casino Royale, the cinematic stand-in was the high-speed Czech Pendolino. Every day, six such 007-worthy trains leave the Czech capital for the university town of Olomouc, where a stylish new brewpub, Moritz, has achieved renown as much for its wonderful beers as for being completely non-smoking, a first in the country. The dark lager, Cerna Tereza, has a toasty malt flavour and a rich, creamy finish, inviting tasters to postpone departure until the next train, if not indefinitely.
4. Far more rustic is Vendelin (Lukasovska 43, Liberec-Stary Harcov, Tel. 485 163 096) in the northern mountainous of Bohemia, near the German and Polish borders. Forget Moritz's non-smoking airs and Art-Nouveau décor: Vendelin has just a few picnic tables in the front yard, and the brewing kettles are still coal-fired. The resultant elixir has an apricot nose, extremely low carbonation and a sugary, fruity finish. True to form, the brewery still doesn't have a website: just follow the rapturous sighs of highly contented beer fans.
5. While most Czech brewers stick with the traditional 5% alcohol, a few have recently introduced higher-octane brews. But just one, Pernstejn Pardubice, has made a strong beer for over a century: the astounding Pardubicky Porter, a black brew of 8% alcohol by volume. Rich and malty with cola, spice and coffee notes, it is best sampled at the bustling brewery restaurant, just a short walk from the city's main train station. Through October, Pardubice has a second big draw: the notoriously difficult Velka Pardubicka steeplechase, which has challenged horses and jockeys since 1874.
6. Dating from just two years earlier is the sprawling brewery at Nova Paka, built in 1872 above a duck pond, and with a lovely period restaurant on-site. Though the brewer remains one of the country's most traditional, Nova Paka recently introduced Hemp Valley Beer, an innovative lager doctored with hemp extract, giving it a pungent, marijuana-like aroma. Buses and trains run several times an hour between Prague and Nova Paka; the journey takes about two hours.
7. Much less a brewery than it is a community centre, Pivovar Medlesice serves two fine lagers -- and occasionally hosts holiday functions and costume parties for children (and their parents). Medlesice lies on the main rail route running south from Pardubice, allowing for a multiple-brewery day-trip with careful planning.
8. However, sometimes you simply have to stay for another round, return tickets be damned. Thus the rise of another great Czech innovation: the brewery hotel, with some 16 breweries around the country offering lodging as well as great beer. Not too far from the far-more-famous town of Budweis, home to the original Budweiser, Pivovarsky dvur Lipan has guest rooms, guided canoe tours of the Vltava river, berry-picking in the lush South Bohemian forests, as well as absolutely stunning golden and black lagers. The rustic pensione charges just £7.40 per person for lodging.
9. Of course, it wouldn't be the Czech Republic without mentioning the town of Plzen, aka Pilsen, where the pilsner style was first produced at Pilsner Urquell in 1842. That brewery now features a massive visitors' centre, but fewer tourists ever find the town's excellent brewpub, U rytire Lochoty (At the Knight Lochota, Karlovarksa 103, Tel. +420 377 540 946), which serves an outstanding amber lager, an older style almost made extinct by the spread of pilsner.
10. Two and a half hours away from Brno (and under four hours from Prague) is the Dalesice brewery, perhaps most famous for its role in the beloved film Cutting it Short, directed by Oscar-winner Jiri Menzel. Though the original brewery closed in 1977, a cozy new microbrewery has since opened up, serving one of the best -- yet almost unknown -- Czech brewing styles, yeast beer, with far more complex flavours than standard lagers. Dalesice's version is as rich and creamy as home-made ice cream, but with a lovely back-bite from lots of Czech hops. Like many of the best Czech brews, you'll probably never taste anything like this in Prague. But once you do, you'll wish you never had to go back.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=595117
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