Evan Rail – Page 15 – Beer Culture

Pilsner Urquell’s Russian Adventures

On January 9, 2008

The always-great Good Beer Blog has an interesting post from Alan on brewing under license and a recent article about the Pilsner Urquell which is brewed in Russia. Unlike Pilsner Urquell, Russian journalism doesn’t have such a great reputation, and this article seems more than a bit sensationalistic, starting out with the premise that Russian beer drinkers are being cheated (it’s right there in the headline, folks).

Two things caught my eye: the article says that the Russian version doesn’t taste as good as the original, claiming that it uses Russian water and hops. Second, the article quoted a company spokesman as saying that Russia is the only brewer of Pilsner Urquell outside of the Czech Republic.

That definitely seemed strange, as everyone knows that Pilsner Urquell started brewing under contract in Poland several years ago.

Pivovarský Klub Brews Again

By Evan Rail

On January 6, 2008

In Beer Tastings

For this year’s SPP awards, most of us in Prague first met for breakfast at Hotel Beránek, near metro station I.P. Pavlova. Before getting on the bus, we were able to try Hotel Beránek’s house beer, brewed and bottled for the hotel by Chodovar.

What a great idea, I thought. Why don’t more places have their own beers? Of course a bottle of beer is fairly hard to fold, but it would still make an interesting holiday card. Or a thank-you gift. (Personally, I’d love to use one as my business card, but that would present logistical problems involving pockets, weight and my own thirst that I shouldn’t go into here.) Homebrewing’s easy enough. How hard could it be to have a beer made, maybe just for a special occasion?

And then before Christmas, I was told that my local, Pivovarský klub, had a new beer coming out for its regular customers and friends of the house. Called Florenc 14:14, it’s a polotmavý (half-dark) lager brewed from three kinds of malt at 14° Balling, lagered for more than a month and finishing with 5.5% ABV, produced in a limited run of less than 70 bottles of 330 centiliters.

A New Prague Brewpub: Pivovar Bašta

By Evan Rail

On January 5, 2008

In Beer Travel

Prague is not in bad shape for beer, not by any means. Not only do we have U sadu, U kláštera and a few hundred other great pubs in town, but we also have about a dozen outstanding local beers, including one brewed by college students. Last month we had the Christmas Beer Markets to keep us warm. And now we’ve got a brand new brewpub in Praha 4-Nusle: Pivovar Bašta.

Also known as Sousedský pivovar U Bansethů (something like “neighborhood brewery U Bansethů”), Bašta sits just across from the nuselská radnice, next door to the old U Bansethů pub, a neighborhood stalwart for a century or so and a good source for Pilsner Urquell.

Everything I Know About Beer I Learned at the Agricultural University

By Evan Rail

On December 30, 2007

In Beer Travel

Ah, the tough life of a college student, nothing but studying, classes — and brewing beer.

Or at least how it might appear in Prague, a city with at least nine functioning breweries and the capital of a country that famously consumes more beer per person than anywhere else in the world. Beer lovers everywhere have heard of Prague’s Staropramen, owned by the giant brewing group InBev, and U Fleků, a tiny brewpub that’s been running strong since 1499. Many know that the Czech lands are home to the original Pilsner and Budweisers, as well as great brewing barley and legendary hops. But very few have ever heard of Suchdolský Jeník, a beer brewed by students at Prague’s Česká zemědělská univerzita, or Czech Agricultural University.

Beer News from the Market

By Evan Rail

On December 27, 2007

In News and Rumors

praguebeermarkets

If you missed the Prague Christmas Beer Markets, you missed out on more than just outstanding brews — you also didn’t hear the news. For starters, there was the announcement of the forthcoming brewery at the eastern edge of Ústecký kraj, north of Prague and very near the German and Polish borders. Set to take off in early 2008, Pivovar Kocour Varnsdorf will brew classic Czech lagers as well as several top-fermenting beers, including an English pale ale, an IPA and a Rauchweizen.

This marks the arrival of more than just another outstanding Czech microbrewery (and no, it’s not a brewpub — these beers should actually be distributed well beyond where they’re made, at least in kegs).

Help Wanted: Selling Budvar

By Evan Rail

On December 17, 2007

In News and Rumors

A few months ago, a friend mentioned that when he was just starting out as a young lawyer in the mid-1990s, he did some work at a law firm here in Prague. One of his projects back then was the contract for a possible sale of Budějovický Budvar to Anheuser-Busch.

That sale never went through, of course, and Budvar and Anheuser-Busch maintain a “frenemy” relationship today, entering into distribution deals for Budvar (only under its “Czechvar” pseudonym) in the United States while continuing international legal battles over the name “Budweiser.”

But talk of Budvar’s sale (subscription required) has returned, as the Prague Daily Monitor news desk reports, via Hospodářské noviny.

Christmas Beer

By Evan Rail

On December 13, 2007

In Uncategorized

Chodovar Special

The Czech Republic is home to a whole bundle of brews from specific places: known quantities like Pilsner Urquell (from the West Bohemian town of Plzeň) and Budějovický Budvar (from České Budějovice), as well as rarer birds like Žamberk’s fantastic Žamberecký Kanec, Pardubice’s Pardubický Porter, Velichov’s impossible-to-find (but oh-so-worth-it) Velichovský Forman, along with about 500 other truly outstanding local faves. But in the midst of this very rich beer culture, what we don’t have are many brews that are specific to a certain time of year. One of the few exceptions is showing up right about now: Vánoční piva, or Christmas beers.

Occasionally called sváteční piva (holiday beers), Christmas beers are brewed at higher gravities than standard Czech lagers, generally starting at 13° and heading north fast, resulting in slightly (or much) higher alcohol than normal.

Beer Culture

Stories about great beer from the countries that invented it.

Author: Evan Rail (Page 15 of 15)

Pilsner Urquell’s Russian Adventures

Pivovarský Klub Brews Again

A New Prague Brewpub: Pivovar Bašta

Everything I Know About Beer I Learned at the Agricultural University

Beer News from the Market

Help Wanted: Selling Budvar

Christmas Beer

You should read my newest Kindle Single, “The Meanings of Craft Beer.”

Get “Why Beer Matters,” the best-selling essay on the world’s best-loved beverage:

Buy “In Praise of Hangovers,” selected by Amazon as one of the best books of the year so far:

Pages

Tags

Other Blogs You Might Enjoy