Rohozec – Beer Culture

On Wednesday, November 19, the Sdružení přátel piva held its annual awards ceremony for the greatest beers, breweries, and the best brewmaster in the Czech Republic.

Often rendered in English as the Union of Friends of Beer, the SPP is the Czech beer consumers’ organization, a counterpart to the Campaign for Real Ale and other fellow members of the European Beer Consumers Union, similarly working to promote quality beer and preserve local beer traditions. Though there are many beer awards in the lager-loving Czech Republic, the SPP awards are among the most prestigious and most anticipated such ceremonies on the Czech beer calendar.

The awards, handed out this year inside the cozy beer hall on the Budweiser Budvar brewery grounds, went to the following:

Czech Beer in Stockholm

By Evan Rail

On April 24, 2008

In Beer Travel

There’s a fair amount of beer in the Swedish capital, and much of it seems to be Czech. Step into a bar in the trendy neighborhood of Södermalm and you’ll probably see Krušovice and Pilsner Urquell as often as anything else. Czech lagers seem to be frequently sold as premium imports here, an in the case of Starobrno’s position at the top of the list at Pet Sounds Bar, a chic offshoot of a legendary local record shop. A few other Czech brands — including Primátor — show up at the many outlets of Systembolaget, the Swedish government’s alcohol monopoly.

And then there’s Stockholm’s Švejk pub.

Pivovar Platan

By Evan Rail

On February 6, 2008

In News and Rumors

There was news yesterday that South Bohemia’s Platan brewery has been bought by K Brewing Group, as my Prague Monitor colleagues reported, via the Czech News Agency.

It’s unknown what exactly this will mean for the plane tree from Protivín, though several other brands that K Brewing has invested in — Malý Rohozec, Svijany and Černá Hora, in particular — are strong small producers with good lines. I certainly do like Platan. It’s the local beer at my in-laws, who live in nearby Písek, and the drive to the brewery gate (above) is one of the prettiest in all of Bohemian beerdom. In warm weather, cyclists, strollers and families from the village head up the allée to the brewery taproom and restaurant. Who doesn’t love plane trees?

Of course, it’s not just that the grounds are photogenic: unlike some brands, Platan is not resting on its basic lagers, to coin a phrase, producing a very good standard 11° golden beer, as well as a couple of outside-the-box brews: the creamy and rich 14° Prácheňská Perla, as well as the kicks-like-a-mule Knížecí 21° (with a memory-distorting 10.6% ABV). No, Platan doesn’t yet produce a semi-dark or a wheat beer, as I suggested Budvar should. (And the golden 14°, at least, is in fairly familiar territory. Let’s call that a “next to the box” brew.) But Platan still does produce a more diverse line of beers than many Czech marques, and all at reliably high quality.

High enough to attract interest from a famous name.

Beer Culture

Stories about great beer from the countries that invented it.

Tag: Rohozec

The SPP Czech Beer Awards: Budvar’s Tolar Wins Brewmaster of the Year

Czech Beer in Stockholm

Pivovar Platan

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