Prague (Praha in Czech, Prag in German) is the Capital of The Czech Republic (Česká republika) (ČR), which consists of the parts of the former Czechoslovakia (Československo), known as Bohemia (Čechy) and Moravia (Morava); Prague is in the centre of Bohemia, of which it is the Capital. On the 1st of January, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into The Czech Republic and Slovakia (The Slovak Republic) (Slovenská Republika); click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia.

Prague truly is a world-class destination for the general tourist, but it is also not to be missed by the most hardened of Speciality Beer fans. Being such a tourist draw, it is readily reached by land or air, and has, of course, been the subject of White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, click here for an example. In addition to Prague, two world-famous beer places that can readily be reached from it are also covered in this Prague White Beer Travels Web page - Plzeň (Pilsen) and České Budějovice (Budweis) - along with the spa town of Karlovy Vary (Karslbad).

Unless indicated otherwise, any beer prices quoted are for measures of 50cl (half a litre), i.e. a metric pint, a UK (Imperial) pint being 57cl, and a US one is 47cl. The prices are in Czech Crowns (Koruna, CZK). Some prices are quoted in other currencies; the conversions were carried out using the Discount Currency Exchange website www.discount-currency-exchange.com.

Many of the names of Czech beers, either their official names, or when they are listed on beer menus, have a number and a degree sign following them, for example, Budvar 12^o could be seen on a menu card, which, on its brewery's website, see below, is called Budweiser Budvar Světlý ležák (Light Lager) (5% Alcohol By Volume, ABV). These degrees represent the original gravity (OG) of the beer, i.e. the amount of fermentable material in a beer (wort), prior to fermentation. The Balling scale was introduced by Karel Josef Napoleon Balling (1805-68), who invented the device used to measure the gravity of beer, the hydrometer, in Prague, in 1843. The Balling scale was the forerunner of the similar Plato scale, which was the German, Fritz Plato's refinement of the Balling scale. As a good rule of thumb, the Original Gravity (OG), used in Britain, can be estimated from the Degrees Balling by multiplying by 4 and adding a 1000, i.e. a 12^o beer will have an OG of around 1048. From the OG an estimate of the alcohol content of the final beer can be made, i.e. divide the last two digits by 10 (alternatively, divide the Degrees Balling by ten, and multiply by four). This gives 4.8%, compared with an actual value of 5%, for the Budvar example quoted, which is an indication that the sugar in the wort has been well fermented out; if the actual ABV of Budvar were only, say 4.4%, then the beer would be noticeably sweeter. And it was a Czech, František Ondřej Poupě (1753-1805), who introduced the thermometer into brewing, and is credited with the line "Barley for beer, wheat for cakes and oats for horses".

In the pub descriptions to be found in this White Beer Travels Web page, you will note that a lot of them are preceded by a single, capital letter "U", for example, U Zlatého tygra, The Golden Tiger, see below. However, although for simplicity, I translate the "U" in such words as "The", strictly speaking, this is not correct, since the "U" actually means "At the [sign of the]", c.f. the German Zum (and variants) and the French Au and variants (À La and Aux). Note that Czech is a language that is subject to much declension, which means that the spelling of words can chgange, depending on which word they are preceded by, thus Golden Tiger, without declension is Zlatý tygr.

Excellent, on-line maps pinpointing all the places featured in this Web page, well any place in The Czech Republic come to that, can be found using www.mapy.cz. Prague has an excellent public transport system, which is fully covered, in Czech, English and German, on the Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy website, www.dpp.cz. With the route maps on this website, you will readily reach all the places covered in this Web page and the city's world-class tourist attractions.

Specialty Beer fans should not arrive in Prague and/or The Czech Republic without the above guide: Good Beer Guide Prague & The Czech Republic, by Evan Rail, which came out in May, 2007. It is published by the UK's premier beer consumers' organisation, CAMRA, the CAMpaign for Real Ale (www.camra.org.uk) (ISBN 978-1-85249-233-5, 224 pages (134x210mm)). It is in full colour throughout, with a superb layout by Dale Tomlinson; it has a similar style to the Good Beer Guide Belgium, by Tim Webb (www.booksaboutbeer.com, White Beer Travels Web page), and Steve Thomas's Good Beer Guide Germany (www.german-breweries.com, White Beer Travels Web page). These guides can be purchased from the CAMRA website. CAMRA was a founder member of the EBCU, the European Beer Consumers' Union (www.ebcu.org); Sdružení prátel piva (SPP, Union of Friends of Beer) (www.pratelepiva.cz) is The Czech Republic's EBCU representative. The Chairman of SPP, Tomáš Erlich, has an article in the guide, entitled "A note from the front lines", which provides a very useful background to the current beer scene in The Czech Republic. Note that Evan's guide replaces a previous edition by one of the four founding members of CAMRA, Graham Lees, which was published by CAMRA in 1996. This was a classic at the time, but its replacement has been eagerly awaited, and thankfully, it is also a classic!

Evan covers all the breweries of the country, with places where their beers can be sampled. He also provides comprehensive coverage of pubs in Prague and in the country's second city, Brno, the Capital of Moravia. Prague is fairly well documented by a number of beer writers, but Evan, who hails from California, in the USA, actually lives in Prague, and has good and regular contact with the SPP, so even the seasoned Beer Hunter will learn of many places that are clearly essential visits, such as the SPP's 2005 Pub of the Year, Ferdinanda (www.ferdinanda.cz), which is on the corner of Opletalova and Politických vězňů, close to Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí). It has top-class beers from the Pivovar Ferdinand, in Benešov u Prahy, www.pivovarferdinand.cz. Ferdinanda, which has free Wi-Fi access, is open on Monday to Saturday, from 11am to 11pm.

In Evan's guide, all the beers are star-rated, these being up to date, so some former classics, which have been dumbed down by the likes of SABMiller, see an example below, get poor ratings, as do, to give further examples, the once hallowed beers from Královský pivovar Krušovice, which have been ruined by the German brewing group, Radeberger; Michael Jackson (1942-) (www.beerhunter.com), the world's most famous beer writer, and clearly, a good judge of beer, once rated their Krušovice Světlé, the best Czech beer, so its downfall, and that of other once great Czech Beers, is somewhat of a national tragedy. Thankfully new, five star world-classics have emerged, which Evan's guide directs you to. In the guide, there is comprehensive information on how to get to The Czech Republic and how to travel within it, some of which I cover later in this Web page. There are also chapters on Beer Tourism, the History of the Czech Lands, Food and Drink, and Beer Styles. The latter includes information on new/non-tradititional styles to The Czech Republic, such as Yeast Beer, see below, Wheat Beer (Pšeničné Pivo) (a former, historic Czech style that was lost), and the emerging trend for unpasteurised versions of very well-known beers, see below.

Prague's most famous bar is called U Fleků, Křemencova 11, tel 02 24 93 40 19 (www.ufleku.cz, White Beer Travels Web page). Ignore any nonsense that you read about U Fleků being an over-priced tourist trap; it is quite simply one of the world's most spectacular taverns, and the beer is only expensive by Prague standards, and in any event, it is superb. The beer is called Flekovský tmavý ležák 13^o, a dark (tmavé or cerné), almost black lager (4.5%, 1052 OG); light is světlé. According to the place's website, in June, 2007, a 20cl glass cost 29.50 Crowns (£0.70, €1.04, $1.40).

U Fleků claims to be the world's oldest Brew Pub, having been first established in 1499; it is also The Czech Republic's longest running brewing establishment. A visit is essential for both beer lovers and general tourists. On the first visit to Prague, in 1993, the first place we headed for, after dropping off our bags, was U Fleků. We did all the things that one is expected to do in the place: we drank its world-class, dark beer, chased with Becherovka (which we had not heard of before this visit, but which the waiters readily ply you with, see ); we ate savoury and sweet dishes with Czech Dumplings (Knedlíky) (around twenty-three slices were consumed by the two men in the recce party, during the three-day recce, and marvellous they were); we listened to the Oompah band playing in the outstanding inner courtyard; and generally soaked in the atmosphere in its many, stupendous rooms. It would be mad to come to Prague and not come here, again and again. U Fleků is open daily from 9am to 11pm. Its Brewery Museum is open on Monday to Saturday between 10am and 5pm (4pm on Saturday).

Note that, not all of Prague's famous bars are tourist traps, although, as I say above, I do not accept this definition for the great U Fleků. For example, on a number of visits to U Zlatého tygra, (The Golden Tiger) (www.uzlatehotygra.cz, Husova 17, tel 02 22 22 11 11), it was not possible to sit down, although there were free seats, if not a local, but one could enjoy its low-cost beer standing at the servery, whilst soaking up the atmosphere. On one visit, with my wife Joyce, I ordered a 50cl measure of Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj), the house draught beer for myself, and a 25cl one for Joyce. The barman said they did not do 25cl measures; my pointing to sat-down locals who had such measures in front of them fell on deaf ears! Despite all this, I will return, as the place is quite simply world-class, and these antics form part of its character, and are character-building! U Zlatého tygra's most renowned regular, for many years, was the renowned author, Bohumil Hrabal (1914-1997). It is a famous outlet for Pilsner Urquell, which has been grossly dumbed down following its acquisition by Pilsner Urquell, see below, although, in U Zlatého tygra it is better than in the many, many places that have it, as it is served in its unpasteurised form (Nepasterované), delivered from a cellar tank, as it is in a small number of other selected outlets in the city, where it often appears on menu cards as "Tanková Plzeň". According to the place's website, in June, 2007, a 50 cl measure of Plzeňský Prazdroj is 26 Crowns (£0.62, €0.91, $1.22). Below, I provide a short history of Pilsner Urquell. © Jiri Jiru, i.e. the photo is the copyright of Jiri Jiru, who took it in U Zlatého tygra (The Golden Tiger), Prague, on the 11th of January, 1994 There was an exception made to U Zlatého tygra's non-locals not being allowed to sit down rule, on the 11th of January, 1994, when President Bill Clinton had a Pilsner Urquell or two and a meal with Bohumil. Mind you, Bill had that other famous writer with him, President Václav Havel, see the photo above (www.hrad.cz covers Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) and the President). Also in the photo is Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State at the time. Note that Bohumil is offering Bill one of the pub's customised beer mats, as per those on the table and to the left. They are like gold dust. They don't like you taking them; there is usually a pile on an unguarded table by the toilets! Note also the Andy Warhol book on the table in front of Bohumil; Andy's parents were Czech immigrants. Andy was born in Pittsburgh, USA, in 1926 and died in New York in 1987. For more information on Jiri Jiru, the photographer, and more examples of his photos, have a look at his excellent website, www.jirijiru.be.tf. Note that it includes a picture of Jiri with Michael Jackson. No, not the Beer Hunter, the singer! The photo above is reproduced with the permission of Jiri. I noted a photo taken at the same time by Jiri, but without Madeleine in it, in the excellent A-Z Prague Culture Guide, by Jan Czech and Jan Dvořák, that was issued in 1994 (ISBN 809016711X). Note that  www.amazon.com (see below) states that this book is out of print and thus only a limited number of copies are available. In the book there are a number of other photos by Jiri, including a particularly good one of Bill Clinton's well-publicised performance, on saxophone, in Prague's renowned Reduta Jazz Club (Národni 20, tel 02 24 91 22 46, www.redutajazzclub.cz), on the same evening as his visit to U Zlatého tygra. On asking Jiri for permission to use the photo from the book on my website, which was in black and white, he very kindly sent me this colour one. The Clinton photos on the Reduta website are by Jiri. Note that they are being displayed on the Reduta's website without Jiri's permission. In U Zlatého tygra's website, there are a couple more photos of Clinton's visit. U Zlatého tygra is open from 3pm until 11pm each day. Sadly, the 82-year-old Bohumil Hrabal died on the 3rd of February, 1997; he joined an illustrious list of Prague defenestrators, when he fell from a fifth-floor window at the Bulovka Hospital, where he was getting treatment for back and joint pains. Some reports suggest suicide, whilst others state that he was trying to feed the pigeons on his windowsill, when the table he was standing on tipped over.

There are other locals' bars that do not mind tourists and Beer Hunters coming in, such as the life-enhancing U Černého Vola (The Black Ox) (Loretánské náměstí 1, tel 02 20 51 34 81). This has Velkopopovický kozel (kozel is Billy Goat, Bock in German), and Velkopopovické tmavé, from Velké Popovice (the brewery's excellent website, www.kozel.cz, has English-language pages, which include information on its principal outlets, including this one). Both beers were only 12 Crowns (£0.29, €0.42, $0.57, at June, 2007 exchange rates), in October, 1995. This is incredibly cheap, given the place's location near to one of the finest of Prague's tourist attractions, the Loreta Shrine, see below. However, cheap beer apart, the place truly is a world-class gem. U Černého Vola is open daily from 11am to 11pm. Note that on my 1995 visit, these beers were magnificent, but Velkopopovický Kozel, in Velké Popovice, has since been taken over by the notorious dumbers down of beer, SABMiller, and the once magnificent beers are now just merely good.

Another Prague don't-miss is U Medvídků (The Little Bears) (www.umedvidku.cz) (Na Perštýně 7, which is just off Národní třída - National Avenue - near the famous Maj department store, tel 02 24 21 19 16). "The Little Bears" is the main outlet in Prague for the renowned Budweiser Budvar (Budějovický Budvar) Brewery (www.budvar.cz), in České Budějovice (Budweis in German); the trademark Budvar means "Bud Brew", so Budweiser Budvar and Budějovický Budvar mean "Bud Brew from Budweis/České Budějovice. There was a brewery in U Medvídků in the middle ages, and, praise be, on the 1st of April, 2005, brewing was re-established upstairs, in the Dům Piva, as it is signed (Beer House), the place being rebadged Minipivovar U Medvídků (the X-Beer Brew Pub); the splendid copper brew house vessels are on view. It is no ordinary "microbrewery" either; it can be regarded as a very small version of Pilsner Urquell in its former glory days, i.e. wooden vessels are used for fermenting and maturation; brewer Ladislav Veselý produces a truly excellent beer from Pilsner Malt, along with darker malts, to produce a darker beer than the former classic from Pilsen, see below. It is a 13^o beer called Oldgott Barique (5.1%). Another magnificent and unusual beer is X Beer 33 (12.8%), a 33^o beer which is sold in numbered bottles. The X-Beer Brew Pub's beers have a slogan, in English, on the bottles: "Don't Drink Alone!". There is also an unusual Budweiser Budvar beer: the 12^o Budweiser Budvar kroužkovaný ležák (Yeast Lager) (5%), which is a variant of the main 12^o Budweiser Budvar Světlý ležák (Light Lager) (both 5%); see below for more information on Yeast Beer/Lager.

U Medvídků is a marvellous multi-roomed tavern, which has very good food. In one of the bars there are tables inside a brewery dray. There is a permanent no-smoking area. U Medvídků's Beer Hall and X-Beer Brew Pub (which has its own beers) is open daily from 11.30am to 11pm; the "Budweiser Bar", which is open each day from 4pm to 3am, has the full range of Budvar beers, including the "Yeast Lager", the larger Beer Hall not having this. There is a pub in the Budweiser Budvar Budvarka chain in the Prague suburb of Dejvice (www.budvarkadejvice.cz). And, if you want to try one of the beers from České Budějovice's other brewery, Budějovický Měšťanský pivovar (Samson Brewery) (www.budweiser1795.com, www.budweiser-burgerbrau.cz, www.samson.cz), there is a kiosk, with seating, serving its beers, called the Budweiser Bürgerbräu (which is the German translation of the Czech name for the brewery, a name it had when German was the official language), at Králodvorská 14; it is open each day from 4pm to 11pm.

Regular Beers in Pivovarský dum include an ubiquitous Světlý ležák (Light Lager), a truly superb Yeast Beer version, see below, at 35 Crowns (£0.83, €1.23, $1.64) (June, 2007 price ex the place's website). There are also Special Beers, flavoured with, for example, Vanilla, Sour Cherry, Banana, etc. In the main, seasoned beer lovers tens to prefer the unflavoured beers, although the Coffee Beer (Kávové pivo) and the Stinging Nettle Beer (Kopřivové pivo) are very good beers (both 35 Crowns (33cl)). The beers are available on draught, but there is one bottled beer: Šamp, Pivní Sekt ("Champagne Beer"), i.e. it is fermented with a Champagne yeast (60 Crowns (50cl)). Here, I do not use Speciál in the Czech sense here, this legally meaning a beer with an original gravity of 13^o or over on the Balling scale. Another special/marvellous feature of Pivovarský dum, which I wish there was more of in Prague, is that the front bar is no smoking.

Pivovarský dum, the Brewing House, was built by the Association of Czech breweries, and since 1937, it has housed the Výzkumný ústav pivovarský a sladařský (Research Institute of Brewing and Malting) (www.beerresearch.cz), this being above the Brew Pub. Pivovarský dum is open seven days a week from 11am to 11.30pm. Pivovarský dum beers are also available in a companion place called Pivovarský klub (Brewing Club) (www.gastroinfo.cz/pivoklub), at Križíkova 17; the 17^o house beer being Křižíkova Sedmnáctka (5.5%), the latter word meaning the seventeen of the place's address and the beer's OG. Pivovarský klub is a rare example of a bar/restaurant with a selection of draught beers from different breweries; there are six of them. There is also over 200 different bottled beers, for drinking on or off the premises, and there is a small brewery (30 litre brew length) on site, which is mainly used by amateur brewers, whose beers are sometimes to be found in the bar. Pivovarský klub has the same opening times as its sister establishment.

Other Brew Pubs worth visiting are: Novoměstský pivovar (New Town Brewery) (www.npivovar.cz) (Vodičkova 20) (open on Monday to Friday from 10am to 11pm, Saturday from 11.30am to 11.30pm, and Sunday from Noon to 10pm; Pivovar u Bulovky (Richter Brewery) (www.pivovarubulovky.cz) (Bulovka 17), an Evan Rail "essential", which was opened by František Richter in 2004, but is already producing world-class beers (it was SPP's Microbrewery (Mikropivovar) of the Year, in 2005) (open from 11am to 11pm on Monday to Thursday, 11am to Midnight on Friday, Noon to Midnight on Saturday, closed Sunday); and U Zlatého anděla, (The Golden Angel), at Celetná 29. The latter is a classy place with an illustrious history, Mozart having lodged in the place on his first visit to Prague. After major refurbishment, it reopened in 2007, as an hotel, incorporating a Brew Pub. It features another growing trend in Prague Speciality Beer establishments: one can draw the House Beers yourself from taps on the tables at which one is seated.

Not to be missed is a superb beer shop, that opened in 2001, Petr Vaněk's Pivní Galerie (Beer Gallery) (www.pivnigalerie.cz) (U Průhonu 9), which is another Evan Rail essential. This has over a hundred beer from over thirty Czech Breweries, including some that it commissions itself from the Pivovar Broumov (www.pivovarbroumov.cz). There are tables and chairs for sampling beers in the shop itself, these including a draught/tap beer that changes each week. Pivní Galerie is open on Monday to Friday between 11am and 8pm.

There are many more marvellous places in Prague, see Evan Rail's truly essential guide, covered above, for many more. Another really excellent English-language book covering the city's traditional taverns is A Guide to the Beer-Halls of Prague, by Mladá Fronta; John White's 1992 edition is ISBN 8020403191, which unfortunately is not listed in Amazon (www.amazon.com or www.amazon.co.uk), an otherwise excellent source of books, videos, CDs/DVDs, etc. It is well worth seeking this book out on arrival in the city. Ron Pattinson's on-line "European Beer Guide" (www.europeanbeerguide.net), which is covered in the Reciprocal Links page of this site, covers Prague very well, the Prague page being www.europeanbeerguide.net/pragintr.htm. Mike and Kuba's "Prague Pubs" site, www.praguepubs.co.uk, provides excellent coverage of ... Radio Praha (Prague)'s site has superb information on Czech Republic breweries, archiv.radio.cz/beer/breweries.html. The BEERS.CZ site, www.beers.cz, is an excellent site for information on Czech breweries. Another first ratewebsite giving information on Czech Breweries is Pivovary.info (Brewery Information), www.pivovary.info. The Prague Post, an English language weekly newspaper, frequently has articles on the beer scene in Prague, so regular use of the search facility on the on-line version, www.praguepost.com, is recommended for up to date information. However, even without information from these sources, or this White Beer Travels Web page, it is difficult to go wrong, beer-wise in Prague, since most of its bars serve beer in the Pilsener style which is far, far superior to the poor UK and, for example, the French-brewed imitations of them that one gets in the UK: Lager.

Staropramen (www.staropramen.cz), in the Prague suburb of Smíchov, is the biggest brewery in The Czech Republic. At one time it was owned by Bass, but was then acquired by the Belgian giant, Interbrew (now that load of Bankers, InBev), in 2001. It is a marvellous place to visit. There is (well there was on a visit in 1995) some very traditional brewing equipment. The draught beers that readily flows on brewery visits have somewhat sadly, but predictably been dumbed down by InBev. They can be sampled on draught throughout Prague and the rest of The Czech Republic and beyond. On the 1995 visit, they were in exceptional condition, in a typical Staropramen pub, Trampsky Salon, which is at number 6 on Na Valentince, the second street left after the brewery; it is the only pub on the street. Here, in October, 1995, the main Staropramen beer was 10 Crowns, for half a litre. Note that this was not the cheapest beer found on the trip! This bar is a marvellous place to go before or after a brewery visit. It has a Wild West theme, apparently because the Czechs are fond of wandering through the countryside, indeed its name alludes to tramping through it [far away from the industrial smells of the suburb of Smíchov, brewing aromas excepted of course]! Inside, as part of the great outdoors theme, it is somewhat like a log-panelled, mountain lodge. It does traditional Czech pub food, which is extremely cheap, but good.

On any Prague Beer Hunt, it is well worth allowing ample time to visit Prague's magnificent non-beer attractions. Some of these are covered in the information packs issued to participants of White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, including walks between them, see the next paragraph for some much condensed examples, along with, of course, descriptions of incredible places to drink great beer. White Beer Travels cannot emphasise strongly enough how visually stunning Prague is. The Grand'Place (Grote Markt), in Brussels, is commonly declared, in reputable travel books and articles, to be the most impressive square in Western Europe, but the Old Town Square (Staroměstské Náměstí) in Prague absolutely knocks it on the head; it is in a different plain. The walk from there to the Charles Bridge (Karlův most) and then up to Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) is uniformly magnificent. However, it is recommended that one does it in the reverse direction, since there is quite a climb to the castle, which is readily reached by incredibly cheap trams. The view from the Charles Bridge, with the Castle and the Cathedral of St Vitus (Katedrála svatého Víta) dominating the skyline above the River Vltava (řeka Vltava), is stated in more than one guidebook to be the finest townscape in the world. It is hard to imagine a better one.

What is more, Prague gets better on each visit. The money pouring into the place since the Berlin Wall came down, on the 9th of November, 1989, is really being spent well. This even goes for beer attractions. A particular impressive place to visit is the don't-miss Strahov Monastery (Strahovský klášter) (www.strahovskyklaster.cz). To get to it, an excellent option is to take the funicular up to the top of the Petrin Hill (Petřínské sady), a very pleasant green and wooded area, the largest in Prague, which offers good views of the city, and lovely, rural paths. It is then a downhill walk to the Monastery. Particularly impressive are the monastery's justly famous libraries. These are covered by a number of the sites cited in the next paragraph, but the following Web page, which is from a collection covering Eastern Europe, gathered by June Hollis, a teacher at Brandon High School, in Mississippi, has a truly excellent narrative by one of her pupil's, Jason Coker, on the Monastery and some superb photos of the libraries: user.intop.net/~jhollis/strahov.html. Note that June's site is an exceptional information source on Eastern Europe; it really is worth checking out. From the Monastery, it is another easy walk to a further don't-miss, the Sanctuary of our Lady of Loreta (www.loreta.cz). As well as the superb, Baroque Loreto Chapel, the monstrances on the first floor of the Treasury should not be missed.

The Strahov Monastery is now a major pull for the Speciality/Craft/Specialty Beer Hunter, because brewing recommenced there in 2001. The Brewery within the Monastery is called the Klášterní pivovar (Strahovský pivovar) (Monastic Brewery) (Strahov Brewery) (Strahovské nádvoří 301, tel 02 33 35 31 55, www.klasterni-pivovar.cz). After the events in Eastern Europe of 1989, there are now monks back in the Monastery, but there is no indication on the brewery's website as to whether they are involved in brewing. They belong to the Premonstratensian (Norbertine) monastic order, its beers being named after Saint Norbert (Svatý Norbert, Sv. Norbert), the order's Patron Saint; the bar/restaurant serving them is open daily from 10am to 10pm. In Belgium, a number of Norbertine Abbeys have beers, but they are brewed away from the abbey in question by secular brewers, such as the Bonne Espérance range from Lefèbvre (www.brasserielefebvre.be), the Tongerlo beers from Haacht, and the ubiquitous Leffe range, manufactured by that load of bankers, InBev.

Websites giving general and tourist guides to Prague, in the English-language, include: www.a-zprague.cz (has a Bar and Restaurant list amongst it's A to Z links); www.prague.com; www.timeout.com/prague; www.pragueby.com, www.prague-hotel.net, www.accommodation-prague-centre.cz, www.aaaahotels.com, www.hotelsprague.cz and prague-hotel.wz.cz are hotel booking sites, which are worth looking at if you are contemplating a trip, since finding a room in this very popular city can be problematic (the beer may be really cheap, but, although hotels are generally also exceptionally cheap in The Czech Republic, in Prague they are not); the excellent www.czechlinks.com also provides information on hotels in Prague, and also has links for other parts of The Czech Republic, but also elsewhere; www.pragueexperience.com is another excellent website which describes itself as "your complete tourist information guide to Prague", and is, indeed, a comprehensive site, covering accommodation restaurants, tourist attractions, venues for stag nights, etc, etc; "Accommodation in Prague" is an excellent site that provides hotel and other accommodation options in the city, www.accommodationinczech.com; www.hrad.cz, Prague's Castle Complex site; www.ctg.cz, the official Czech travel site naturally covers Prague, including Web Cam shots of it; www.pis.cz, another official site from the Prague Information Service; www.prague-museums.com has outline information on the city's museums and on its main tourist attractions, with some very good photos; www.sdmusic.cz covers the city's outstanding classical music and jazz scene; www.prague.cz is a very good commercial site covering many tourist aspects of the city; www.prague.cz/museums.asp is a page from the latter with hyperlinks to the websites of the city's main museums; and www.praguewalks.com, which covers guided walks in Prague, including two pub crawls. For translation between Czech and English, German, French and Spanish, the on-line Wordbook Multi Dictionary is a useful tool, www.wordbook.cz.

Plzeň (Pilsen),
a Most Famous Beer Town Readily Reached from Prague

A possible day trip from Prague is to Plzeň, for the mega famous Pilsner Urquell Brewery (www.pilsnerurquell.com). Plzeň, the Capitla of Pilsen Region ( Plzeňský kraj) of the country, is more commonly known in the beer world by its German name, Pilsen, which was used until the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved at the end of the First World War.

Although the famous open fermenters in underground cavern are no longer in use at Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj in Czech), they are still shown on what is an exceptionally place for a brewery visit; one has to accept, however, that the beer is not what it was; it was magnificent on the first White Beer Travels visit in 1993, but, under SABMiller (former South African Breweries, www.sabmiller.com), it is no longer world-class. "Pilsner Urquell" means "Pilsen Beer from the Original Source", but this does not stop SABMiller, the dumber downers, from brewing Pilsner Urquell in Poland!

After visits to Pilsner Urquell, the famous and once-hallowed beer is, of course, sampled. Note that there is free access at all times, through the famous gate, to a restaurant and souvenir area, and each weekday, there are tourist-orientated visits, but White Beer Travels Beer Hunters typically have special visits, although I am sure that the general ones will be reasonable. A convenient place for lunch is Pilsen Breweries' Restaurant, but there are also good eating possibilities in the town, for which one should allot time.

Despite its drab outer suburbs, Plzeň is very pleasant in the centre. In Plzeň's impressive, huge main square, Náměstí Republicky, one finds the attractive St Bartholomew's Church; it has the tallest steeple in The Czech Republic. Note also the brilliant sgraffito decoration on the Old Town Hall (Stará radnice), on the North side of the square. Next door to the Town Hall is the Tourist Information Office. The square also houses the birthplace of Pilsner Urquell beer, see below. Among other attractions of Plzeň is the Škoda Museum! The Pilsen Brewery Museum (Pivovarské muzeum v Plzni) is housed in a fifteenth Century building, at Veleslavínova 6. A visit is a must for beer lovers. The museum building mainly served as a maltings until the 20th Century, when it became a tavern, prior to its present role. In 1842 it supplied the malt for the world's first clear golden lager, the beer that today is called Pilsner Urquell. Next door, there is a bar/restaurant, owned by Pilsner Urquell, called Na Parkáně, at Veleslavínova 4. This is the only outlet for Kvasnicový Pilsner Urquell, the brewery's Kvasnicové pivo (Yeast Beer). This has yeast and wort added to the finished beer, and thus is not the same as an unfiltered beer (Nefiltrované pivo). It is also not the same as a German Kräusen Bier, these being beers in which fresh wort is added at the maturation/lagering phase, but not yeast, to liven up the secondary fermentation. Yeast Beers, which are also commonly called Kvasničák (yeast is kvasnice) are becoming very popular with beer enthusiasts, and thus, most of the new Czech Brew Pubs have one in their portfolio.

Yeast Beers tend are usually cloudy, but some are clear, such as the 12^o Budweiser Budvar kroužkovaný ležák (Yeast Lager) (5%), which is a variant of the main 12^o Budweiser Budvar Světlý ležák (Light Lager) (both 5%). The Budweiser Yeast Lager is the equivalent of a clear UK Real Ale, in that there is yeast in the container from which it is delivered, but the yeast is resting at the bottom of the container, which is why the description of the Budweiser Budvar Yeast Lager on the Budweiser Budvar website, states that before being served, it must not be moved for a period of at least a week, and it must be stored at a temperature of 6-8°C.

In Plzeň, a good outlet for beers from Gambrinus, Plzeň's other main brewery, which is also now owned by SABMiller, is U Zumbery, at Bezručova 14. As well as the 12^o Gambrinus, there are two beers on draught from other breweries. All the draught beers were 15 Crowns for a half litre, in October 1995. Food is very good. The place gets crowded at lunchtime, such that one will usually be asked to share a table with locals. The Gambrinus Brewery is named after the "King of Beer", who came from present day Belgium, see the top of this page. A short note on the Gambrinus Legend is available on the White Beer Travels Downloads page.

Pilsen is readily reached from Prague by train, the eighty kilometre (fifty mile) journey taking around an hour. The České dráhy (Czech Rail) website, www.cd.cz, has English pages, and gives times, fares, details of discounts, etc. www.idos.cz covers all forms of transport in The Czech Republic; it has English and German pages.

A Short History of Pilsner Urquell

The town of Plzeň was founded by the King of Bohemia, Wenceslas II (Václav II), in 1295. (The earlier [relatively] "Good King" was only a Duke, although he was subsequently made a Saint; he was murdered by his brother Boleslav the Cruel, in 929.) Wenceslas II granted hereditary brewing rights to 260 of Pilsen's burghers, and Pilsen soon became a significant brewing town. The burghers with brewing rights fixed brewing rotas and organised the pooling of brewing equipment. One Sunday, in February, 1838, they met, as they did most Sundays, with Pilsen's mayor, Martin Kopetzky, in U Zlatého orela (Zum Goldenen Adler, the Golden Eagle), over a few beers. On this fateful day, the mayor declared that the beer served up to him was undrinkable. Within days this resulted in local magistrates ordering that thirty six barrels of the beer be stacked up in front of the town hall, in Pilsen's main square. When a decent sized crowd had gathered the barrels were smashed open with axes, the beer spilling across the square. This caused Wenzel Mirwald, the landlord of the Golden Eagle, to declare that the town needed a brewery, producing beer using Bavarian methods, brewed by a Bavarian brewer. At this time Pilsen produced only top-fermented beers, the main two types being a Wheat Beer and a "Red" Malt Beer. Wenzel Mirwald had heard that in neighbouring Bavaria (Bayern), Gabriel Sedlmeyer, at the Spaten Brewery in Munich, was pioneering the use of a new method of fermentation: Bottom Fermentation. He understood that this produced much more consistent, stable beers. In this method, of course, the yeast sinks to the bottom, during fermentation. It also takes longer than Top Fermentation, and lower temperatures are employed. The burghers with brewing rights took Wenzel Mirwald's advice. They decided to build a joint brewery, the Burghers' Brewery (Měšťanský pivovar), specifically to produce Bavarian style beers, using Bottom Fermentation. The foundation stone was laid on the 15th of September, 1839.

Martin Stelzer, the one chosen to build the brewery, subsequently went to Bavaria in search of a brewer. It is often stated in beer texts, even German ones, that Martin Stelzer was a brewer, which is not so: the German for Master Builder is Baumeister, for brewmaster it is Braumeister. In early 1842 he returned to Pilsen with Josef Groll, who was working with his father, the brewmaster of the Wolferstetter Brewery (www.wolferstetter-brauerei.de), dating from 1542, in Vilshofen, on the Danube, close to the Bohemian border; the Wolferstetter Brewery is stil in operation today. Josef Groll was highly regarded locally as a brewer. He had been trained by some of the most famous names in brewing at the time, including Gabriel Sedlmayer in Munich, and Anton Dreher, the originator of the red "Vienna" style of beer, at the renowned Schwechat brewery in the suburbs of Vienna.

When Josef Groll arrived in Plzeň, he soon discovered that he had a wonderful combination of materials at his disposal: Malt of the highest quality was available; Saaz hops, the world's most prestigious hop variety, were grown in nearby Žatec (Saaz in German); and the local water, with its extremely low dissolved salts content, proved to be perfect for brewing the type of beer that he was to produce. Josef also introduced indirect heat malting to Plzeň, with its improved temperature control. This allowed him to try a lighter coloured malt, than that typically used for Bavarian brews, i.e. barley not kilned to the same extent as for a dark malt. He had been told of the new malting method during his previously mentioned training by Sedlmeyer and Dreher. They picked up the technique in England whilst on a tour of British breweries and maltings in 1833. Furthermore, water with a low calcium salts content extracts less colour from malt, another factor conducive to producing a light coloured beer.

Josef developed a yeast strain which dropped readily. The malt he used was very low in protein, which also facilitated the production of a clear beer, as did the very high hopping levels used. The outcome was a clear, golden Lager. It had a never-seen-before snow-white head, strong enough to float a coin on. At this time glass, of which Bohemia is famous, was replacing opaque metal, wood, leather or stoneware drinking vessels. The clear lager looked very trendy in glass, and was soon copied elsewhere.

Josef Groll's Pilsen brew was first served to the general public at a ceremony in the main square in Pilsen, during the Martinmas Fair, and in selected pubs, including the Golden Eagle, on the 11th of November, 1842. This beer was the forerunner of Pilsner Urquell. This was not the world's first Lager, as one often reads, but the world's first, clear, golden one. Even in The Czech Republic its German name is more common: Pilsner Urquell, a name which was introduced in 1859, in a belated attempt to emphasise where the first Pils came from (Ur means Original or Ancient, Quell[e] means source). The Burghers' Brewery was renamed Pilsner Urquell, which is Plzeňský Prazdroj in Czech.

Josef was contracted to stay three years in Plzeň. He was not easy to get on with, and despite what he had done for the Burghers' Brewery, his contract was not renewed and he returned to Vilshofen, on its expiry, to a hero's welcome. His replacement was another Bavarian, with a similar temperament to himself. Needless to say, his contract was also not extended. Back in Vilshofen, although only in his early thirties, Josef did not work for very long, although he naturally introduced a Pilsener style beer into the Wolferstetter brewery's portfolio. A life of leisure was possible since, although only in Plzeň for a relatively short time, he had negotiated a very good pension from the Burghers' Brewery. He died, aged seventy-four, whilst drinking at the Stammtisch, the regulars' table, in the Zum Wolferstetter Keller, the Wolferstetter brewery tap, at Bürg 21. The Wolferstetter brewery, at Stadtplatz 12, still has a Pilsener style beer; it is called Josef Groll Pils! His portrait is on the bottle label, and on the glasses in which it is served.

After the end of the Danube Monarchy, in 1918, the Golden Eagle, where it all began for Pilsner Urquell, became the Hotel Central. In the 1970s it was replaced by the present concrete affair, and its name changed to the Hotel Ural, probably after the mountain range, but I like to think that it meant Original Ale! After the velvet revolution, in 1989, the hotel reverted back to being the Hotel Central again. Fortunately the vaulted, stone-floored basement of the original Golden Eagle, where the meetings between the mayor and the burghers with brewing rights took place, was preserved, and today functions as a nightclub, opening between 9pm and 4am. The Hotel Central can be found in Pilsen's main square, at Náměstí Republiky 33 (on the corner with Rigerova), tel 0377 226 757 (www.central-hotel.cz).

České Budějovice(Budweis),
a Famous Beer City, Also Readily Reached from Prague

Another very feasible day trip by train from Prague is to České Budějovice (Budweis in German), where visits to the renowned Budweiser Budvar (Budějovický Budvar) Brewery (www.budvar.cz) are a must. České Budějovice and its justly famous brewery is covered in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here.

Karlovy Vary

A good option after Pilsen, is the world-renowned spa town of Karlovy Vary, which can also be reached by train. Along its main street are twelve springs of hot, muddy, mineral-filled water. Inside the Sprudel Colonnade (Vridelni kolonada) is the Sprudel Spring (Vridlo pramen), the oldest, most famous and hottest of the springs (163^oF, 73^oC); at regular intervals it spurts to a height of over ten metres (yards). All the springs have their temperatures marked on them. You will note people drinking the water using special vessels in which the hollow handle serves as a spout.

One can also go to the town's 13th spring: the Becher Distillery (www.janbecher.cz). Becher produce the world famous Becherovka liqueur, a marvellous, herby drink that is commonly seen as a beer chaser in Prague and elsewhere in The Czech Republic; it is an essential item to bring home from a trip to The Czech Republic. White Beer Travels Beer Hunters have had fascinating tours around Becher, which end with the inevitable tasting of a number of their interesting products.

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