Mmmmmm, Beer....

Staropramen Brewery, Praha, Czech Republic

Before moving to Prague I'd never been much of a beer drinker. Sure I'd indulge in the occasional Dutch beer or a Newcastle Brown Ale, but not all that often. 3 weeks have gone by though since I arrived here and I've gained a new appreciation for this amazing human invention called BEER (or Pivo, as they say in Czech). If you've never had the privilege of drinking Czech beer in the Czech Republic, do yourself a favor and come and taste what REAL beer tastes like. My friend warned me when I got here: she wasn't a beer drinker either, but when living in Prague one quickly learns that Czech beer is unlike any beer anywhere else in the world (well, save for some parts of Germany and a few abbeys in Belgium). I mean, it is so good it's scary... I mean, you can drink it all day, huge mugs, and you never get tired... You just want more. In fact, you really don't get very drunk either. Czech beer seems to have a fairly low alcohol content, but it has an extremely high delicious content. It's like food. I've been drinking as much as possible everyday and trying to taste all the wonderful different varieties at the same time, like a kid in a candy shop. They're all good - Staropramen, Gambrinus, Budvar (Budweiser, no the REAL Budweiser), Bernard, Braník, Pilsner Urquell, and my favorite so far: Kozel Dark. Most of the others I've tried in Prague are light beers, but Kozel Dark is dark as molasses, and it is GOOOOOOD! The first time I tried it and couldn't believe that a beer could taste that good. Nowadays, I don't think a meal goes by here that I don't drink some kind of Czech beer (or two, or three).

Another amazing thing about Czech beer is the way it's served. In the US, bartenders try and avoid pouring too quickly to prevent working up a big head. Here in Prague, they do it the right way and pour the whole mug quickly so that you get a big head right from the beginning. Then you let it sit for a couple of minutes so the froth dies down before you drink it. This gives the beer just the right amount of aeration and it just slides down your palette...

Now, did I mention that Czech beer is cheap too! A half liter, which is quite large goes for for about 50 crowns, around $2. Sometimes you can get it for less and if you go to a tourist spot and get ripped off, you might pay as much as $3 or $4. At the supermarket you can pay as little as 40 cents for a bottle of beer, and we're not talking cheap stuff either. Indeed, the Czech Republic is a beer lover's heaven, and unfortunately I'm ruined for life- I'll never be able to drink another Corona or Heineken again.

Technorati Tags: Beer, Czech Republic, Kozel, Prague