Beware of airport prices

When visiting the Czech Republic you will find out that beer prices vary from the higher prices paid at cafes and restaurants in the tourist areas in the city centre of Prague compared to for instance hospodas in the Žižkov area. A good rule these days is that pubs selling pints of beer at 40 CZK or lower are worth visiting. Are the prices higher, the restaurant is probably either a rip-off or a place catering for the gastronimical elite.

If you get to Prague airport, you normally pay nearly 150 CZK for a half litre of beer at the restaurants and pubs. Compared to the Scandinavian countries, these are affordable prices. But it feels strange that the restaurants at Prague airport charge so much more for beers compared to ordinary pubs and taprooms in the city.

As I was waiting for my flight home, I decided to have some beer. At an earlier visit to the airport, the Pilsner Urquell Original Restaurant was out of Master as a draught beer. This time the beer was available from tap. I decided to check it out.

Master Černý was a nearly black beer with a large head and nearly no carbonation. It had aromas of dark chocolate and a bit of sweetness. In the mouth I felt dark chocolate and some coffee before a partly sweet finish. I liked it, and felt that it might be a good Winter beer.

Bliss at Nota Bene

If you are interested in beer, then a sign telling you that a restaurant is a beerpoint should be a good thing. I had time for a beer while being close to the I. P. Pavlova metro in Prague. I knew a new restaurant called Nota Bene was nearby in Micovcova street and decided to stop by for a short visit.

Inside, the restaurant was bright with a welcoming choice of furniture, but it was a bit crowded with a lot of guests. I therefore decided to stand at the bar trying out a pale lager from the Úněticke brewery.

This is one of the times that I absolutely should have kept my tasting notes. This was an extremely good lager, and I enjoyed every drop of it.

There was no time to check out the other beer offers at Nota Bene. They had draught beers from six small and interesting Czech breweries including Kocour and Strahov monastery. I just have to go back some time. I liked it there!

Budvar's best

I usually drink my share of Budvar's kvasnicove while visiting the Budvarka restaurant near the Dejvicka metro in Prague. This is one of the few places in Prague selling this special beer. At this visit, I found the Budvar Kroužkovaný Ležák at the Pod Slavínem restaurant near the Albertov tram stop.

I chose to sit down outdoors and ordered a half litre of this golden beer. As usual I was in for a treat. This fabulous hoppy beer with tones of grass was lovely. And guess what? There had to be another. And also another one! There was no food this time around, but there will be at a later visit. Pod Slavínem serves according to expats good food at great prices.

Budvar Kroužkovaný Ležák is not available in bottles, and you can only drink it as a draught beer at selected bars and restaurants in the Czech Republic. If you find it, check it out!

A special visit

It was a warm day in Prague. I was walking around the Žižkov neighbourhood and thought that it was time for a beer. I chose to sit down outside a waterhole I had not visited for years, U Pižďucha in Blahnikova street.

U Pižďucha is first of all a little taproom. It is mentioned in both Evan Rail's and Pivní Filosof's beer guides to Prague. I took out the books to see where I wanted to go next, and while doing it I took this picture for fun:

As you readers can see, both the prices and the beer selection have changed at U Pižďucha since Evan Rail released his "Good Beer Guide: Prague and the Czech Republic" in 2007. But the book is still a great resource on both breweries and pubs in the Czech lands.

While enjoying an excellent Svijany Maz, I showed the barman Pivní Filosof's informative and enjoyable book, "Prague: A Pisshead's Pub Guide". He leafed through it and stoppet at the pages where U Pižďucha was mentioned. He then had a laugh and took the book into the taproom. Less than a minute later a man was presented to me as a U Pižďucha stamgast. He pointed at a picture in the book and then at himself. Sure thing, he was made immortal by Pivní Filosof!

Suddenly there were free rounds of Fernet Stock for me and the other guests. I also bought a round, and it was an enjoyable moment where we tried to communicate in bad Czenglish. But body language worked, and also the occacional use of Czech words and phrases like "pivo", "dobrý" and "ještě jedno". It is strange, but often the best times in our lives involves chance meetings. And sometimes beer as well.

Two good beer places

I do not write beer notes every time I am going somewhere. That is always good, because some times it takes away something from both the beer and the restaurant experience.

In this post I will write about two places in Prague that I have visited several times, but where I have never bothered to do any beer notes. Záležitost is a nice restaurant near the Biskupcova tram stop. It is based in the cellar, and it also has a lovely beer garden. Outside, this looks like just another Staropramen place, but if you go inside you see that the owners have an interesting beer selection.

Záležitost offers draught beers from several Czech breweries. Pilsner Urquell is of course available, but you can also drink beers from Chotěboř, Rychtář and Lobkowicz breweries from tap. The non-alcoholic beer from Lobkowicz is a treat, by the way, and is worth checking out.

The menu at Záležitost mostly consists of good, Czech courses at good prices. I have been very satisfied with both food and drinks at this restaurant.

Not far from Wenceslas Square you will find Jama The Hollow in the V Jámě street. This looks like a place for expats and tourists, and it also has a party feel over it. Some times that is what you want during a pub crawl, and then Jama The Hollow is a place to check out.

At the same time it might be the only place you visit during that pub crawl. With 12 various beers on tap, there is always something interesting to drink. Beers are mostly from smaller Czech breweries like Lobkowicz, Rychtář, Černá Hora, Ježek, Kocour and Klášter. I have not tried the food at Jama, but it has been recommended to me by locals.

Prague again

I have spent some time in Prague this year, and there are of course still great beers to be had in the Czech capital. Among others, I have several times been to Potrefená Husa at the main railway station, Hlavní Nádraží. This is a restaurant chain owned by the Staropramen brewery, and the place at the railway station is a nice place to sit down for a while. There is free wifi at the restaurant, and there is a screen showing departure times for trains.

Most of the Staropramen line-up is available, but at my visits to Potrefena Husa I preferred drinking the Staropramen Nefiltrovaný. This was a cloudy beer with a large head and barely carbonation. In the nose I felt yeast and sweetness, while the beer tasted of hops, apples and strawberries. This was an enjoyable beer, and it is one of the best from this Prague based brewery.

Back at Arlanda

Having another stopover at Stockholm's airport Arlanda, I this time visited Terminal 5. This is a newer and better looking building than Terminal 2, that I visited last year.

For some beer, I sat down at Andersson Food & Aquavit. From draught, Andersson could offer Staropramen Dark Lager and three pale lagers: Carlsberg Hof, Staropramen and Pripps Blå Expert. I have had my share of boring Swedish lagers, so the local Pripps was a no-go. Instead I went for the the dark beer from the Czech Republic.

The beer was as black as a Coca Cola. There was no carbonation, and there was barely a head- In the nose I felt coffee and and sweet malts. The beer was mainly sweet with some caramel, malts and a bit of coffee before a sweet finish. I felt the beer was average, and I know I have been drinking much better dark lagers than this one.

My flight was late, but I did not see it until I was nearly at the gate. I decided it was time for another beer, and I had it at the place called Bar in Terminal 5. The draught beers on offer were Carlsberg Hof, Kronenbourg 1664 and Brooklyn Lager. It was not difficult to choose. I had the American lager, and as usual it was a satisfying experience with aromas of grapefruit and a fine taste combining grapefruit and caramel. It was really enjoyable.

It was time to leave, and next time I am at Terminal 5 I will go straightly to Bar. The best draught beer I have found at Arlanda, is still Brooklyn lager.

A taste of ram

One of the lagers you often find in Czech pubs and bars is Velkopopovický Kozel Světlý Výčepní. This pale beer is a 10° lager with an alcohol content of 4%.

I have tried this beer as a draught beer many times in the Czech Republic. This time I had it from can, and in the glass the pale Kozel beer had a medium sized head and some carbonation. In the nose I felt grass and flowers, while the beer tasted of malts, some caramel, butter and some hops before a watery finish. This was another good Czech pale lager, but I prefer other beers to it.

Klášterní Pivnice revisited

Going to Prague means that I usually have at least one visit at Klášterní Pivnice. This little pub near Letenske náměstí is best to visit before noon, as it gets really smoky in the afternoon.

The house beer is the 11° Klášter světlý ležák, but there are always other draught beers to try out as well. This time I found Pernštejn Granát among the available beers and decided to check it out. Pernštejn Granát is brewed by the Pernštejn brewery in Pardubice. This is the same brewery that makes the lovely Pardubice Porter. If you find that porter in bottles or on tap, you should taste it. It is extremely good!

Pernštejn Granát is in a way Pardubice Porter's little brother. It is a dark lager with a large head and barely any carbonation. In the nose I felt coffee and malts. The beer tasted of burnt malts, coffee and a bit of sweetness. I liked it, but the porter is a better beer.

There was also a Poutnik 12° pale lager on draught during my visit. I tasted that beer as wekk, and was given a beer in a Rohozek glass without carbonation. I felt malts, grass and some sweetness in the nose. The taste was malty with some mints. I liked this beer as well, but the Klášter house beer at this pub is better.

Once again I left Klášterní Pivnice in a good mood. This is a nice pub that it is worth while visiting while in Prague. The prices are more than affordable. I paid for instance 25 CZK for the Pernštejn beer. The service is also good, and if you are hungry they have several light courses that are excellent with beers.

Lovely Eliška

I have not been there so often during my last visits to Prague, but one late evening I was walking Vinohradska street I found out it was time to revisit Hrom Do Police. The nice cellar restaurant on Moravska street offers draught beers from the Polička brewery, and they are all of high quality.

The fun thing about Hrom Do Police is that some of the beers are available in both filtered and unfiltered versions. That is great for somebody wanting to taste how different one beer can be. Myself, I decided to go for a seasonal beer. The wonderful Eliška was on tap, and I ordered a half litre of it.

This batch of Eliška was darker than cola but still not black. It had a large head, and there was barely any cabonation. In the nose I felt coffee, and the coffee lead on in the mouth with some nuts and a touch of bitterness. This was a delicious beer.

I had time for another beer as well, and decided to go for the 12° golden lager Zavis in the unfiltered version. I have had this beer before, and has been really fond of it. It did not let me down this time either. Zavis kvasnicove was a golden lager without carbonation, but with a medium sized head. In the nose I felt yeast and malts. There was strawberry, some sweetness and and malts in the mouth. It was just another lovely beer from the Polička brewery.

There are so many interesting pubs and bars in Prague these days, but what I really like about Hrom Do Police is that they specialize in beers from one brewery. It is for me more interesting to drink myself through the whole beer line from one brewery than to try to taste many beers from many breweries during one session.

Pay what you want!

I am not sure about the business model behind Big Lebowski in Prague. Why? This bar in Slavikova street chooses to let the costumer pay whatever he or she wants for drinks. So in theory, you can have a glass of beer for 10 CZK or 100 CZK. Perhaps it is a good thing for the owner, as most people will probably pay a bit more than they usually do at other pubs. It is a moral issue, I believe. Myself, I chose to pay 40 CZK for a half litre of their house draught beer, Rohozek Skalak.

Rohozec Skalak was a pale lager with a medium sized head and hardly any carbonation. In the nose I felt malts and sweetness. The taste was balanced with some sweetness and apples agains a semi bitter hoppiness. A nice lager, by all means.

Big Lebowski is more than a bar. It tries to make itself a kind of home outside your own house. The interior looks more like a living room than a bar. I enjoyed that, and I felt the other visitors that night did the same. Big Lebowski is a great place for meeting people, and it has a special athmosphere as well.

A good time in Prague

While in Prague, it is a good guess that I sooner or later turn up at Zlý Časy. The great beer bar at Čestmírova street near the Náměstí Bratří Synků tram stop is a must for me, and I like having the possibility of drinking some of the draught beers from the 24 available taps. Many of them are from regional Czech breweries, which otherwise would be very difficult for a foreigner to find.

On this visit I ventured into Czech ales. First out was Jubiler Mild Stout. The beer was black, had a mediums sized head and no carbonation. I felt coffee aromas, and the beer tasted of burnt malts and coffee before a watery finish. This beer would be a fine session beer. but I found it average compared to for instance the excellent Czech stout from the Primátor brewery.

I then tasted Matuška Raptor IPA. This paleish beer had a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt grapefruit with a touch of orange. I felt citrus with a touch of peach in the mouth before a partly bitter finish. This was lovely!

I stayed on for a few more beers without taking notes. That was very enjoyable!

Two Czechs

There are so many Czech breweries. There is no doubt that tourists will feel a bit confused over all the brand names in the market.

Radegast is one of the bigger beer companies in the Czech Republic. The Radegast pale lager can be enjoyed aboard the Czech airlines flights, but you will also find it in supermarkets. I drank the beer from can. In the nose I felt grass, while grass and hops had a dance in the finish. It was a nice beer that felt better than expected.

The Pilsner Urquell brewery extended its product line with the Master beers a few years ago. One of them is the polotmave, or half dark beer. That was a disappointing beer. I drank it from bottle, and there were nearly no aromas. The beer had a metallic taste with some toffee and malts present. It was extremely boring, and I believe that my bottle had a bad beer sample. I will know the next time Master is to be tasted.

Leaving Berlin

The easiest way to get to Berlin's Schönefeld airport from the city centre is of course by taxi. It is a long and expensive ride, so I preferred using public transportation. And it is also very affordable. A day ticket costs less than 7 EUR, and you can use it on buses, trams, trains and the metro system in the German capital.

The main railwaystation in Berlin, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, is an impressive sight. This modern piece of architecture is more than worth a visit. For myself, the railway station was the first step towards the flight back home. First you must take a train to Berlin Südkreuz station, where you catch a direct train to the Schönefeld airport. There is a brewpub on the Hauptbahnhof, but I did not know where to find it. Sure, I could have asked someone, but as I saw a train with the Czech ČD logo going to Berlin Südkreuz, I decided to board the train and sat down in the restaurant car.

A Czech restaurant car meant that it might be possible to find Czech draught beer. And so it was. I ordered a glass and was served Pilsner Urquell from tap. The golden lager had that beautiful aroma of grass and Saaz hops, and the excellent combination of malt, hints of fruits and tasty, bitter Saaz hops was once again a treat. Pilsner Urquell is a wonderful beer.

It was barely time to finish my Urquell before the train arrived at Berlin Südkreuz. I left the Czech restaurant car and had a walk through the station. I had some time before the train to the airport left, so I visited the little supermarket downstairs to get a water bottle and some snacks. Then it was back to the platform to get on the next train.

It was dark when I arrived at Berlin Schönefeld airport. It is probably the last time I am there, as the airport is to close later this year. Then some of the area will become part of the new Berlin Brandenburg airport. Check-in was fast and easy, and suddenly I was through security.

The departures area of the airport was very crowded. Many Brits were waiting for their Easyjet flight home, and they had turned that part of the building into a party zone. All benches and chairs were taken, so most people were sitting on the floor. The crowdiest part of departures was the little Irish pub. After a long wait, the friendly bartender gave me a Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener. It is a nice pale lager, but it pales compared to Pilsner Urquell.

There were also some kiosks in the departures area. I bought some beer to take home, and as I was given information that my flight home would be late I opened one of them. Flensburger Pilsener is an old acquaintance. I have been drinking it several times during visits to Germany. It is sold in nostalgic swing top bottles, and I am very fond of the label with the cog.

I drank the beer straight from the bottle. The nose was malty, and a combination of malts, hops and grass had a dance in the mouth before a partly bitter finish. Another fine pale lager that I felt was better than Berliner Kindl, but still average compared to Pilsner Urquell.

My visit to Berlin had come to an end, and I entered the airplane. I will be back in Berlin some day. I liked the city, and I would like to see more of Berlin's taprooms as well. In the meantime I can recommend Ronald Pattinson's Berlin Pub Guide. Fellow Norwegian beer blogger Knut Albert also has some interesting posts about the German capital. Here you can find his posts that are tagged with Berlin. Cheers!