Finally Primátor Stout

U Prince Miroslava is a pub I try to visit while in Prague. It offers 19 different draught beers, and usually some of the available beers are from lesser known Czech breweries.

When visiting U Prince Miroslava, do not order beer after taking a look at the tap towers. Although there is a plate indicating that for instance Svijanská Kněžna is on a special tap, it might not be the case. Instead there is a special beer menu showing what is on the taps at the moment. U Prince Miroslava's website also has an updated beer menu.

Earlier this year I was disappointed when I found no Primátor Stout at U Prince Miroslava. Now in December the excellent Czech stout was back on the menu. It has been a while since I have been drinking it as a draught beer, and I was not disappointed this time either.

Primátor Stout is a black beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is cold coffee and a touch of malts. The beer tastes of coffee with some caramel before an excellent finish with some more coffee. This is a delicious beer that I really enjoy.

After the stout, it was time for another Primátor beer. This time I went for the pale ale. Primátor Pale Ale was a copper coloured beer more or less without carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt toffee in the nose, while the toffee had a dance with yeast in the mouth before a watery finish. Another lovely beer from Primátor that would have been better with a less watery touch.

I had a look at the beer menu, and I was disappointed that there were no beers from Únětický Pivovar there. These are beers that are recommended by Czech beer enthusiasts. Instead I ordered Telčský Zachariáš from the Ježek brewery in Jihlava. Telčský Zachariáš is a 14° pale lager. In the glass it had some carbonation and a medium sized head. There was nearly no aromas from the beer, but I felt some caramel. In the mouth there was sweetness and caramel before a boring finish with some toffee. This was not a good way to end my visit to U Prince Miroslava, so I ordered another pint of Primátor Stout.

I left U Prince Miroslava in a very good mood, and while walking the few meters to the nearby Laurova tram stop I knew I would be back the next time I am in Prague.

A sorcerer and a hedgehog

The restaurant Poja is based in Seifertova street in Prague. Not far from the soccer team Viktoria Žižkov's homeground, Poja is a fine place to sit down for a meal or a few beers. Some years ago Poja was a pizza restaurant selling beers from Budweiser Bürgerbräu, but now there is a varied Czech and international menu with Merlin and Ježek draught beers on tap.

I started with a half litre of Merlin. The black beer was nearly without carbonation and had a large head. In the nose there was cold coffee and some sweetness. I felt coffee, malts and a touch of sweetness in the mouth. The finish was very good with an assertive taste of worts. This was a nice black lager that I really liked.

The 11° Ježek golden lager from the Jihlava brewery is always a treat, and the hedgehog makes a simple and beautiful logo. At Poja it was served with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. There were nearly no aromas from the beer, but I felt some grass. In the mouth there was more grass and a touch of hops before a fine, partly bitter finish. This is a lovely lager that is very suitable as a session beer.

I left Poja very content thinking that Merlin and Ježek on tap is better than the Budweiser Bürgerbräu they used to sell. But I can not say if Poja is a better restaurant now than earlier. I never tasted the pizzas sold there before.

Party time at U Slovanské Lípy

The first times I visited U Slovanské Lípy in Prague, it was an ordinary and somewhat boring pub with extraordinary beers. The Kout na Šumavě beers are excellent, and it is easy sitting down enjoying them for a long time. On my last visit to U Slovanské Lípy the pub was more or less a party place. Loud music and young guests in party mood felt typical of U Slovanské Lípy this time around instead of ordinary Czechs enjoying their beer in a more quiet environment.

The current drinks menu at U Slovanské Lípy.

No problem for me. The beers from Kout na Šumavě are so good that I believe I can drink them with as good as any noise around me. This time I concentrated on the unfiltered 12° Kout na Šumavě lager. It has a cloudy look, but it is pure beer enjoyment with yeast and fruit notes combined with a touch of grains. Lovely, lovely, lovely!

The party continued as I went up the hill to the Seifertova street and ended up at Poja hoping to get a Budweiser Burgerbräu as a nightcap. No such thing this time around, as the restaurant has changed owners and beer suppliers. Poja now sells Ježek and Merlin draught beers. I had a half litre of 11° Ježek pale lager. It was a good beer, but compared to the Kout na Šumavě beers this was boring. But I feel the Ježek is a better beer than Budweiser Burgerbräu so it was no loss.

Prague delight

There are bars and pubs that end up among your favourites, My favourite in Prague is U Sadu, which can be found in the Zizkov neighbourhood.

U Sadu has the feeling of a local pub in Britain. People come and go, but after visiting several times you see some of the same faces. Inside there are several rooms for the guests, but the really interesting part is the interior. Everywhere you can find tools and machinery, and some of it is hanging down from the ceiling. There is never a dull moment while looking at it. It is also possible to watch sports at U Sadu. There are screens in the pub, and I have watched some football games there. The opening hours at U Sadu are unsual. U Sadu opens at 8 AM and closes at 4 AM. In the weekends it opens at 9 AM. Thus there is plenty of time for a quick pint more or less at any time.

In Summer there are tables outside, and I have had many well draughted half litres of beer sitting there. There is not much traffic in the square next to U Sadu, and it is nice sitting outside in a quiet corner of Prague.

Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus are the beers that most people drink at U Sadu. Fortunately the Pilsner Urquell served is the tankova version. But there are more beers to be found. U Sadu also sells the two darker Master beers and Svijany Maz. Wheat beer connoiseurs will also be happy, as U Sadu also offers the excellent Primator weizen from tap.

When I was in Prague last month, there was also a new beer available. U Sadu sold draughted Jezek. I really liked this sweeter lager beer, as it was very drinkable in the warm weather. I do not know if Jezek will stay as one of the usual U Sadu draughted beers, as it may be part of a rotating tap system where they change beers now and then. In the meantime Jezek is a nice alternative.

I have spent many days at U Sadu, and I will be back. Excellent service, good food and a nice selection of beers make U Sadu a great hospoda in Prague.

Oktoberfest in Prague

The Czech Beer Festival is about to become a tradition. In May the festival will be arranged for the third time, and the arrangers anticipate that 100,000 visitors will attend next year's festival.

In the meantime the arrangers teamed up with several Czech breweries and the Panorama Hotel to arrange an Autumn tasting at the hotel in the Pankrac neighbourhood of Prague. Depending on what website you visit, the Autumn tasting or Oktoberfest in Pankrac was arranged from 2 October to 11 October. The arrangers advertised 14 different draughted beers, Czech food and live music. As I was in Prague at the time, I had to attend the event, and twice I took the metro to Pankrac to enjoy the beers and atmosphere.

As some of you might have read in my comments on Pivni Filosof's blog, I was mostly positive about the Oktoberfest in Prague. It was a nice opportunity to try various Czech beers, and the food was also very good.

Travelling to Pankrac was easy with the metro. The Oktoberfest itself was being held in a large beer tent near the hotel. I was there on the first night, and at 6PM the tent was nearly full. I went back six days later, and there were even more people there at 5PM. Both days it looked as if people had fun, and it was easy to stay for hours both days. There must have been few foreigners in the tent on both occations, and I only heard Czech spoken around me.

The waitresses did a great job. They were a smiling lot, and I felt very welcome in the beer tent. For payment, you could use the special tolars that were made for the first Czech Beer Festival in 2008. These are worth 40 CZK, and you chose whether to pay in cash or in tolars. A beer always cost a tolar, while you had to pay two or three tolars for most meals on the menu.

On both occations there was music. On the opening night a band played a lot of classic rock and pop songs. I had too much ABBA that night, but there was also another problem: The sound technician had turned the volume much too high. It was more or less impossible to have a conversation in the tent, and I could not enjoy the music. That was a shame, as the band really had some good cover versions of various popular songs.

On my second visit the band was replaced by a duo playing accordion and cornet. The duo played local music, and the only song I recognized was the classic Beer Barrel Polka. I enjoyed this much more than the band on the first night.

There were many opportunities for beers during my visits to Oktoberfest in Pankrac. Unfortunatly, they only sold various lager beers. I would have liked to have a more varied beer menu. The first night I tried the 11° Klášter světlý ležák, the 11° Ježek světlý ležák, the 12° Lobkowicz premium světlý ležák and the Platan 11° světlý ležák. The Klášter golden lager is a personal favourite of mine, and it was the best of these four beers. Platan was OK, while Ježek was a positive surprise that I went on to try several times later during my stay in Prague. Lobkowicz was also OK, but it was beaten by the other three.

The second day I ventured into kvasnicove beers by trying out the Klášter 11° kvasnicový ležák. This was a nice beer, but I prefer the normal version. I should also have tried the Rychtář natur kvasnicový ležák, but I forgot to order it while in the tent. Perhaps that will be for my next time in the Czech Republic? I also tried the 13° Comenius speciál from the Janacek brewery. I believe I was unlucky with the beer I was served, as I felt the stronger lager beer was not very good at all. A metallic taste went to the fore, and I felt it took away all other nuances in the beer. I could not drink all of it. Perhaps it was just being badly tapped?

I enjoyed being at Oktoberfest, and my second visit was the best one. I hope to be back for the beer festival in May, and am looking forward to it if I am able to go. If not, I am back in Prague in March to try some more Czech beers.