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.

Back at Klášterní Pivnice

I usually step inside Klášterní Pivnice when I am in Prague. This neighbourhood pub near Letenske náměstí is a great place to visit. The beers are good, the service is good and the pivnice feels like anything but a tourist pub.

Klášter 11° světlý ležák is the house beer. This golden lager is an excellent beer served with a large, thick head and barely any carbonation. There are nearly no aromas from the beer, but some hops shine through. In the mouth there is grass and grains before a fine finish with more hops. This is a lovely lager that I really enjoy.

Klášterní Pivnice is a pub with a rotating tap. Therefore you will find more draught beers than Klášter available. The pub also has a decent selection of bottled beers from many Czech breweries. At this visit Podkováň světlý ležák was available from tap, so I chose that lager beer. In the glass Podkováň 12° golden lager had nearly no carbonation and a large head. I felt malts and grass in the nose. In the mouth there was malts before a malty and partly hoppy finish. Another fine beer!

I really like going to Klášterní Pivnice. The pub is excellent, and the beers are great. Unfortunately this is a very smoky pub, so I have not been able to stay inside for long. Except for that, this is a recommended taproom in Prague.

Old and new acquaintances in Prague

I have so far been to Prague twice this year, and every time I go to the Czech capital I find new bars and restaurants to visit. In addition to this, there are always some bars I need to revisit.

One such restaurant is U Medvídků in the city centre. In addition to having a nice bar serving all variants of Budvar beers, U Medvídků also brew their own beers. When I was back in March I decided to have another go at the fantastic Oldgott Barique beer.

In the glass Oldgott Barique is a cloudy and copper coloured beer with nearly no carbonation and a large head. It is a delicious beer with pronounced tastes of plums, prunes and melon. I have had this beer several times, and I am very fond of it. It is good from bottles, but divine from tap!

If you ever get to Prague, U Medvídků is a must. You can drink yourself through the different Budvar beers, but do not forget to take the trip upstairs and try U Medvídků's own line of beers including the nice 1466 lager and the fantastic (and strong) X-Beer 33.

Across the Vltava river you can find U Prince Miroslava near the Laurova tram stop. When I was back at the restaurant in March, it offered 13 different draught beers. These days there are even more. According to their web page, U Prince Miroslava now has 18 different draught beers.

The big question at U Prince Miroslava is where to begin. This is one of the few places in Prague to sell Primator Stout from tap, so I always have a pint of that excellent beer. It is a great stout, and I believe it is superior to Irish stouts like Guinness and Murphy's.

On my last visit I also had another taste of Svijany's Kvasničák. This is a kvasnicove, which is a Czech speciality lager where yeast is added after the original fermentation to start a new round of fermentation in the bottle or the keg. I like Svijany Kvasničák with its tastes of yeast, bread and sweetness.

A new beer for me at U Prince Miroslava was Rychtář natur. This is another yeast beer, that I forgot to taste at last year's Oktoberfest in Prague. In the glass this was an unclear and golden lager with little aroma. There was some yeast, which also was present in the mouth with some hints of malts. The finish was bitter, and it was a nice counterpoint to Svijany Kvasničák. Where Svijany's beer can be too sweet in the finish after a few glasses, Rychtář natur is a better session beer.

Across the town, in the neighbourhood of Nusle, you can find the bar and restaurant Zlý časy. This is a place I have been eager to visit after reading a lot of positive posts at different beer blogs. Zlý časy means evil times, and this is a bar specialising in beers. At the moment they have 24 different draught beers, and that alone is a reason to visit.

I entered Zlý časy on a cold and dark January afternoon. I was in a nice mood after visiting several nice bars and restaurants. Unfortunately, I did not fancy Zlý časy at this visit. The man in the bar was grumpy, the toilet was dirty and there were nearly no other guests.

I decided to test out Chotebor's pale lager at Zlý časy. I have lost my tasting notes, but I remember it as a nice beer without being extraordinary good.

I sat at Zlý časy for half an hour thinking if I would like another beer. The waiter indirectly made me decide not to, so I left the cellar bar while making a mental note to come back later. All the beers available and the nice words I have heard about Zlý časy makes me want to give it a second chance.

Near Letenske namesti you can find Klášterni pivnice. When I visited in October, I liked the bar but felt it was way too smoky. I have been back several times this year. The first time I went in the morning to see if it was nicer there then. I was right. With nearly no guests at the hospoda, there was also nearly no cigarette smoke. I liked it even better than ever!

Klášterni pivnice is a great place for Klášter beers. They sell both the dark lager and the 11 degree pale lager. I am very fond of the pale lager, and have had several of them during my visits. In addition to this, Klášterni pivnice has become a bar with a rotating tap. Therefore you are able to taste other beers as well.

On my last visit I had a half litre of Janáček. This was a standard and inoffensive pale lager with malts, some sweetness and a bitter finish. I liked it, but Klášter is the better pale lager at Klášterni pivnice. But Janáček will still be a nice session beer.

Try to visit Klášterni pivnice if you are in Prague, but be there early. The waiters are friendly, and the prices are very low. There are also some nice beer snacks at low prices, but the problem with this place is all the cigarette smoke. In the afternoon it is more or less impossible to enjoy being there.

Another place I like is Budvarka. Budvarka is near the Dejvicka metro, and it is easy to make the restaurant a last stop before going to Prague's airport.

First of all I have been going to Budvarka for the beers. The whole line of Budvar beers are sold there, but the kitchen also makes some great meals. In January I for instance had a great portion of goulasch at Budvarka at a very nice price. For food and two half litres of beer I paid less than 150 Czech korunas.

I can not say if the Budvar beers are best at Budvarka or U Medvídků, but I feel that I go to Budvarka for Budvar and U Medvídků for their own beers. Budvar is one of my favourite breweries. Lately both Budvar golden lagers have been easy to find here in Norway, so I usually buy the dark lager or Budvar's kvasnicove, kroužkovaný ležák. Unlike other yeast beers, kroužkovaný ležák is a clear, golden lager beer, and it is very tasty.

The waiters at Budvarka do a great job. They are polite and efficient, and I enjoy the ambience there. The beers are also very good, and the kroužkovaný ležák is a beer to be recommended!

Smoky business

When reading beer blogs or travel books, there are always some places that end up on my shortlist. One of them was the Klášterní Pivnice in Prague. Located near Letenske namesti, the hospoda is easy to find after a short walk from the tram stop.

I entered Klášterní Pivnice on a Saturday afternoon. The outer room with gambling machines and the bar was more or less empty, while there were about ten people in the inner room. I sat down and ordered a half litre of Klášter světlý lezak. At below 20 CZK this is a fantastic price for a very good lager beer. They also sell Klášter's dark lager at the same price.

In the glass, Klášter is a golden lager with a large head. There is very little carbonation, and the nose is very flowery. The beer has a hoppy hint, and is a very drinkable lager beer. There is some bitterness in the finish, but in all a very lovely lager that I really like.

While sitting in the room, I felt a little snack was in order. There were several possibilities, and I ended up ordering a syrova klobasa, cheese sausage.

The sausage tasted much better than it looked. It was full of meat and had bits of lovely cheese in it. It was very filling, and for 25 CZK a really good bargain. It was served with mustard, pickled cucumber and horseradish, which has become a favourite for me when I order food in the Czech Republic.

Klášterní Pivnice is a smoky place. The customers looks like chain smokers, and that made my visit there shorter than it should be. I have no problem with some cigarette smoke, but this place had unfortunately too much for me. But there was something holding me there for a while. Lately, Klášterní Pivnice sells more than Klášter's beers on tap. There are Rychtar signs all over the place, and the day I visited there were two boards advertising for Steiger lager as the day's special.

As I had never tasted Slovak beers before, a taste of Steiger was a must. Steiger is a pale lager, and it has a fruity nose. It has more notes of hops than Klášter, and the aftertaste is very bitter. There is also a hint of apples there. In all, Steiger is a good session beer, but Klášter is the better lager and the one I will order if both are available.

I would like to revisit Klášterní Pivnice, but then I will do it before noon to avoid all the cigarette smoke. It looks like a nice place to be, and the beer prices and beer quality is very good. So let's quote the famous actor: I'll be back!