Comments on: The Only Handpump in Prague

By: Leo

Leo — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:40:37 +0000

For tankova Budvar 10ka , the only place is a hospoda right across Albertov street, near the Albertov tram stop.

By: Evan Rail

Evan Rail — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:35:38 +0000

HI Good Burp — thanks for the kind words. Yes, I’ve been to Richter Brewery many times — it’s in “Good Beer Guide Prague and the Czech Republic” as well, and my wife and I had our wedding lunch there. Richter serves great beers in various styles and what must be the best food of any brewpub in Prague: it’s highly recommended. Though by the time you arrive in 2010, Richter should have opened his new Jihoměstský Pivovar in Prague 11, right near the Opatov metro station on the C line. Na zdraví, Evan

By: Good Burp

Good Burp — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:58:00 +0000

I love your blog. I am planning to visit Prague in 2010. I am making notes. Have you ever tried Richter Brewing? That is the number one place on my list. Keep up the good work. You have a new follower.

By: mike004

mike004 — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:05:42 +0000

In Moravia, I just stayed in Brno and Olomouc town centres. As you say in your book, these places offer a large variety of different brews in a walkable area: Cerna Hora, Dalesice, Svijany, Litovel, Holba, Zubr, Strakonice, Starobrno, Bernard etc. Cerna Hora 10 unfiltered was a standout brew.
If you are ever in Olomouc, there is a great little beer bar on Krapkova. Turn left out of Hotel Flora and it’s about 400 yds. Called something like U Koledje(?), it is open from 3pm to 11 pm and has 4 different brews rotating on tap. When I was there they had Moritz, Svijany, Cerna Hora & Pelrimhov. Plus loads of bottles from smaller breweries.

In Prague, I checked out some Budvar tank pubs. As I’m a big Budvar fan I was a bit disappointed — it was not up to unpasteurised PU standards in my opinion, which is still *excellent* in most places. However, there was a heatwave on, and the Budvar was served up a little too cold for my tastes. Also, I couldn’t find any tank Bud 10.
I found a gem of place, opposite the billiard palace a block away from Wenceslas Square, that you mention in your book. It’s an old style locals place that serves Zlatopramen & Breznik.

Apart from that, I visited some of the places you mention in your book. The Klaster pub in Holesovice/Sparta and the Kacov pub in Nusle were standouts…I do like basic pubs!
Otherwise, I did the rounds of the PU tank pubs. I notice that they all now have prominent stickers and official plaques. The tanks are displayed prominently in some pubs, too.
Mike

By: Evan Rail

Evan Rail — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:45:32 +0000

Hey Mike, glad to hear you made it out to Moritz — it’s one of my favorite brewpubs, and it was one of the last to make it into Good Beer Guide Prague and the Czech Republic: I think it opened just a month before my final deadline. It’s especially nice that it’s nonsmoking, as I think it makes it easier to taste how good the beers really are. (And I agree, good 10° beers are usually a sign of quality brewing.)

Where else did you go on this trip? Find anything else worth recommending?

By: mike004

mike004 — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:01:00 +0000

Your post mentions Moritz.
I am just back from a trip to Olomouc. The Moritz beers are excellent, much better than the usual brewpub fare. They had a 10 on sale which was superb. That’s the sign of a good brewer, if they can brew good session beers.
Mike

By: Pivero

Pivero — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:21:34 +0000

And what if that archaic medieval gadget makes beer actually taste better? Not only top fermented, but maybe even their ležák.
I really like the initiative of Pivovarský Dům and Kocour (Evan, I guess we will have to go there some day), and I hope Pivovarský Klub and maybe other brewpubs in town copy the idea.

By: Evan Rail

Evan Rail — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:48:15 +0000

Who else but british would care about that archaic medieval gadget called a handpump.

The owners of this pub are Czechs.

The owners of Pivovar Kocour Varnsdorf, with another handpump, are also Czechs.

The owners of Birrificio Italiano — who occasionally draft their own Pilsner-style beers via handpump — are Italians.

Was that a rhetorical question? (Don’t answer that — it’s a rhetorical question.)

Point being, clearly people other than the British are interested in “that archaic medieval gadget.”

In addition, the beers that are being drafted in Prague are British-style ales, not Continental lagers, which sort of moots the point of your rant. Or perhaps it makes your point, I’m not sure.

As for the idea of things needing to be “specially designed” for specific technology and that technology only, that goes against my own — very American — sense of independence and individuality. If everyone had to follow the “rules” for how things are originally designed and how they are ultimately used, we’d never have stuff like this.

By: JosB

JosB — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:00:49 +0000

Who else but british would care about that archaic medieval gadget called a handpump. Anywhere else in the world more sophisticated dispensing systems are the standard. Specially in continental Europe. Unless the (EU continental) beer is specially designed and brewed to be dispensed through a handpump (like De Molen “english”) continental beers are designed and brewed to be dispensed on CO2 top pressure (or gravity, in the case of Kölsch, Alt, Kellerbier/Ungespundetes).
I sometimes get the impression that the british prefer their continental beers oxidised and/or infected and/or infested with diacetyl (the latter can be a serious by-effect of handling an unfiltered keg beer as if it were a cask ale).

By: Honza

Honza — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:21:20 +0000

There are at least two pieces in this counbtry. The other one I know will be in Varnsodrf quite soon:). Well, we do have for quite a bit now, but there was no real good time to show it yet…