Lonely_Planet_Asia_September_2017

BEER TOUR

Once you’ve gathered

your ingredients, the

beer-making process is

deceptively simple but

allows for the fine-tuning

of recipes. Here’s how the

magic happens:

1 2 3

Milling Mashing Boiling

The crushed grain is steeped in warm

water (around 60–70°C) for about an

hour – think of it as making a giant cup

of malty tea.

Malt is the source of sugar in beer – crucial,

since without sugar there can be no alco-

hol. The malted barley is gently crushed to

ensure that the starches found within are

later converted to sugar.

The liquid – known as wort – is

separated from the soggy grain and

boiled, usually for 60–90 minutes.

During this time, hops are added for

bittering, flavour and aroma.

PHOTOGRAPHS: MATT MUNRO, TIM CHARODY, PILSNER URQUELL. ILLUSTRATIONS: JACOB RHOADS

HOW TO ASK FOR A BEER IN THE LOCAL

LANGUAGE? Pivo, prosím

HOW TO SAY ‘CHEERS’? Na zdraví!

SIGNATURE BEER STYLE? Bohemian Pilsner – pale lager

LOCAL BAR SNACK? Nakládaný hermelín, a soft cheese

DON’T: Ever top up a new beer with the dregs of an old

beer, or split one beer into a different glass to share with

a friend – for various reasons, it’s simply not done here.

Home to the cities of Pilsen, which gave the

world Pilsner, and Budweis, the birthplace of

the original Budweiser, the Czech Republic is also

the nation with the largest annual beer consumption

per capita. Yet despite this history, the Czech lands

have also embraced modern craft culture: almost

every new brewery now offers an IPA or pale ale

alongside its traditional brews.

Czech Republic

Beeranek

Ceska 7/55, České Budějovice;

beeranek.cz; 00 42 386 360 186

OBar OTakeout OTransport OFood OTour

The complete antithesis of České Budějovice’s biggest

attraction Budweiser Budvar, this alternative alleyway

craft brewery is a great change of pace in an otherwise

very traditional region. If you manage to find Beeranek,

you can expect generally different versions of unpasteurised

and unfiltered Czech Pilsner, labelled (as per most beers

in the Czech Republic) in degrees rather than alcohol by

volume. A system that has baffled visitors to the country

since the beginning of time, this practice of labelling

beer in degrees (Plato) is actually a measurement of

fermentable material in the wort (unfermented beer)

during the brewing process. Try the Beeranek 11° Světlý

Ležák, a Pilsner with tasty malt notes and some

pleasantly bitter, spicy Czech hops.

O Břevnovský

Benedict

Břevnovský

Klášterní Pivovar

Sv. Vojtěcha

O Únětické Pivo 12°

Únětický Pivovar

O Pilsner Urquell

Pilsner Urquell

Brewery

O Koutská 18°

Pivovar Kout

na Šumavě

O Hop Swill IPA

Pivovar Zhůřák

TOP 5 BEERS

Black Tower

It’s a claustrophobic

climb up a winding,

narrow staircase to the

top of the 73m-high

Gothic-Renaissance

Black Tower, but worth

the best views of

České Budějovice.

Budweiser Budvar

Brewery

Not to be mistaken for the

American version (in some

countries the American

brewer has to remarket as

‘Bud’), this huge brewery is

the town’s pride and joy.

budvar.cz

THINGS TO DO

Here in one of the Old World’s

most historic beer destinations,

the pivo scene is as dynamic as ever

BEER TOUR