On a recent trip around Europe, I got an offer from a very old friend to show me around his hometown of Prague. This wasn't my first time visiting, but it was my first time with a local. Now, I knew Prague had some of the best beer in the world, but once we had haunted a few bars, I really understood why.
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If you have ever drunk a lager before, and I am sure you have, you can owe that incredible, quenching taste to Bohemia. This was the former name of the Czech Republic, which sits right in the middle of Central Europe. The first golden lagers were brewed here in the winter months, using ice to keep them cold in the summer.
Visiting Prague and trying their beer is an eye-opener. Every single glass I had, even the ones the locals turned their noses up at, tasted like rays of golden sunshine. Not one glass of the amber nectar missed the mark, and it made me realize the state of the rest of the world's brewing. I had to know more, how did Prague have such consistently good beer?
Prague Drinks Beer
No, seriously, they drink so much damn beer. The Czech Republic drinks more beer per capita than anywhere else in the world. At a staggering 128 liters per capita per year, they stand head and shoulders above the rest of the world.
Even their former president liked to have a little tipple here and there, regularly appearing drunk at public events. Rather than be disgusted by the behavior, the beer-loving Prague folk found it hilarious. He is a man of the people, and nothing shows this off more than his love for their most famous export.
Professionalism Is Enforced
Any old idiot can open a microbrewery and start charging $12 a pint for a beer that tastes like old pennies and socks. Too many times I've sucked down a flat, warm, yellowish liquid called something like 'Urinal Birthday Cake' and tasted nothing but dirt.
However, if you want to start brewing beer in Prague or the Czech Republic, the laws are much more strict. There is a whole document outlining exactly what classification the famous Pilsner must come under, with regular updates and amendments.
Not just anyone can open up a microbrewery and start flogging genuine Czech Pilsner beer, either. Brewmasters rule the scene, training for years under different patrons. They study until they master the art, flavor, and technique of a chosen brew. This ensures only the best beer, each with incredibly unique and perfect flavors.
With A Side of Pork
Beer, or Pivo in Czech, is drunk like water. It is less of a pleasure and more of a necessity. However, the accompaniments, found alongside the perfectly poured, frothy glass of heaven, really set the Prague pubs and bars above the rest.
Pork is the order of the day and good god, Czech knows how to cook it. No good beer-drinking session is complete without some of the best pork Prague has to offer. During my stay, I must have consumed almost an entire swine.
I tried pickled pork, pork knuckle, pork sausages, pork pate, pork skin, and everything in between. Each delicious pickled, salty, or fatty mouthful was washed down with the best liquid known to man: Beautiful Czech lager.
I could wax lyrical about Prague beer until the pigs come home (to my plate). But, it has to be sipped to be believed. Na zdraví!
