Czech national beverage
In my post on my visit to Prague, I was remiss in not discussing the beverage on which that country runs. I generally loathe the ESPN-like (while loathing in particular ESPN) ratings of anything that is remotely subject to comparison, I'll fall back on that tired structure for this note. In order of my preference, the mass-produced beers I drank in Prague:
Pilsner Urquell. This is the conventional choice, but, in my defense, Pilsner is the favorite of many Prague residents, who might be expected to have a preference for my second choice...
Staropramen. Brewed right there in Prague. Just a tad less rich than Pilsner. Sorry, I don't have all the beer adjectives at hand. I'm sort of reduced to thoughtful head-nodding, which I do when recalling those half-litres we shared after hiking up and down Petrin Hill.
Budweiser Budvar. One might call this the real Budweiser, though Anheuser-Busch would disagree. In truth, I like this about as much as Staropramen. It's a bit more bitter, but beer, as my European acquaintances remind me, is supposed to be bitter.
Hoegaarden Witbier . A Belgian, not a Czech beer, so it doesn't really belong here. Has a delicious creaminess that derives from either good flavor and texture or the suggestion of those qualities by the beer's milky appearance. I'm too weak-minded to ascertain which is the genuine source of my observation.
As good as these four beers are, the best beers are those made at local places such as Pivovarsky Klub or U Fleku. In the States, we might refer to such a place as a "brew pub". The Czechs use the term "pivoteka" (with diacritical mark over the "e"), which they translate as "beer boutique". Brew pub might be the better term.
Over the last decade or more, we in the US have had available to us some terrific micro-brews. These (at least many of them) stand up well to the beers I drank in the CR. But if we compare Pilsner Urquell/Staropramen/Budweiser Budvar to our mass-produced beers (Bud, Miller, Coors), well, we're talking different fluids. One can imagine a Czech visitor to the States ordering a Bud at the bar, taking a good swig, and then, embarrassed, looking around and thinking, "Good God. I thought I'd ordered a beer. I wonder what this stuff is?"
