Last Day in Prague

Just pictures for now, will get to the words later...

 

Day Eight in Prague

The goal today was to fill in some of the gaps in my coverage.

First stop, in the wilds of eastern Vršovice (OK, not that wild, just away from the city center) was Turnovská pivnice

I had expected some sort of storefront taproom but this was a large, well set up restaurant.  They have four different beers on tap (with room for more)

I ordered the Turnov 8º. Since they seemed to have a big lunch crowd, I think this was. smart business move.

The beer was fine, not the best but far from the worst. They had some lunch specials so I ordered the asparagus soup. The good thing about asparagus soup is that you are reminded you had it for the rest of the day...

To go with the soup I had their Tmavě 12⁰. I liked it better than the 8º, a little cleaner. It was not at all sweet, which I've found some Czech dark beers to be.

I had ordered some Carpaccio as well, with garlic baguettes and it too was very good.

While I was there, a well dressed man came over to my table and said "Are you Fred?" I said I was and it turns out we follow each other on Twitter and he had a business lunch scheduled here and saw my post. We chatted for a minute and then his colleague arrived. The beer would is indeed small.

I caught another tram and soon was at Želva Beers & Burgers.

I was a little unsure of this place but they served beers from Pivovar Starokladno which some had recommended.

I ordered the Starosta Pavel 12⁰. It was little on the buttery side for me, but otherwise fine. One of the people who mentioned Starokladno does tend to like his beers to be a but buttery.

I realized the polotmavý was 18º -- glad I didn't order that.

I didn't eat but there was a steady stream of burgers passing in front of me. They looked and smelled good. If you don't mind a little diacetyl and want to try beers from a different brewery, it is not bad choice.

There were a few places I wanted to check out in Anděl. Neither of then worked out, not an interesting enough beer selection. Nearby by was Beertime. (or Beertime.pub after their URL)

As I've grown used to, lots of IPAs and fruity sours but a couple of lagers.

I ordered Jungberg 300 Kurven Světlý Ležák 10⁰. A very nice beer, really hit the spot.

Next it was another tram to Karlín, to check out the new Sedmº (or Sedm Stupnu, "Seven Degrees")

They are a battleshop with 8 taps and a small seating area in the back.

A good selection of beers 

I ordered the Hulvát Světlý Ležák 12⁰. Very refreshing...

Though it was hard to pass up the Mango Milkshake Double NEIPA...

Int the back is a cold room with bottles.

I had seen the Budvar/Permon collaboration beer all over so I decided to try it.

Very hoppy, nicely bitter. I know that many (myself included) really don't like the term "IPL" but I wish Czech brewers would brew more beers like this instead of a the variety of (not that original) IPAs.

They had a variety of snacks, I order the cheese one and it tuned out to be marinated cheese with peppers but with a harder cheese than the more typical Camembert style cheese.

 

I walked a couple of blocks to Vratnicé another pub it had been awhile since I visited.

There tap list was divided into Lagers and Ales -- a bit unbalanced for me. When I was there last they mostly had Albrecht beers. Still a couple but I guess Albrecht doesn't brew enough different IPAs

I ordered their house Světlý Ležák 11⁰. I asked who brewed it and the tapman replied "We do" -- I didn't press it any further. It was an enjoyable beer.

I had arrange to meet a friend at Hostomická Nalévárna but I thought I had time to sneak in one more place, Hostinec U Pivovaru

I had heard good things from some folks who like old school, bar bones, unchanged type pubs. But it seemed they might have some more interesting stuff as well -- but that was a years old Facebook post.

In addition to regular Budvar (and think Budvar Tmav). The had a bunch of tap handles just labeled basically "Budvar Microbrewery"

I ordered the Budvar Redix Ležák 10⁰

And drank it faster than it deserved. Next trip I will try and stop in and spend more time. It looked like a fun place.

Anyway, in no time I was in my favorite seat with a Fabián 12º in front of me.

There were many of these as the evening progressed. I did have some Hermelín  along the way.

All in all, a good day.

 

Day Seven in Prague

 ...and on the seventh day he rested. Are you kidding, these beers don't drink themselves!

I started off trekking down to Mrtvá Ryba, a student pub near the Charles University Botanical Gardens. It is not well marked from the street. They have a nice patio and is fairly shady with all the trees.

The taps are mostly Kamenice but there are other breweries represented.

I started off with the Kamince 10º

They have relatively inexpensive lunch specials: A bowl of soup, small entry and either a desert or a salad for Kč 140. This was the cauliflower potato soup.

The Kamenice 10º went down to quickly, so I replaced it with their 12º

These really are different beers, with quite different. flavor profiles.  One is not simply a stronger (or weaker) version of the other. You should try both when you can.

The entree was a vegetable curry on rice. The chicken entree had sold out by the time I ordered. It wasn't a large portion but enough to take the edge off.

I really like Mrtvá Ryba and could easily spend the afternoon there, but there are other pubs to visit.

Next up was Beer Point, a new "self service" bar near the National Museum.

It works like other self serve places I've been to. You pay Kč 300 for a card, which has Kč270 beer credit and a Kč 30 deposit. Beers are charged by the 100ml raging from Kč15 to Kć24 -- which is expensive on a half liter basis but you can try many different beers. There are normally 14 on tap (12 today)

There is an information screen beside each tap. It also shows your credit and how much you've poured when your card is active.

I tried three beers, all were fine but nothing exceptional. This could be a fun place with a group but I think they really need more taps for that to work. It is clear they are aiming for the groups of younger people that descend on Prague on the weekends looking to party.

I headed next over to a place I haven't been to for a while, Pivní Bar Blanická.

It didn't appear to have changed a bit, except more IPAs on tap (a common issue for me)

I chose the Kamenice 11º, making it a truly Kamenice day. I do have to admit the 8⁰ Pool Party sounded interesting even if it is a NEIPA (pronounced KNEE-PA here)

Again, the 11º is a totally different beer than the 10º or 12º

My next stop was another place I hadn't visited in a while, Galerka

It is a half basement pub but with lots of windows so it is not dark

There have four rotating taps

The three fixed taps are Pivovar Biskupský Děkan kvasnicová 11⁰, Štěpán 12⁰ and Albrecht Tmavý 12⁰

I went with the Štěpán 12º. Very tasty.

They have a good selection of snacks and sausages. This is a version sausage that was really good. It was almost juicy. The "dips" were a salsa, horseradish and a spicy mustard.

I was ready for another beer so I ordered the Mazàk Galaxy 11⁰ IPL.

Sadly, the class wasn't as clean as it should have been, but the beer nice, very hoppy.

Down the street from Galleria is U Tři Hrušek, the second Hostimice taproom in Prague.

I had high hopes for this place but was pretty disappointed.

First off, the beers were good, every bit as good as at the original. I started with the Fabián 12º

I was pretty hard on the place on twitter and I won't repeat all of that here, but the floor was tile and the walls all hard surfaces so lots of echos. And the two TVs were turned to a music video channel and were playing at full volume -- and full distortion and it took me a while to realize the channel was MTV 80's.

It gave the whole thing a surreal atmosphere. The decor reminded me of an Italian restaurant converted to a German (or I guess, Czech) restaurant. It probably would be better packed with people having a good time (and the TV sound turned off).

I was so depressed I finished my beer and left.  BTW, the prices are the same as the original location.