Prague

As ever the adventure started in Prague. The flight arrived quite late, but not too late to go to the Jamayka bar on Staroprammana street. This down to earth place sells three beers from the Nymburk brewery. The pub is open until 1 a.m even on a Sunday. The 12% svetle (that's around 5% and light in colour) was refreshing with a long lemony finish. The tmave lezak (dark) was a little thin and caramelly. The pub was full of young drunk people. One woman decided to sing Joy Division songs to me, whilst her mate showed me his Liverpool tattoos! A lively pub!

The next morning I walked to the Zizkov area to one of my fave pubs, Restaurace U Radnice on Lipanski St. This is a free house with an ever changing selection of beers. The Herold 12% was crisp and zingy with a nice balance of hops and malt. Then I tried a Matuska 14%. This dark beer started quite sweet but had a nice mix of caramel and coffee notes with a dry finish. The pub opens at 11 and is quiet and friendly. They had the rare Kutna Hora beer Dacicka 12% which was bitter sweet with a nice hoppy finish. I returned later that evening and it was busier and new beers had come on including the lovely Herold Granat Dark 14% which was very chocolatey with a good bitter finish. I had three it was so good.

Not far from U Radnice on Husitska is the Kout Na Sumava pub Slovanske Lipy. A down to earth boozer with all the brewery's beers. The 12% svetle was quite hoppy but it wasn't as good as I remember it! The staff weren't very friendly or helpful.

Next a long metro and tram ride to the Richter brew pub on Bulovka. This is a pleasant wood panelled bar with shining coppers and a changing style of beers. I tried the Alt which was too light to be an alt, but it was slightly bitter and refreshing. The special unfiltered Lezak 12% had a long bitter finish and I felt it was much better on this visit.

Not far down the road on Namesti (square) Dr. Holehovo is Restaurace U Rockytky. This is a long, airy, locals pub with cheap food and beer. Many pubs have reserved signs on tables check the times on them or stand at the bar if you're allowed to! The pub had all the Svijany pivo (beers) on and the Svijany 10% was one of the best 10% I've had (about 4% in our terms). It was well hopped and very easy to drink, as was the 12.5% Kvasnivove unfiltered pivo which was bitter and hoppy. The pub was busy and full of chatter from the locals. A good pub, It's near the tube station Palmovka in Liben.

Finally I went to Smichov to Hospoda U Bolovka. It's a Pilsener Urquel pub with a guest beer from the Zlata Labut, Zwikov micro. The unfiltered Kvasene 11% had a very bitter start and finish, not to everyone's taste but I liked it a lot. 

The next day I walked through Letna Park which gives you great views of Prague and along to the cathedral and castle and across Charles Bridge and on to the Nusle area to the brewpub Basta on Taborska. This is the cheapest brewpub in Prague, the beer is about £1 for half a litre. I had the Medova which was very pleasant quite hoppy pivo. I was able to sit outside thus avoiding the powerful malty smell of them brewing in the pub.

Just around the corner is the free house Zly Casy on Cestrimova. You need to go downstairs. The bar has cheap food and up to 7 beers from micros. They had lots of yeast / unfiltered pivo on. I had the Balkan 10% Kvasnicove, yeasty with a bitter finish but a little unbalanced. Then I had a new brewery's beer Chotebor Kvasnicove 12%  which was slightly yeasty with a long bitter finish and another unfiltered beer from Rychtar called Natur12%, poor nose with a strong malty flavour. the Tambor Tmave special was much better with dark chocolate and coffee notes and a lovely bitter finish.

After quite a long walk I arrived at Hrom Do Police a pleasant restaurant / pub with all the Policka beers.This pub is recommended especially for the unfiltered 11 and 12% pivos which have sweetish beginnings but la lovely long citrus finish. There are 6 beers on, all of which are good.

Raknovic

Leaving Prague, I set off for Raknovic via Krivoklat Castle. You could stop off at Beroun. There is a very good brewpub the Brown Bear very near the train station. Raknovic is a pleasant town with an attractive main square and a brewery called Bakalar. It's not easy to find many of their beers but a few pubs sell one of their beers alongside Gambrinus (the Czech John Smiths). I tried the 10% Bakalar svetle in a herna bar. These are late night bars full of fruit machines but sometimes have a decent and cheap beer. This bar Club Palma  charged 50p and it was good, full bodied, bittersweet with a dry finish.

Louny

After that I got the train to Louny. A pretty town with an impressive church and defensive walls and gateways. In the bar called Pivovarska restaurace on U Somolu they had 3 Louny beers. The 10% Desikta was rather thin and lacked flavour. The 12% was crisp and clean tasting with some bitterness. The rare tmave (dark) was in good form, a little sugary but had hints of dark chocolate and coffee with a long coffee like finish. The pub was long with plenty of dark wood and the bar lady was friendly and the food good and cheap. Whilst walking around the town I found the Mini -golf club bar (near U Brany / main gate) They had the unfiltered 12% Zatec pivo which was a little yeasty but had a nice grapefruity taste. The bar was cosy and yes you can play crazy golf in the courtyard.

Litomerice

The next day started badly. The bus driver took a wrong turn and ended up at the wrong city. I eventually arrived at the pretty town of Litomerice, well worth a few hours of looking around. It doesn't have many good pubs. The railway station has a locals' bar which serves a decent Zlatopramen 11% which is bittersweet and full bodied.

Liberec

Next I got the train to Cesky Lipa. Again worth a wander for the pretty hunting lodge and main square. I eventually ended up in Liberec, one of Czech's largest cities. The beer here is generally quite cheap. The train station pub is very rough and ready and a bit of a dump but they usually have 6 cheap beers on. I had the local Konrad 11% (about 60p) which starts sweet but has a bitter finish. Next I went to Restaurace Valdstejnska on Zelezna Ulica just downhill from the impressive town hall. It's usually very friendly and sells Svijany and Rohozec pivo. The landlord was very rude and unfriendly but the Rohozec 11% (60p!) was crisp and bittersweet, quite lemony too. Up the hill from here near a billiards hall is the U Zabaka (green frog). This had 2 Konrad beers 10% and 12%. The 10% was about 45p. Both beers were sweet to start with but with quite bitter finishes. This is a large down to earth drinkers pub but it's a decent pub. Some bottles of Konrad ESO and Joker 14% are also available.

Harrachov

Basing myself at Liberec I went on some long journeys time wise in search of brewpubs. Firstly to Harrachov in the rolling hills and forests in the East. After a long walk I arrived at the Main street and the Novosad pivovar next to a major glassworks. In the kiosk outside they had the 12% Frantisek svetle which was quite malty with some balancing bitterness. Strangely, inside the brewpub itself it tasted and smelt different much more floral with an orangey finish. The dark Certak Tmave 12% had dark chocolate and coffee notes and got more bitter down the glass. The pub was nice but very touristy and expensive.

Stary Harcov

On the journey back I got off at Vratislavice Nad Nisou near Liberec and walked to the Konrad brewery which unfortunately had no pub. It did have a bottle store which was very cheap. I then walked through some pretty countryside to the Stary Harcov area of Liberec to the Vendelin Rodinny brewpub. It's about 4km on Lukesovska! The pub is basically a house and brewery in a shed with places to sit in a garden. Unfortunately the Svetle 12% was really unpleasant, yeasty with a fungal / mushroomy taste. The Rezanne 12% was better doughy / bread like but slightly fruity and a little bitterness. Rezanne is a mix of dark and light beer. The weather took a turn for the worse and a downpour and thunder and lightning storm started. Many people left but a few czech guys, the brewer and myself took shelter and started to have a really good chat about beer, the Czech Republic and travelling. I was running out of money by now and there were no busses. However the brewer started to pour everyone free Razanne and asked if he could have a picture taken with me. At last orders the guys gave me a free lift in their taxi. Very friendly people. In my room there was a fridge so I chilled my Konrad bottled beers. The Konrad 8% was thin and lacking in flavour but the ESO Polotmave (half dark) was a nice mix of malt and caramel and a dry finish and the Tmave 11% had a caramelly nose and flavour, a bit sweet but with a dryish finish. It was nice sitting in the dry watching the impressive lightning storm over Liberec.

Turnov

By now it was Saturday 18th July, time to go to Turnov, a pleasant town with a few lovely buildings in the main square. I hadn't eaten the day before so I popped into the Chinese called Bamboo on Palackeho where I had nice food and a half litre of Rohozec 11%, bittersweet and good with kung po chicken. I then spent most of the day walking to the nearby Hruba Skala rocks a series of strangely shaped rocks and cliffs. Then I returned to Turnov and walked 3 km to Maly Rohozec there is a bus but not on weekends. On the main road you will find the Rohozec brewery.  There is a kiosk and a restaurant on site. The restaurant had a good selection of beers. The Rohozec 10% was crisp and clean with some bitterness and very refreshing. One of my fave10%s and it only cost around 50p. Next came the unfiltered Kvasnicove which was slightly bitter and dry. The 13% svetle was really nice with it's grapefruity finish and a very long, dry finish. Finally I had the 11% Rezanne. This was very dry with berries on the tongue and a long dry finish with blackberry like tones. It rained virtually all day but I returned to my pension in good spirits due to such good quality beer.

Jicin

On Sundays you usually need to travel by train as buses are far less frequent at weekends. The train journey from Turnov to Jicin is pretty, taking in many views of Trosky castle perched on a large hill. Jicin has a really pretty main square and is about 6km from the impressive Prachov rocks. I hitched and quickly got a lift off a friendly local couple. I spent a few happy hours walking around the giant rocks before walking the scenic route back to Jicin.

Jicin has one of my favourite pubs the down to earth drinkers pub U Suku on Revolucni. This cheap workers' pub has most of the Nova Paka beers on tap. The Broucek 10% was very refreshing with a long hoppy, bitter finish. The Special Svetle 13% (about 6%) was a bit vegetabley at first but the dry bitterness kicks in later as does the alcohol. It reminded me of Holt's Bitter of years ago. The Special Cerne (dark) had a nice mix of caramel, chocolate malt and coffee flavours. It was similar to a good porter. The Krystof 11% was crisp and clean with the trademark bitter finish. The best was my final beer vthe Kumburak 12% svetle which had that lovely grapefruity / citrus twang and a long hoppy finish (unless of course you don't like those beers!). The staff at the pub are very friendly and the beer is really cheap. The pub closes early on Sunday, so I stopped by the Kaufland supermarket and found a good selection of bottled beers. I tried 3 Primator beers from Nacod. The English Pale Ale was flowery and fruity (a good copy), the Exklusiv 16% was sweet with caramel and nutty flavours. The Stout started sweet but developed a good chocolate malt bitterness, very good.

A bad Monday!

Well a week had gone without too many hitches but not on this day (Monday). I travelled to Nova Paka. The town had some pretty buildings but the tourist info was shut and there was no info desk at the bus station. The Nova Paka brewery is quite scenic but had no pub just a tiny bottle store which sold Hemp Brau which had a strange sweet taste, very unbalanced and the Valdstein 7% in our system, which was like an unsubtle IPA with a really strong hop flavour.

I couldn't find many pubs selling the local beer and the one I did find near the bus station was disappointing. I ordered a beer and was given food and when the beer did come (the 12% Kumburak) it wasn't a patch on the pivo in U Suku. You can get to a brew pub in Miletin if you change buses, but I didn't find out until I was en-route to a different place! Eventually I got to Dobruska in search of the Rampusak brewery only to find the bottle store was shut and no pubs sold it and most pubs in the town were shut. After 2 and a half very boring hours I got a bus to the pretty town of Nove Mesto Nad Metuja. The main square and nearby streets are very pretty and there is a castle and quite a few pubs selling Primator pivo. I chose Pivnice Na Rychte near the bus station and drank the Primator svetle 10%, 11% and 12%. They had similar tastes but were all crisp with a nice balance of malt and hops the 10 was a little sweeter, I prefered the 11%. It's a large relaxed late night drinkers' pub and was quite friendly.

Pardubice

The next day was a busy one. I started at Pardubice, with its beautiful main square and side streets and a pretty zamek (chateau / castle), it's well worth a visit. On the way back to the bus station on Palackeho is the Pernstejn brewery tap, bottle shop and restaurant.

The bar is a simple place which had 4 beers on tap. The 10% polotmave was like a decent mild, caramelly, malty and sweetish. The Jedenackte (11%) was slightly peaty, malty, smokey with slight bitterness. The 12% svetle lezak also had a slight smokey flavour and was well balanced, bittersweet. Next came their famous beer, The 19% Porter. A sweet start with hints of molasses gives way to dryness and liquorice notes, it's quite winey too, similar to a Baltic Porter.

Medlesice

You can catch the 1.10 or 1.40 bus to Medlesice. Turn right off the main road and follow the road down until you come to the Medlesice brewpub (opens 2pm). It was nice to see all the regulars drinking the pub's pivo instead of Gambrinus on offer there also. The 12% unfiltered svetle was cloudy with a slight sourness, some bitterness and a pleasant citrus (oranges and lemons ) flavour. I really liked the 12% tmave which had coffee and chocolate flavours and a stout like dry, bitter finish.

Hlinsko

Next I visited the pretty town of Chrudin before setting off for Hlinsko a pretty town and home of the Rychtar brewery. Many pubs in the town had their beers including the popular locals bar U Karla, near the train station, where I drank the Rychtar 12%, a balanced beer with a decent mix of malt and hops. Just near the centre is a series of pretty timber buildings one of which was a pleasant pub (although the staff were unfriendly and slow). The Rychtar 11% was a crisp easy drinking light lager. In the main square is Restaurace Na Rychtar. A large friendly pub acting as a brewery tap. The dark Malvaz was sweet and caramelly with some bitterness and then a very caramelly finish. The Hejtman was like a porter sweet and malty with a dryish finish. The Natur 12% unfiltered kvasnicove was bitter with a long dry finish much better than in Zly Casy in Prague. Unfortunately I couldn't find anyway to stay. If this happens best to head for a Herna bar. There was one opposite Na Rychtar which sold a decent Rychtar 12% for 60p. I stayed for a couple and caught an early train to Havlikuv Brod.

Havlikuv Brod

Havlikuv Brod is another place worth visiting. It has plenty of attractive buildings and the Rebel Brewery. They make a lot of beers I really like very hoppy with grapefruity flavour. Needing the loo I popped into the herna bar Pendolino near the train station and joined quite a few Czechs for a breakfast beer. The Rebel Original was very grapefruity and refreshing. On the main road going into town is the busy, rough and ready but friendly enough Hockey sportsbar. The Rebel Tradnici 10% was 50p and was very hoppy and grapefruity, lovely. Just off the main square on Horni street is Rebel Pivovarska. It sells most of the Rebel beers and was spacious with decent service. The Cerny Lezak was caramelly with some dryness like a mild. The Kvasnicove was very bitter with that trademark grapefruit bite as was the 10% Tradnici (I just had to have another) and the Rebel Czech 11% was also hoppy / grapefruit heaven.

Velke Mezirici

Next it was a long train ride to Velke Mezirici to the Harrach brewpub. The pub was very touristy and a little snooty with very slow service. On the walls were many awards. When I tried their beers I didn't understand why! The Svetle Lezak was sweet with a little bitterness. I followed this with a malt dominated Svetle Vycepni. The Tmave looked nice, black with a good white head but was rather thin and didn't impress me. The Psenicne (wheat beer) was better chunky with cloves and lemon flavours. There was nowhere to stay in Velke Mezirici and the Trebic bus didn't turn up, so another night with no sleep.

Trebic

So it's 4am. Time to get the train to Trebic. The town has an impressive church, a pretty main square and some Jewish quarter and cemetery.  It looked very possible on a map but I had to abandon my plan to visit the breweries at Dalesice and Oslavany as there was only one bus a day to each place and you had to change. I decided to go to Brno. Whilst waiting for the train I found a supermarket selling beers by the Janacek brewery so bought some. I finally found somewhere to stay for this night. The traveller's hostel which is near the centre and cheap and cheerful. On Beethovenova street I found the pub Freeland. This place sold 2 Dalesice brews. The 13% Fledermaus tmave was quite liquoricey with a dry finish and the Dalesicka svetle was sweet with vanilla notes.

Brno

I then got a bus out to Brno Zebetin to The U Richarda brew pub. A pleasant place selling 4 beers. The Kvasnicove 12% was quite thin and sweet and malty and was the 15% Medova but with hints of banana. the Psenicne wheat beer tasted like the 12% Kvasnicove just with a slice of lemon in it! Fortunately my final beer the Visnove cherry beer was good. It had a good fruity nose, pleasant cherry flavours and was refreshing (the weather was pretty hot and sunny for most of the trip). Back in Brno I went to bar Hlucha Zmije out of town on going up Milady Horakove and turning left up Jugoslavska. The bar was down to earth and full of young people. The music in Czech pubs (and they seem to feel they have to play some is usually dire) but this bar had some interesting jazz and friendly bar staff. The pub sells Strakonice and Policka pivo the rare unfiltered Dudak which was yeasty with some malt and hops. Then I walked down Milady Horokove to Trida Kaptain Jarose to the Vegas Klub. The pub had a really friendly barman / owner and customers who I had a nice chat with. The barman had been in a rock band and had supported Uriah Heep. The music was to my liking here too. There were 3 PoUtnik beers from Pelchrimov. I tried the unfilltered, kvasnicove 12% which was hoppy with a dry finish and a dry hopped Poutnik 12% which was hoppy with a dry finish.

Next I went to the Pegas brewpub and tried their Gold which wasn't gold it was a little appley with a lot of malt and some bitterness. The service was very unfriendly. I do recommend their dark tmave beer it is very good. I returned to the hostel and had a really pleasant chat with the receptionist Petra who let me use the hostel fridge to cool my bottles of Janacek. The Ducat 10% was sweet and malty with a lemony finish. The 11% Patriot was also sweet and malty and the 12% Extra was pleasantly bittersweet. 

I based myself in Brno and set off for Hodonin. Hodonin is not very attractive but has a popular brewpub serving Kunc pivo (on Narodni Trida). Many people were eating. In most pubs the czechs start eating dinner at 11am and some get very busy. Many pubs take phone reservations especially for early evening food or groups coming to drink. The beer in the Kunc pub were unfiltered. The Svetle lezak was full bodied with strong malt presence with some balancing bitterness in the finish. The Cerne 13% had a fruity nose and coffee notes. This pub also had a 13%Visnove cherry beer with a fruity nose and good dark cherry flavour, it was quite refreshing. Next I went to a special Budvar pub on Mestanska. This pub stocks the kvasnicove 12% Budvar which was a mix of yeast, malt and dry bitterness. It was okay but nothing special. I was given the wrong beer next the svetle lezak 12% which was better with some bitterness and fruit the pub was a little lacking in atmosphere and the food was bland! I was on the bus to Brno when I noticed a sign for Blucina. I got off and hitched the 8km to get there hoping to sample some Xaver pivo in the Xaver pub on the main road. To my horror the pub didn't have any. It looks as though the brewery has closed. I hitched all the way back to the outskirts of Brno. 3 drivers stopped for me in quick succession which meant I didn't waste too much time. Just downhill from the impressive Brno cathedral is a bar called U Andela za Vraty which specialises in products from monasteries. I tried the Opat Tregan dark red with a cherry nose and black cherry flavour with a little sweetness and maltiness. The bar had 3 bottles of the Zeliv monastery / trappist style beers. I tried the Zeliv Siard Falco which was meant to be a kriek style cherry beer but I couldn't taste any the next bottle the Gottshalk tasted the same. It was quite a good attempt at a trappist brown double beer like Rochefort 6 but weaker 5.6%.The service was really slow, at least I was undercharged. On the way to the hostel I went into a Billa supermarket and some interesting bottles. Back at the hostel I met another receptionist Annie who let me use the fridge and had a really good chat with me. I had a bottle of Cerna Hora Modra Luna blueberry beer. This had a really fruity nose and flavour. Then i had some bottles of Primator pivo. The Polotmave 13% was a mix of sweet malt and nuts, similar to a good brown ale. The Rytirsky 21% was very hoppy with a big alcohol kick, definitely my last beer of the day.

Vyskov

It was now 25th July. Time to move on from Brno. I arrived at the quite nice town of Vyskov (massive clocktower and main church). On Armady is the Vyskov brewery tap. A very busy pub with lots of seasoned drinkers. There was a list of 4 beers but the barman told me because it's Saturday they only have one beer on. How annoying and strange! It was a nice bittersweet pivo called Dzban which was crisp and easy to drink. I drank a bottle of 14% General which was a nice mix of malt and hops with a bitter finish. One of the best bottled beers I've had in the Czech Rep. 

Prerov

On to Prerov. Quite indusrial but with a pleasant main square and some grand buildings near the brewery (Zubr). The brewery tap / restaurant was closed but I found a pleasant pub with a friendly lady at the bar on Palackeho street. Here I tried the Zubr10% which was okay being sweetish with malt dominating and a slightly smokey finish. The 12% Kvasnicove was slightly yeasty with a malty sweetness with some bitterness in the finish. a short train journey later, I arrived at the pretty town of Lipnick Nad Becvou.

Olomouc

There were a lot of nice old buildings, impressive churches and towers and attractive main square. Just off the square on Rijna is the small cave like sports bar selling another unfiltered malty / sweet but full bodied beer which seems typical of the type found in many brew pubs. The beer 11% Lipnicky Lezak was also to be found in the next place, the very attractive city of Olomouc.  I was looking forward to some Bon pivo which was very good last time I was here. Unfortunately the Bon Pivnice on the main road from the train station was closed for a refurb. I then found the relaxed and cosy freehouse U Kudeja on Krapkova (honest!). They had 5 beers on. I drank the Tambor 11%, a bittersweet, easy drinker. The pub also had a beer from the Olomouc brewpub Moritz a kvasnicove 12% (yes another one!). It was a mix of yeast, malt and a few hops coming through in the finish. Next I went to the Moritz brewpub an impressive cave like pub which was busy. The barman short measured me then tried to keep my change 3 times! The 10% a well balanced beer with plenty of flavour. The Maisel was very malt dominated but the Moritz 12% had a fungal / mushroomy taste which spoilt the beer that had nice hop notes. Unfortunately despite trying very hard I couldn't get anywhere to stay. Time to find a herna bar. I was shocked to find the brewpub Svatonaclavsky had been turned into one! This used to be a classy place with historical murals but is now full of tvs and fruit machines and pictures of sport covering the murals. At least I had a place to have a drink. The beers were a little warm and the wheat beer was poor. However the 12% Dvanactke had a good mix of hops, smokeyness and hints of vanilla. The Cerne was a little thin but had a decent coffee like finish. Their Visnove is good with an apealling nose and good black cherry notes and dry cherry finish. Sunrise in Olomouc was a nice experience. I had a good walk around the pretty city for a few hours before moving on.

Prostejov

This was not a good day! I got the train to Litovel got off at the wrong stop and when I finally reached the Litovel brewery restaurant it was shut until 2pm. It has earlier opening times on weekdays. Then I got on the wrong train. and ended up in a small place called Senice Na Hane. The tennis club bar had a pleasant bittersweet Liutovel 11% and a bar in the centre had Holba Serak, an easy drinker with a nice dry / bitter finish . I eventually got to Prostejov with it's impressive radnice (town hall), a few pretty old buildings and a crumbling zamek with pretty murals. Most of the pubs were shut and the brewpub I had found here last time had gone! I tried the locals bar Hradebni on Hradebni street. I sampled the Holba12% Premium.It was rather thin, sweet and malty. Also available was the 10% Kvasnicove from the Valasek brewpub. This was quite thin with a slight bittersweet taste.

Zubr Pivnice

I was now Quite far East and it was getting harder to get directly to the places I wanted to go. I started at Kromeriz to look not drink. It's a very pretty town with a massive zamek, a pretty main square with different styles and coloured buildings and some pretty churches. If you are waiting for a bus or train the nearby Zubr Pivnice Bowling pub had a good Zubr 11% on. I next arrived at Vsetin and the Valasek brewpub.

It was very modern, clean, spacious with outdoor seating. I tried the Tmave lezak first. It had some coffee notes but was very caramel dominated, quite a pleasant beer but a little thin. The Kvasnicove 11% was very appley with slight bitterness in the finish. I was just finishing when the friendly woman at the bar brought me a taster (this had never happened before or since in any Czech pub). It was a 12% Boruvkove (blueberry ?) beer. It was one of the best fruit beers I tried all trip. The nose was really fruity as was the taste of fresh berries, very nice. Finally, I drank the Visnovy 12%. This had a very cherry nose, sweet at first with bitter black cherries coming through and then a cardboardy dry finish.

Next port of call was the rather ugly town of Koprivinice. From the train station follow the Museum Tatra signs to the main road ZAhomenni. Just off there is the giant Hotel Tatra. Here you will find the Restaurace Zaby. Ask for the Vulcan pivo, it is advertised outside but is on a Radegast pump! This local micro beer has a doughy / yeasty nose with a bittersweet start and then the finish is very bitter. I tried it the next day before leaving and the finish had become very grapefruity.

Stramberk

I then walked 3km to the next town called Stamberk. I was looking for the Stramberk Metsky pivovar. I asked a local directions and ended up staying at his mum's house for £10 which was handy as I had nowhere to stay and it was 9pm. I raced to the Metsky brewpub to drink their lovely Troobac tmavy (0.4litre) which was a nice mix of chocolate and liquorice flavours. The outside areas give good views of the pretty town square. After 3 tmaves, I tried the Trubac svetle 12%. This was yeast beer with good long lasting bitterness. The pub shuts at 10pm weekdays

The next morning I went for a walk around Stramberk. There are lots of attractive wooden buildings and the main square is very pretty with lots of colourful buildings with shapely gable ends. I took a walk up the hill to the lookout tower, the trubac, where you get a good view of the town and the surrounding countryside. My bus was at 10am so I just had time to sink a quick Trubac svetle at the Metsky Pivovar which opens at 10. After a quick Vulcan pivo in Koprivinice (the birth place of Emile Zatopec) I went to Pribor (the birthplace of Freud) for some Pribor Freudovo pivo.

Pribor

Don't go to the Mexican restaurant on the main road into town as it doesn't have their beers despite the sign. Instead go to the run down main square with some nice buildings. Just off here you will find the upstairs Oaza Vinara which sold just one Freudova pivo the 13% Benjaminek kvasnicove which was cloudy, yeasty with some hops and a vanilla dominated finish. The raved about Freudovo dark beer was nowhere in sight!

Dolni Sklenov

After frustratingly long wait for a bus, I hitched to Dolni Sklenov near Huckvaldy to the Huckvaldske brewpub U Zastavky (it's opposite the bus stop to Frydek Mistek or Ostrava). Don't waste time and energy walking into Huckvaldy for a bus like I did! The pub was a very basic boozer with 2 house beers. The Huckvaldy 12% kvasnicove was horrible, ranking with the Vendelin svetle as the joint worst beer of the trip. It had that fungal / mushroom taste. Fortunately the 14%which was malty with some bitterness and a pleasant nutty finish.

Ostrava

After another long wait I got the bus to Frydek Mistek and with help from a really friendly bus driver got to Dobra on the outskirts. There are no street names but amazingly I found the Restaurant Na Spyce hoping to find the rare Arthur's Keltic ale. Much to my horror the beer was not there! Hearing a train, I legged it to the station. The train was just pulling away but the guard saw me and let me on (that wouldn't happen in England). I arrived in Mistek to find the Ostrava train due to leave shortly. After a long walk, I got to the centre of Ostrava. Not far is the Hobit / Qasek brewpub on Privorska selling the Biovar pivo. A basic pub with a crowded bar and a dimly lit back room and a mix of locals and tourists. The woman serving was friendly and quick. I tried the 11% Qasek tmave which was a little thin with quite malty with a little bitterness a n caramel in the finish. The 10% Kuneticky Hejkal (definately one to point at to order!) was mix of yeast, malt and a few hops. The 12% also had a few hops but was dominated by a rhubarb and custard sweet finish. Opposite is the 3 star hotel I stayed, which was a luxury after not having anywhere to stay before and as it turned out after! After checking in, I set off in search of late bars. THe herna bar Nastivte pivni bar on Postivni had 3 Ostrava beers. This is owned by Inbev but their beers are not too bad. I had a pleasant chat with a Czech businessman and drank the Ostava 10% Original with him. The beer was crisp and clean tasting with a cardboard like bitter finish. The Premium was similar with a slight pear drop dry finish. Best of all was the Bazal Polotmave which had a decent hoppiness and a nutty finish

I went to the tourist info place to try to find the new brewpub in the Zahreb district of Ostrava. A really helpful guy who had worked in Leicester showed  me how to get there. Just take tram 2 from outside the tourist info to stop Karpatska, cross the road and look for the pink manor house/zamek which is the Pikard micro. The place is an impressive old vaulted hall with a pretty wood beamed upstairs. It is upmarket and expensive with a poor wheat beer served with a slice of orange! and called woman's beer in their English menu! However, the 11% kvasnicove was a mix of malt and hops, a bittersweet start with a long bitter finish. The 11% tmave was also very good, tasting like a good stout with a good dry coffee and bitter dark chocolate flavour. You could get a tram to the bus station and get the 14.25 bus to Hlucin and go to the Avar brewpub very near the town centre.

Hlucin

The bustling, friendly bar maid served me a really good 12% svetle, which has a nice bittersweet start with a lovely citrus finish with lemon and then grapefruit noted and a long grapefruit finish (again very much to my taste but maybe not yours). This was followed by the 12% kvasnicove which also had a lot of grapefruity, dry bitterness from start to finish. This was one of the best yeasty beers I had on my trip. Sorry to backtrack but in Ostava opposite my hotel was the pub Rest. Na Privoske on Privorska street. They had a freshly tapped barrell of the micro Slezan. My generous measure of the Slezan kvasnicove 10% had a strong yeasty start with a long dry bitter finish. Anyway back in the Avar pub the 12% was like a thin porter with some bitterness and a caramel finish. There are trains every hour from Hlucin To Opava.

Opava

Opava is a really pretty town with lots of impressive multi coloured buildings and impressive churches but few places to stay! On my walk I came across a pizza bar on Maticni which sold Knize by trhe Lobkowice brewery which was crisp and bittersweet with a nice hoppy finish. Next I headed for Pivovarska Ulice (street) to the Zlatovar brewery tap (it's possible the beer isn't brewed on site but it is next to a brewery) The pub is spacious with outside seating overlooking the brewery. The first beer I drank was the Axman 10%. This was crisp and bittersweet with a nice long dry finish. The 12% was a little sweeter at first but had a long grapefruity finish. Next came another one of the best kvasnicove (yeast) beers I had tried. It had a very yeasty nose but had a long delicious grapefruity middle then long dry grapefruit finish.

Rymarov

After a few changes of train, the next day's adventure started in the small town of Rymarov where you can find the Excelent minipivovar (it's on Pivovarska left, downhill from the main square.

This spacious upmarket brewpub with a large outdoor seating area and gleaming coppers had 3 beers on. The svetle 11% was a good bitter with some balancing malt. The polotmave special was very complex with a real mixture of flavours such as butterscotch, chocolate malt and a nutty finish (0.4 litre). The tmave 12% had a lot of caramel with porter like sweetness.

Zamberk

A quick dash got me to the bus to Sumperk, a very touristy town with a nice town square. I was stuck here for 2 hours so I went to the restaurant Schiller and had a pleasant Litovel 12%, a mix of malt and hops with a slightly bitter finish. I then caught the bus to Zamberk and went to the helpful tourist info and got a nice place to stay in. A scenic walk took me back to near the bus station to the Zamberk/Kanec brewpub opens at 4pm.

This is a very down to earth locals boozer where conversation drowns out the usual dross (music). The helpful lady behind the bar who spoke no English, why should she, we are in  Czech Republic served me a 10% Bile Kanec, a really good German style wheatbeer, very fruity with slight hints of banana. The next pivo, the Zluty vypeni (tap beer) was very thin and one dimensional, thin and malty. Next came the seemingly obligatory kvasnicove which was a decent mix of yeast, malt and fruit with a short slightly bitter finish with a little sourness. The lady behind the bar then summoned me to the bar and offered me a Uzeny / rauch beer which wasn't seemingly on offer except to the regulars! This was a decent attempt at the style with a little of that smokey bacon taste but dominated by ordinary malt rather than the smoked malt. I decided to finish the evening with the tmave Kanec Cerny 14%. This was a really good tasty dark beer that had a sweetish porter like start but then developed coffee and dark chocolate flavours and a liquorice dry finish. I  had 3 more before leaving. The cerny became more dark chocolaty and coffee-ish as I had more.

Hradec

The next day I got one of the regular buses to Hradek Kralov. I got somewhere to stay and got a bus to Litomysil again to look not drink (there are pubs with Cerne Hora, not drunk on this trip, but well recommended, Policka and Rychtar). This is a beautiful town with a pretty zamek, a mad Portminium and a very long, pretty main square. Back to Hradec, I got the last bus to Belec NaD Orlici to the U Husku brew pub.

Very popular with cyclists with a down to earth bar with football on tv. The Svetle kvasnicove (yes yet another one) was really dull, too fizzy very doughy and yeasty. The guy at the bar was very friendly and bought me some beer mats. The guy I met in Chyne, Ian won't be in touch with me any more as I offended him with this write up! Anyway the Caravna Tmave was too cold but had quite nice coffee nose with a short coffee and dark chocolate finish. No bus so I started to walk to Hradec. No luck for a long weary walk, then a young guy stopped and dropped me art the Ice hockey zimni / stadium. Near here was one of the themed Ferninand pubs. The staff were very friendly, giving me directions to another pub the free house  Danupe. The Ferdinand 11% tmave was a little thin with a pleasant caramel finish. Danupe was very trendy with not very helpful staff. I tried the expensive Strakonice Kral Sumava  which had a mad variety of flavours, Rhubarb and custard meets liquorice very odd indeed. Next I had a rare beer from the Zelezna Ruda micro called Pasarak 13%. This was a mix of pear drops and apples, very unbalanced and very expensive (sorry Ian). I headed to the Pretty main square to the Rest. De Facto where I had a 13% tmave which had some coffee notes and then a very dry berry like finish.

Polepy

The next day I caught the train to Kolin. It doesn't look nice from the station but has a great radnice (town hall), town square and cathedral. I walked to the village of Polepy in search of the Svaty Jan brewpub. No-one knew of it in the village and I found a pub on the main road only to find a Gambrinus sign. However the restaurant Polepy on the main road to Kolin had a really good half litre of Pilsener Urquell. Taking a direct route to the train station took me to the Tipsport pub on Vavrona, which had the Bernard 13% Tmave specialk. This was really chocolate malty with a long dry, dark chocolate finish.

Back to Prague

I took the train to Prague and got the last bed in the very overpriced and snobby Old Town hostel. Off I went asap to the the trendy and very expensive Tlusta Kaola where I had the rare Varnsdorf? Kocour pale ale which was quite bitter with and pleasant hoppy finish. I met Brian and his pleasant partner from Burnley and they joined me in Pivovarsky Klub opposite Florenc bus station. The draught Stepan, which was very ordinary with some fruit, malt and hops. I tried some bottles here as they have a really good selection. The Janacek tmave was carmamelly like a decent mild. The Herold Wheat beer was crisp and clean with banana and clove flavours, very full bodied. The evening ended in disappointment with a very dull Zatec Baronka and a rip off draught Herold Tmave wheat beer which was light.

Cesky Krumlov

A quick dash to Florenc bus station got me there just in time to get the bus to the touristy and very beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov, definately worth a few hours of looking around. Then you head down Pivovarska street to the Eggenberg brew tap.

A pleasant wood panelled bar with unfriendly staff! I tried the Eggenberg 10% which was soft with a sweet malty taste. The 12% svetle was fuller bodied, sweet malty but with some bitterness in the finish. Running out of time, I tried a small 12% kvasnicove (yet another one!). This was slightly more bitter than the "ordinary" 12% svetle. The cerny / tmave is usually their best beer, but there was no time today.

Ceske Budejovice

Next stop was the famous brewery town of Ceske Budejovice. It has a beautiful main square and many pretty buildings in the streets around it. There are two breweries but it is really hard to find beers by the Samson brewery! There are some very pretty and historic pubs to drink the well known Buvar beers. Just off the main square, on KarlinIV is the Budvarka Maly Pivovar. A lovely vaulted building with stained glass and the krouzkovany lezak which was very dry but also quite fruity with malt present too. The next pub was just as pretty. The Masne Kramy on Krajinski had a nice ceiling and lots of side rooms with paintings of different famous buildings of the city. Her the unfiltered krouzkoveny was  slightly more bitter with the fruit and malt mix. Also on Krajinski is another pub where I had the 12% svetle lezak which was good, a nice mix of hops, fruit and malt with a nice hoppy finish.

Telc

The next day I went to the town called Telc. This is one of the Czech's most beautiful places. A zamec, picturesque carp ponds and a stunning road of pretty houses makes Telc a lovely place to visit. If you have time, get the train to Slavonice, which is really pretty too (I didn't this time!). There was a farmers' market on and as luck would have it a beer tent from the Jezek brewery. They had 3 beers on. I tried the 14% Zacharias which was creamy with a big malt taste with a little bitterness and quite a strong alcohol bite. The by now obligatory kvasnicove 11% was a bit too fizzy with a pleasant bitter finish which became more yeasty down the glass.

Jihlava

Next I went to Jihlava. A pleasant city with some pretty buildings and remnants of the old city wall. This place is home to the Jezek (hedgehog) pivovar.

The grand brewery tap had the whole range on this visit. I tried the 10% tmave which was a little tinny, with burnt caramel notes and a bit sugary. Then I tried the 18% Grand. This was one of the best strong beers of the trip. The beer had a big alcohol bite but had a a good hop content as well as a warming sweetness.

Pelhrimov

After a short bus journey, I arrived at Pelhrimov. Yet another pretty main square with impressive gateways here and the Poutnik pivovar. You can try 3 of their beers in the down to earth, sprawling U Vlasaku. The kvasnicove 10% started malty but became slightly sour with pears and spices in the finish. The Poutnik 12% again reminded me of the old Holt bitter from Manchester. A slight sweetness followed by a really long dry, bitter finish. It was even better in the Popovice opposite the bus station, with an even more bitter, long lasting dry finish. The Czech's often have carp for X-mas dinner. I had it here. It has a very strong, earthy flavour. Nowhere to stay again, so I got the last train to Tabor. One lady and myself got on and she got off shortly, leaving me as the only passenger for one hour! Amazingly, when i got to the main square of Tabor, there was a kiosk serving the lovely Bernard 13% tmave special still open (it was midnight). Until the rain came, this was a really scenic place for a drink, in the middle of the attractive floodlit main square. The Bernard pivo didn't disappoint. It was full of chocolate malt with a nice bitter dark chocolate finish with hints of liquorice.

Pisek

The next day I visited two old favourites. Firsly I went to the really pretty town of Pisek. It has a beautiful radnice, riverside walks, one of the oldest bridges with statues and plenty of attractive buildings. I popped into the Tipsport Lipan pub on Zizkova Trida just out of the centre. This is like a betting shop with beer! The service was poor and the pub no longer has the Lipan cerny (one of my favourite beers). I made do with the Lipan svetle which I liked a lot. It was very bitter with some yeastiness and had a nice hoppy bite to it. I have enjoyed drinking here over the past years but this place no longer rates as one of my best pubs.

Zvikovske Podhradi

Next I caught the bus to Zvikovske Podhradi to the large and posh, full of tourists brewpub called the Zlaty Labut minipivovar Dvur Zvikov  The lady serving was very helpful and friendly. I had a beer called  Rarasek 11%. This was supposed to be a ginger beer but didn't have any ginger in it! Instead it tasted like a Belgian wheat beer with banana and clove flavours with a very dry finish which was characteristic of all their beers. Next up was a raspberry beer which had a really nice fruity nose and plenty of raspberry flavour. My final beer the 11% svetla kvasnicove had a good mix of yeast, hops and malt.

Strakonice

I moved on to Strakonice via Pisek and found a pleasant locals bar dominated by tv but with a choice of 5 local beers from the Strakonice Dudak brewery. It's on Ulica Tomase just off the main road towards the impressive zamek. I drank the rare Dudak tmavy which had slight bitterness and chocolate notes but was dominated by caramel flavours. Before I legged it for the train I had an 11% Nektar which was slightly smokey with a crisp, clean, bittersweet taste.

Klatovy

I arrived in the town of Klatovy around 10 pm and headed straight to one of my favourite pubs, just off the main square, called the Modra Abbe (Blue Abbot) The young lad behind the bar recognised me and let me stay after last orders.

We had a nice chat whilst I tried the Kout Na Sumava brewery's 12%.

This is a lovely beer. A really hoppy pilsener with a lovely bitter finish. The pub usually has up to 12 beers on. The full range of the Platan pivo and some Kout Na Sumava beers and guests. I tried the Platan 12% kvasnicovy which had a slight sourness to it. It started very yeasty but had a big bitter finish. Lastly I drank the classic Pernstejn Pardubice Porter which was very moorish with liquorice and chocolate malt flavours.

Plzen

I arrived at the pretty town of Domazlice only to find no sign of the Purkmistr brewery. So headed out to the pleasant town with an impressive zamek called Horsovsky Tyn. Just down from the zamek is sportbar Kobra which sells some Herold beers. I tried the cheap Herold 12% which was crisp and bittersweet. My next place to visit ( I got a place to stay here) was Plzen. Quite industrial but with a pretty main square, impressive cathedral and Czech's largest synagogue. The night was a disaster on the beer front. The Bernard pivnice opposite the synagogue has a good range of beers but the OX 14% a little thin although it did have some fruitiness and a kick to it. The Vinarna Hrozen had Klaster 125 which was poor, very sulphury and yeasty with a sharp pear drop flavour. The Lotr brewpub ran out of Rezanne pivo as I got there and the pub that had 3 Bakalar beers on in Easter had no taps at all and no Bakalar beer! Fortunately I had been to a Billa store near my hostel and found a really good selection of bottles including the Bakalar 7% (in our terms) Jubilejni special which had a big alcohol kick and was fruity with blackberry notes and a little liquorice at the finish.

Prague again!

I was nearing the end of my time so I headed back to Prague. After a good walk and looking at some sights, I headed for Zly Casy in Nusle again. As ever there were plenty of micros' beers on tap. I had the Nuselske Bile from the Chyne brewery. It was a good wheat beer with banana and clove notes. Next I tried a new beer the polotmave Vaclav from the pivovar Bravur. It was rather thin, a little sour with some fruitiness. Lastly I had a rare, expensive Rambousek pivo. The staff didn't know it's name or what type of beer it was supposed to be! It was dark with some fruits in it but was a bit like cough mixture! Leaving Zly Casy rather disappointed I headed for Pivovarsky Dum, a very well known and well regarded brewpub. (I think it's on Jecna !). Here I met my friend Paul, We tried the svetle lezak which was very good, a nice bittersweet beer with citrusy notes especially in the finish. Then we had a couple of the tmave lezak which was as good as ever, a classic Czech dark beer with  a coffee nose and coffee and chocolate malt flavours. We visited the other brewpub on Vodicova, the Novometsky Pivovar. The svetle was yeasty with a decent citrus finish.

On my final day I walked to Zizkov to Restaurant U Radnice. They were having a Moravian themed day. The pub had 9 beers on tap and 3 of the rare bottles of Kvasar pivo usually only available in 75cl plastic bottles from the brewery shop in Tisnov near Brno (I never got there). I had a really cheap bottle of the Kvasar XIII cerny which had a dry honey flavour but not a lot of body. Next I drank a Slezan 13% which was a bit sour but with a lingering lemony finish, quite unusual. Ironically the next bar yielded another beer i failed to try earlier on the trip. The U Sadu pub on Skroudova Namesti has one rotating guest beer as well as Primator wheat and Pilsner Urquel. This time they had the Rampusak 12% svetle lezak which was a mix of sweet malt and yeast and then an unusual lemon and pineapple flavoured finish. Not far from here on Chodska is Restaurace Hrom Do Police serving the full range of beer on tap and 4 reasonably priced bottles of Policka beer (I took some to the airport but they never got home). The Zavis12% had a sweetish start but got more bitter down the glass and a long bitter, grapefruity finish which takes a while to develop. The kvasnicove Otakar was a mix of yeast, malt and hops and that characteristic dry bitter finish. My final half litre of draught beer in the Czech Republic was the Policka Zavis kvasnicovy which was slightly smokey with a lovely bitter middle and a long dry grapefruity finish. Then it was time to use Prague's cheap and efficient transport system to get to the airport drink my bottles of Policka beer and reflect on an amazing adventure.

Cheers

Chris Greenwood