Another Czech and Slovak Republic Adventure.

Between 17^th April and 1^st May 2011 I returned to the Czech and Slovak Republics to visit some new places and some old stomping grounds. The beer in both countries has a different strength measurement to ours. It’s in degrees not %. A 10 degree beer (pivo) is around 4%, an 11 degree about 4.5%, 12 degrees are 5%ish. The 13 degree beers and above are pretty strong. For the rest of the article I’m just going to write the number after the beer and you can take it for granted it’s in degrees. There are quite a few beer (pivo) styles to look out for. Svetle is light, cerny and tmavy dark, polotmavy is usually light brown. Some pivovars do fruit beers especially visnove which is a cherry beer and weisse beers are becoming more popular too.

The trip started in Brno, the second biggest city in the Czech Republic. It’s a pleasant city with a castle on the hill, an impressive cathedral and plenty of pretty buildings and churches. The beer scene in the city has really improved, especially on and around a main road just out of the centre called Stefanikova, where I happened to be staying. My first drink was in one of the Hostel Fleda bars, Pivnice Netopyr on Stefanikova 24. The bar is rough and ready, full of posers but does have a rotating guest from a micro with a big turnover . I tried the Oslavany  Zamacky 12 which was unfiltered and unpasteurised. There has been a trend over the last few years to produce such beers. This 12 was quite bitter with some fruitiness and yeastiness. A few doors up is the Iron Horse a beautifully restored cellar bar with vaulted ceilings and a good choice of beers from a variety of breweries. It seems some of the regional breweries (pivovars) have got together to supply a chain of bars with their beers, under part or full ownership of the K Brewery group. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing but at least the company is Czech and it means a good choice of beers in some cities. At the Iron Horse I drank the Schwarzenberg 10 by Platan, soft and gentle with a mix of hops and malt. The Nepasterovana by the Klaster brewery and a new wheat beer by the Cerna Hora pivovar, which was a mix of banana and clove flavours. The next bar was a smokey locals bar just off Stefanikova on Skrivanova 8 called Hostinec U Schindlerky. This bar had beers from the Dudak brewery and two guests from micros. That evening I tried the Chotebar Extra Horky 12. A lovely hoppy beer with a long bitter finish. The service was friendly and helpful. This was the case in nearly all the places I drank in. I finished the evening in a bar just around the corner on Stancove 15 called Pivnice Umice which was a pleasant relaxed place serving some beers from the Policka brewery. I tried the Zavis Nefiltrovane 12. A nice hoppy beer this is.

The next day I planned to go to two brewery taps at the Dalesice and Oslavany pivovars. It took a bit of planning by public transport but it is possible. The IDOS Czech and Slovak timetable websites are very good. Faced with a bit of a wait at a few bus stops or stations, I hitch hiked, getting lifts straight away, giving me more time for beer.

The Dalesice brewery tap was relaxed and housed in a nice old building. They had three beers on tap. The Dalesice 11 was a refreshing balance of hops and malt and went down very quickly. The Majove svelte 13 was a bit one dimensional, very malt dominated. The Fledermaus tmavy 13 was a nice mix of caramel and coffee.

Next I hitched to Oslavany. The brew pub is in an old building that is part of the zamek (chateau). Another pretty old building with vaulted ceilings serving three unpasteurised, unfiltered beers. The two light beers the 10 and 12 were quite rough but the polotmave Frantisek was better, quite nutty.

L- R Dalcise Pivovar, Oslavany Brewpub, Magistr Brewpub

On my return to Brno, I tried some more pubs on and around Stefanikova. At number 25 you will find Pivnice U Kadleca. This roomy bar sells two beers from the Kout Na Sumava pivovar. The 10 degree beer was crisp with a gentle hop finish. A few streets away on Hrnciriska 23 is a new brew pub called Magistr. You enter past two gleaming coppers into a friendly relaxed long bar area. My first beer the polotmave Magistr Kelly was disappointing. It was too malty with a cardboardy finish. Things improved greatly with the next pivo, the Cerny Andel 13 which had a coffee nose and a mix of berry fruit and coffee in the finish, very black for a Czech cerny. I finished with a Visnove 13. A very dry start led to a strong black cherry finish. Most visnoves have three or four actual cherries at the bottom of the glass, a nice snack to finish with. My last drink of the day was back at Pivnice Netopyr, an easter special from Oslavany, the Velikonocnicerna Kraskia 12. You definitely ask in English or point at the board to order that one. A good dark fruity beer with some roasted barley in the finish. 

The next destination on my trip was Olomouc. Of course this was via three brewery taps. My first stop was Vyskov. It has a pretty main square with an impressive town hall and main church. The down to earth, cheap and popular brewery tap had a good selection of beers from the Vyskov brewery. Last time I went on a Saturday they only had one beer on! First up was the Rezak 11, a dark beer with caramel and sugar on the tongue but with some liqourice notes and bitterness. Then I had Dzban 11 which was crisp and quite hoppy, very easy to drink. The Breznak 12 was bittersweet with a pleasant hoppy finish. One of favourite beers of the trip was next, the General 14. It had a beautiful grapefruity nose and finish and was packed with hops, lovely. The dearest pivo was around 60p. I just had time before the next train to pop into the bottle shop and buy two bottles of the excellent Jubiler 16 another really hoppy and grapefruity beer, similar to General but stronger.

My next stop was Prerov. It looks quite ugly around the train station but there is a really pretty square and some impressive larger buildings near the Zubr pivovar. The brewery tap has been tastefully refurbished and I tried a Zubr Tmavy 10 which was very sweet and sugary with caramel and a little bitterness in the finish.

I caught the train to Lipnik Nad Becvou. Lipnik is a very pretty town with some impressive churches, a lovely clock tower and beautiful main square. Just off the main square on Ulice 28 Rijna is the Sports Bar microbrewery. It consists of one very small room, a betting shop and an outside seating area in a pretty vaulted arcade. The landlord needed to man the betting shop so he gave me three half litre glasses, all of which were nearly full for the price of one, which was very generous. The single pivo, Lipnicky Special 11 was sweet and malty to start but had a decent bitter finish.

I finally arrived in Olomouc in the early evening. Olomouc is a really attractive city. There’s an impressive cathedral, plenty of interesting, different style churches, a really picturesque main square and an astronomical clock with moving figures. For me it’s one of the prettiest Czech cities. The city also has quite a few good bars The first one I tried was Hospudka U Madony on Sokolska 38 / 6. This relaxed bar had six beers from regionals. I drank the Modra Luna by Cerna Hora. The beer is a nice balance of blueberries and gentle bitterness.

The next bar was the really friendly U Dvou Strasidel, on Komenskho 7 . There were five beers on tap from the K Group portfolio. I drank quite a few Lobkowicz Merlin 14 Dark. This beer was very stout- like with a nice mix of cold coffee and dark chocolate with a good bitter finish. At the bar I met a really friendly languages lecturer and some of his friends and students and had a good chat about beer, education, travelling and places I’d been to in the Czech Republic. The bar was very busy and had a really good atmosphere. My last port of call that day was to the recently relocated micro Svatovaclavske Pivne Lazne on Marianske 4. The bar was buzzing and very busy with gleaming brewery coppers and a large choice of beers and plenty of younger drinkers. The Visnove had a nice fruity nose, was very pale and dry with the cherry flavours becoming stronger as you went down the glass. Then I had the excellent Cerna Pivo Pana Brana 13. A good, bitter, dark beer with plenty of cold coffee flavour.

What a great day. 

Most of the next day was spent in Olomouc sightseeing, taking in a few bars. The other brew pub, Moritz, is a really well renovated downstairs bar with stained glass windows and lots of dark wood. There are three beers available but they’re not to my taste (a bit too sweet and malty for me but maybe not for you). I had the Moritz Maisel 11 which was much better than last visit. It was more balanced with some bitterness as well as a big malt body. The pub is very popular and gets very busy. It’s on Neserova 2. You often find Czechs in the pub for lunch as early as 10.30 or 11.00 and bars tend to be quite quiet around 2pm until early evening.

I took one of the many buses to nearby Litovel to visit the Litovel brewery tap. It’s a bit of a walk and I was disappointed to find the tap shut. There was a beer garden with a small serving hatch but they only had two beers on. I drank the rare unfiltered Litovel Kvasnicak 11 which was yeasty and malty with some bitterness in the finish. Whilst waiting for the train I went to the down to earth bar next door to the station. The Litovel 11 was well balanced and refreshing.

Back in Olomouc, I returned to Pivne Lazne on Marianska 4 to try the Vasek 10. Quite a complex beer with a sweet start, then bitterness, then the reappearance of the sweetness but a bitter finish. The Heffe Weizen was quite bitter with a lemony finish. The Svatovaclavska 12 had a satisfying grapefruit, hoppy taste with a long lasting bitter finish. My final beer was very strange. It was called Rezane Panajosta and was light at the top and dark at the bottom. It had a bitter start and a nutty and bitter finish. Since I had such a good evening the night before, I went back to U Dvou Strasidel. The teacher and his mates were there again happy to chat. One lad was going to University in Alaska to study piano! The beer choice wasn’t so good. I tried a Jezek 11 Kvasnicovy, a decent mix of malt and hops and a rather sweet Klaster 12. To end the evening I wanted to go to a good free house called U Kudeja on Krapova (honest!) This small, atmospheric bar was very busy with some impromptu folk music starting up and five beers from micros and regionals. I had the Valasek 14 Kvasnicovy, yet another micro unfiltered pivo. It was yeasty, malty and slightly bitter. In Olomouc I stayed at the Poet’s Corner hostel which is well recommended. Clean, really friendly and relaxed. 

L- R Pivne Lazne, Lipnik Nad Becvou, Moritz Brewpub, Olomouc. 

I got up early next morning and caught a train to Uhersky Brod. Again, the town had some impressive churches, a decent town square, a zamak (chateau), really helpful tourist info. And a brewery and a brew pub. The Balkan Restaurace, minipivovar Zlaty Havran is past the zamek, through the park and it’s an unsigned white building on Na Dlouhych. It opens at 10am. I got there first but it soon started filling for lunch by 11am. I tasted the Zlaty Havran 10 first. It had a lot of bitterness on the tongue but became more malty down the glass. The 12 was similar but had a nice grapefruity aftertaste. The lady at the bar was very helpful and told me there was a Cerny 10 on also, so I had one. It tasted like a good English mild, with plenty of caramel and  some bitterness. The bigger brewery on the other side of town is the Janacek pivovar. I went in lots of their pubs but they all seemed to only have one Janacek pivo, the 11 degree Patriot. I drank it in the nearest pub to the brewery, the large locals bar U Kolleru on Neruda wher it was an easy drinking, nice balanced beer.

Next up was the bus into Slovakia (Trencin). The bus didn’t come and the driver tried to stop me getting on the next one! Shouting and looking very determined worked and they let me on. Trencin is worth a visit for its massive castle and synagogue art gallery, but, my final destination was Banska Bystrica. Banska Bystrica is a pretty city with a beautiful main street full of eye catching buildings. It is home to one of Slovakia’s better breweries in my opinion. You can find the Urpiner 10 and 12 on tap and bottles of the 16 degree and dark beer  (they are all 80p) in Bar 1 on Skuteckeho. It’s downstairs and very smokey!  The young people there were really friendly and wanted to know a lot about Britain. The 10 and 12 were both quite hoppy and enjoyable. There is a brew pub in Banska Bystrica too. It’s on Horna 52 and called Perla. It’s a large down to earth boozer, selling the sweet 11 degree for around 70p a half litre. If you fancy beer for breakfast it’s open at 9am!

L -R Balkan, Uhersky Brod - ERB, Banska Stiavnica - Bratislava, Bistro U Hemi - Bratislava Mestiansky Pivovar.

The next day I went on a really pretty train ride to Banska Stiavnica. The town has two zamoks ( a sort of castle) and some really pretty buildings. There is a new brew pub in the centre on Novozamoka called ERB Pivovar. Housed in a beautiful old building with impressive, gleaming coppers and five brews, it was a pleasant place to relax and take a break. The ERB 10 was a good simple bitter lager, very refreshing on a hot day. ERB svelte 12 was a little sweeter with more malt. The Weizen was too malty and one dimensional. The last two beers were better. The Udene Lezak was in the style of a Rauchbier. It was a good attempt, the beer was quite smokey. The ERB Lezak Tmavy was a nice mix of caramel and cold coffee which I enjoyed. It was quite expensive and seemed aimed at tourists but a nice place for a pivo.

The next day entailed a four hour bus ride to Kosice. Slovakia is quite mountainous and very pretty and the journey flew by. Kosice has a beautiful town square with some magnificent churches, especially the cathedral. Near the square, on Dominikanska Namesti is the Golem brew pub, serving Svetle and Tmavy pivo. I was in a real hurry and confused the woman at the bar by asking for a light and dark lager, in very bad Slovak, at the same time. I wasn’t keen on the sweet malty Svetle but the Tmavy a good body and plenty of liquorice notes.

A quick dash across the city got me the train for Poprad. There’s lots of beautiful scenery around here, including the magnificent High Tatras. There’s a Tatran Pivovar on the edge of town. The brewery tap is a rambling dark wooded bar with one very malty Tatran beer on tap. A few other bars around the town also sell the beer but not many.

Well a week had past very quickly and on the Sunday I went sightseeing to the wonderful towns of Presov and Bardejov. Full of beautiful historical buildings and not overrun with tourists, they are both highly recommended for a visit.

L- R Vienna Salm Brau, Schwarzenberg, Pegas Brewpub.

On Easter Monday I went to Bratislava. Again a pretty place with a small and easily accessable centre. There are three brew pubs. Patronsky Pivovar is all glass and copper (interesting gents loo and wash basins). There are two beers the unfiltered, yeasty, doughy 11.5 Svetle and a very chocolatey Patron Tmavy 11. It had some coffee notes but chocolate / caramel malt dominated. It tasted like Saltaire Triple Chocaholic. The pub is a fair bit out on Brnianska 57 but bus 83 takes you there. The Bratislava Mestiansky Pivovar on Drevena 8 is a massive and popular bar, spread out over three floors. It just brews one very bitter Bratislavsky Leziak 12 and has a rare guest a Sessler Tmave which was quite coffee like with a bitter finish. The final brew pub is on Moscovska 16 called the Pivovar Richter Jakub. The night I went it was disappointing  They only had one of their three beers on, a very sweet Tmave 13. They did have a lot of guests but I felt too many were wheat beers. I tried an unfiltered 11 by  the Dobrovar micro. It was quite sour with some bitterness. I’m sure the bar is better other nights. Two other bars I spent some time in were the Bistro U Hemi on Sasinkova. This was a very down to earth locals bar selling Stein 12 from the now defunct Stein pivovar of Bratislava. Whoever brews it now does quite a good job as it is crisp and bitter and very easy to drink. Just across the road from the Presidential Palace is the rough and ready Mr. President Bar. Popular with all ages it sells cheap, Czech, Novopacke pivo. The Granat was really good, a nice mix of coffee and dark chocolate flavours.         

Bratislava is not too far from Vienna. There’s a train every hour . I went there for three days. Vienna is a very large city with lots of impressive, beautiful, historic buildings. There are many brewpubs. The beer (bier) here is really expensive, especially compared to the Czech and Slovak Republics. I did try three brew pubs and the rest of my beer came in bottles from Billa and Spar shops. The larger branches have good selections at good prices. The first micro I visited was the Salm Brau tap. The restaurant pub is on Rennweg next to a massive church and near the impressive Belvedere. It has a happy hour at 3pm to 6pm weekdays, making the beer very reasonable in price. The pub is really pretty and there are five beers on. I tried the Helles first. It was very soft and gentle with little flavour. The Pils claimed to have the best hops in the world. No chance! There was some bitterness to the beer but nothing like an Oakham or Vyskov beer. The Bohmisch Dunkel (dark) had more flavour with different types of malt. Again it tasted like a good mild, caramelly with some chocolate notes and some bitterness. It was a popular and busy pub as was the 1516 Brewing Company on Krugelstrasse. This was a rambling, large pub on two floors packed solid for the Man Utd. Versus Shalke 04 match. The beer was really expensive. The Lager was unfiltered and very soft and gentle with little flavour. The Schnitt was reddish and quite nutty. The pub was really smokey. The service was really good considering how busy the place was. Another day I was having a nice walk around the city and came across the Schwarzenberg micro. I went in and tried the Dunkles bier which was a nice mix of caramel and some hops. The pub is on Schelling Gasse 14.

Leaving Vienna I went to Hodonin in the Czech Republic via Breclav.

There is very little to recommend the town except for the roomy Minipivovar Kunc covered with beer related paintings. It’s on Narodni Trida264/10. I had the Svihak Svetle first, another unfiltered, unpasteurised beer which was sweet at first but had a really long lasting bitterness. Next up or should it be down ? Was the Malinove pivo. A really fruity beer. I’m not sure which fruit, maybe blackberry or blackcurrant. A lovely fruity nose is followed by a dry dark berry flavour that lingers for some time. The Cerne had a pleasant cold coffee flavour with a long bitter finish. The final beer was the Zazvorove pivo. Initially it was very grapefruity then a massive explosion of ginger hits you. A really interesting beer. I had two. After an enjoyable few hours at the Kunc pub, I got the bus to Brno. By now it was Saturday night. I went back to the Magistr pub and had the lovely Visnove and Cerne Andel. The Czechs love ice hockey so I went to Hostinec U Schindlerky to watch the Czechs play Latvia they won 4 – 1 and the locals were very happy. So was I because I had some more Chotebor Extra Horke, a lovely hoppy pivo. The pub also had the Rampusak unfiltered 12 which had some pineapple notes but was very malty and sweet. I was staying at Hostel Fleda again (not a very nice place). Their Netopyr bar had the quite rare Zvikosky Rarasek Psenicna 11, a wheat beer that fruit and clove notes.

Well two weeks had flown by and it was my final day. I had a pleasant walk around Brno. It started to rain really heavily just as I discovered the U Richard pub. They have a micro brewery in Brno Zebetin and have just opened a pub on Udolni 8 just behind the Masarky University. It was one of the few pubs open early on a Sunday. They had a good choice of beers. The Svetle Lezak 12 was quite sweet and malty and the Medove had plenty of honey in it, so was very sweet. The Merunka 12 was an apricot beer with a lovely fruity nose but a bit too malty. I saved my favourite Richard beer til last. Their Visnove is really nice. A nice nose and plenty of cherry flavour and a dry bitter finish. I guess a trip to Brno is not complete without a visit to the famous and popular micro. Pegas. Rather pricey but a lovely old building with atmospheric side rooms and a good Tmavy Lezak (they have three other beers too). After a quick pint at Pegas I popped into Tesco and had a nice bottle of Breznac 14 and a Regent Easter 12 Special then the bus took me to Brno airport and my flight home. What a great adventure!    

Cheers

Chris Greenwood