A sparkling itinerary along the Beer Road in Czech Republic, between historical and modern beers home of the famous Pilsner beer. In every mouth that you drink in Prague or Bohemia there is a world of culture, tradition and craftsmanship, which can be discovered with a tour along the Birra Road in Czech winding city in village, brewery, factory in laboratory, museum tasting.
Inside the Czech borders there is a true tourism of beer, which reveals traditional or very unusual recipes (such as beer with coffee or cherry), but also unique and unexpected places and above all leads into an ancient history, which traces hops growing back to 859 BC. and the birrification around the thousand.
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The Beer Road in Czech
Any sparkling tour can certainly start from Prague, whose center is dotted with historic beers. First of all the famous U Fleku, founded in 1499 and the oldest in the whole country. A real novelty is the new praghese micro-brewery baptized simply Pivovar (Birrificio). A perhaps trivial name for a location far from obvious: the place is located nothing less than in the middle of the river Moldava, precisely in the hold of a boat, from which you can thus taste your mouth of beer admiring a splendid view of the city of Prague, full of water.
Pilsen the cradle of Pilsner
The Beer Road in Czech It winds mainly in Bohemia, the real home of Czech beer and the cradle of the most beloved among all blondes: the Pilsner, which owes its name to the city of Pilsen.
It was here that in 1842, in an era of dark and peat beers, they invented a revolutionary method of fermentation and brewing (lager). The merit goes to the historic Pilsner Urquell brewery (www.pilsner-urquell.cz), which today is at the same time factory, brewery, monument and museum. The interactive visit of the plant reveals every secret of the entire supply chain, from the hops to the bottle.
Born in 1842 from the experimentation of the Pilsen brewery – where already from 1200 a dark and peat beer was produced – it is the first lager in history, light and strawberry, then "copied" beyond the border and today synonymous precisely with light beer. Pilsner Urquell is a well-established brand everywhere. All this and much more is told in Museum of the Beer of Pilsen.
Around the whole country, however, and for Bohemia in particular, old and new breweries, big and micro open their doors today to anyone who wants to discover something more about that gold nectar that so much likes and so much has to tell. In many organize guided tours "behind the scenes", which end in beauty with compelling tastings.
Hop and Beer Temple in Zatec
The picturesque town of Zatec, in Louny district, in Bohemia, is another must. For centuries it has been famous especially for the hops of extraordinary quality, the main ingredient of the extraordinary Czech beer, renowned all over the world and produced here since ancient times. As evidenced, among other things, the discovery in the city of the tomb of the oldest Czech brewer.
Today, beer from Zatec’s excellent hops is dedicated to beer l’Hop and Beer Templein the heart of the city. The temple of beer in the name and in fact, the structure – a kind of oasis-adventure dedicated to the brassicolo world – more than a "simple" beer buns, possibly accompanied by gastronomic specialties in the beer-restaurant, offers a truly unique experience.
Prepare for treasure hunt, alchemists workshop, mirror house, hops lighthouse with stunning views of the city from the 3D lift, a river of virtual beer to be earned, a route with harness inside a chimney, the maze between hops bags, the museum dedicated to the cultivation of the so-called green gold from the Middle Ages to today and the extraordinary astronomical clock of hops.
Stop at Ceske Budejovice for a Budweiser
Along the Beer Road in Cechia you can not visit Ceske Budejovice, home to another Czech blonde celeberrima: the Budweiser. The Budweiser Budvar brewery (www.budweiser.cz) uses only ingredients grown on site, water fished by artesian wells more than 300 meters deep and beer masters of all respect. Visiting the factory, it turns out how well a successful coexistence between tradition and innovation makes beer.
The birifying tradition of Ceske Budejovice would date back to 1265, when King Ottokar II of Bohemia granted the city the right of production. In order to discover the secrets of yesterday and today, in addition to a nice mouthpiece, we recommend the guided tour of the historic brewery: Budejovicky Budvar Narodny Podnik (BBNP).
The micro-breeders of Bohemia
Many are the micro-breweries scattered throughout the region, often housed in historic buildings or castles. Among these the brewery Pivovar Eggenberg (www.eggenberg.cz) Cesky Krumlov and Kozel (http://pivovar.kozel.cz) by Velke Popovice who even thought of a path for children and boys. Charming visit to the brewery of Detenice Castle (www.krcmadetenice.cz), where recipe and method are still those of 300 years ago and an orignale museum photographs centuries of history and beer art.
More castle, more beer. The ancient brewery Pivovar Herold in Breznice (www.heroldbeer.com) is housed in a baroque manor and its beer, award-winning and exported all over the world, rests in old cellars of 500 years.
Finally a curiosity for the most entertaining: in Olomuouc, the brewery Moritz (www.hostinec-moritz.com) offers, in addition to traditional guided tours, courses for aspiring beer masters. On one day you can learn a lot and even try to produce a beer all your own!
