A few dozen miles east of Prague, the Elbe drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and grayish. The water is warm in summer too, for it has slipped twinkling over the hills in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. And Pardubice. Thanks for the sip of inspiration, John!
Pardubice is generally a nice autumnal day trip from Prague. You hop on a train and (provided it’s not delayed, a common occurrence in this neck of the woods), you’re there in about an hour. The fortunate ones might even get a slice of cake on the train. Don't wash it down with the train coffee, however, even if it's complimentary. There’s a great coffee roastery just a few minutes from Pardubice train station, and I have a hunch @honeydue will cover it quite soon in a dedicated post. Mine’s about beer, though. And men. So, let’s skip some of its architectural gems and make a quick flyby of the castle and head to the outskirts—to the U Vojtěchů microbrewery. It’s about to tell us the fable of Beer and Men.
Once upon a time (a hundred and one years ago, to be precise), František and Anna Vojtěch opened an inn in Studánka, a village back then, which has since been swallowed up by Pardubice. Here they are, accompanied by their son, František Jr.
Despite the 1930s crisis, the establishment did well, and even survived WWII, only to be confiscated by the communists in the early 1950s. Whether by luck or by strings pulled behind the scenes, Anna kept the inn, in a way; she was appointed as restaurant manager—something many other private business owners could only dream of.
Anna proved resilient, and not only when facing the communist iniquities. In fact, she outlived two dictatorships and regained the property in the 1990s—she must have been almost 100 years old by then! The inn was repurposed as a restaurant with a bowling alley and officially transferred to Anna’s grandsons, Petr and Pavel, who run the establishment to this day. Where’s the beer, you might ask?
No Czech inn or restaurant can do without beer. But Anna’s great-grandson Martin started brewing his own beer in the cellars in 2020, turning the restaurant into one of some 500 Czech craft microbreweries. And here’s where the fable begins. It tells a story of fears, doubts and uncertainties. And, perhaps, of an Eastern Bloc resentment that is still lingering in countries from the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. That fearful, nagging voice in our heads that whispers to us that local products from private farmers just can't be any good; that they're overpriced and just trying to rip us off anyway. So we're better off just heading to Lidl for some 'deluxe' items at a reasonable price. Never mind that they're flavorless, as long as they're pumped full of chemical junk. Yummy!
Just look at the lineup above: Our craft beer (poctivá—a word some people mock, or even fear for some reason) on the left; Pilsner Urquell on the right. While local beers are clearly far superior (read more about my visit to Pilsen and its beer scene here), it would make no sense to opt for Pilsner Urquell even if they weren’t. The industrial beer travels about two hundred kilometers to get here, and it likely suffers along the way. Besides, you can get it literally everywhere. The local brews are simply local. They travel 30 meters, tops, from the tank directly to your table. Why would anyone go for the pricier, less special, and simply worse-tasting alternative?
Yet some “beer pundits” are still stuck somewhere in 1992, lobbying for Pilsner Urquell. And many people just distrust local products of any kind—while sitting there for about two hours, we witnessed more pints of Pilsner Urquell served than local brews. What a shame.
On the other hand, the brewery lacks the guts to drop Pilsner Urquell from the tap and stand boldly by its own beers. Or even expand its offerings—I hoped to sample the local specialties, like a banana ale aptly named Vopičák (Monkey Boy) or Černokněžník (Black Wizard), an oatmeal stout that I thought would please @honeydue the most. Yet no luck. Only three beers were on tap, two of them being the most typical Czech style—Bohemian Lager. Would the locals dare to drink these? Or are they stubbornly attached to the well-known but mediocre, overpriced brand? And what does this beer fable tell us about men?
Beers
12° Aviatik, Bohemian Lager
As the selection was far from overwhelming and we were quite thirsty after walking most of the day—partly around the Prague main train station (don’t trust the schedules!), but mainly in Pardubice—we quenched our thirst with two types of Bohemian lager. Aviatik is, in fact, inspired by the German approach to the style, being brewed using Munich and Vienna malts, which makes it a shade or two less pale, and more aromatic on the malty side. Hops are less prominent, as it lacks the Saaz hops distinctive of Pilsen-style beers. Overall, this brew is well-balanced and pairs smoothly with traditional Czech sauced dishes, yet it was the weakest of the three we sampled.
11° Podlipák, Bohemian Pilsner
The beer the Pilsen brewmasters should take inspiration from. A proper Pilsner, with just the right herbal tones in both aroma and flavor. The pleasant aftertaste that lingered only added to its charms. Quite easy to drink; no flaws whatsoever. We instantly agreed it was the superior of the lagers on tap.
13° Kosmos, IPA
A rather unconventional IPA brewed with recently cultivated Czech hop varieties like Jupiter, Saturn, or Venus. Lacks some of the typical citrusy flavors, adds a bit of nectarine instead. It’s milder than a standard IPA, skipping the often lingering, intense grapefruit or orange-peel bitterness. Not particularly wrong, though. It is a rather summery, soft IPA for those who don’t like the strong ones. The second-best beer of the three.
I’d love to invite @livinguktaiwan to participate in #BeerSaturday! Even if you're not a huge beer buff (I guess), it's really all about the travel and tasting experience, isn't it? 😉
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Whoot what a nice and well made post.
Was looking to see @honeydue sipping a beer at one of your pixs....
Maybe next time, we have to save something for the next beer posts ;)
A rare sight, but I hear she enjoyed these :)
I was in Prague once and I’d love to visit again . I’m currently reading the new Dan Brown book which is based in Prague as well.
It's a thing lately. Not really a fan o his though :)
Let me know if you're around, I may have a few non-touristy tips up my sleeve.
I tend to agree . So much so I drafted this
Heh :))
Love the history lesson and learning more about the cradle of beer origins in your region! I am almost jealous of the combination of breweries having more history than our country, and the new innovations in brewing going on there.
Then, I look closer at that cool old stuff we have on this side of the pond. Also blows me away that Urquell can travel way further to the shelves here and be cheaper than the stuff brewed right in this region.
What is the abv on that ipa? Seems like something I would really enjoy.
Well, you're quite innovative yourself, sir, aren't ya? :))
The sad fact is that Urquell is just a mediocre industrial brew - it's cheaper outside Czechia just because people abroad aren't willing to pay for the brand while many Czechs are. However, the Canadian ones might actually be brewed somewhere in Canada under the PU license, that's what many large brands do. Still better than shipping beer over the ocean.
I didn't note that, but as it was generally weaker than average IPAs, my best guess would be somewhere around 5.5%.
Ya molson/coors brews it over here. I would rather that than most of what they brew for themselves but it has been years since I had one.
Sometimes, we mistakenly brew a session IPA with all the hops of the big IPA just the sugar doesn't get up enough to produce the target of 6.3% abv. Some of them turn out awesome while others just don't have the proper alchohol to balance out the hops and they taste a little thinner and almost grainy.
Still better than pissy pilsner though! ;)
Definitely!
I would've hoped for some black magic, but these weren't bad, either. :)
Perhaps next time, winter suits these black styles great ;)
Thanks, @scrooger!
Thanks!
What a special place that combines history with modernity.