Drinking beer in Prague

Czech Republic and beer belong together. The brewery density is very high and so we started in Prague to visit the first breweries and taste the beers.

We will present breweries in Prague:

• DVA Kohouti
• Lokál
• Staropramen
• Restaurace U Pinkasů
• Brewerie and Restaurant U Fleků

DVA Kohouti

In the district of Karlín you can find the brewery DVA Kohouti, which means brewery “Two cocks”. It is one of the breweries in Prague that is particularly popular with the young public.

Through a courtyard entrance you come to a courtyard with numerous benches and tables. Here is the entrance to the small brewery, which opened here at the end of 2018.
Adam Matuška (well-known brewer of the region) together with Lukáš Svoboda (multi-award winning bartender) has created the brewery according to the motto “We bring together two craft activities: Brewing and pouring.” opened the brewery, which since then has become more and more popular. Thus, brewing in the morning and drinking in the afternoon and evening.

When you enter the hall on the first floor, you are almost in the middle of the brewery. The brewhouse is at the front and there is also a row of storage tanks. Otherwise, there are bar tables and some beer benches, all rather practical and less cozy.

Above the bar you can see which beers are currently on offer. It varies depending on the season or action of the brewery. One beer is brewed directly on site, Místní Ležák 12°, the twelve-grain “Local Lager” with 4.9% alcohol. So our choice was clear. The second beer was an IPA.

Here you order the beer at the counter, pay at the cash register and pick up the beer with the receipt from the tapper. There is no service at the table, no food only beer!

With the beer in hand, you then look for a place. We were drawn outside to the fresh air and found a place at a table. “Na zdraví” and the first sip of beer runs down the throat. Both beers tasted fresh and full-bodied. The IPA was a bit stronger in taste, but still the “house beer” could easily keep up.

We visited the brewery for a second time in the summer. This time there were summery beers with a fruity flavor that tasted so palatable that you almost forgot the alcohol.

We liked the brewery very much, the beer was tasty.

Address:

Dva kohouti
Sokolovská 81/55
186 00 Praha 8- Karlín

Restaurants of the Lokál Group

Lokál restaurant belongs to a chain that has stores not only in Prague. Here you can eat very hearty, but many visitors are attracted here because of the beer. We saw some of the restaurants and one thing was the same in all of them. It was full – really full. To get a table whether in the guest room or if available outside is often a matter of luck, here you should reserve. Yes, and because the seats are scarce, you just take the beer to the street, stand together and talk.

We are always drawn to the Lokál, because here we get one of the best dark beers we have drunk so far: the dark Kozel Černý on tap!

The beer comes from the Velké Popovice brewery, a company of the Pilsner Urquell brewery. We like the beer very much, it is smooth and full-bodied – simply drinkable.

The restaurants offer food on a fairly standardized menu. There may be regional differences, but it is always hearty, good and plentiful. However, you should know that most of the dishes on the menu are served without side dishes. These must be ordered separately.

We had ribs and schnitzel. It was good and tasted great. Just the right food to go with a good beer!

Staropramen

At the Staropramen Brewery Prague Visitor Center, every visitor, even those who do not take part in a guided tour, has the opportunity to drink freshly tapped beer.

When we were there, there was hardly any visitors. The tours were hardly visited and thus also the taproom very empty. Normally, this is probably not the case, we were told, and it can happen that you have to wait a moment for a free table. But you are compensated with freshly tapped Staropramen. Something you should definitely wait for.

We tried four different beers. There was something for every taste.

Staropramen Premium

A light premium lager with the oldest recipe of the brewery (1871). Bohemian and Bavarian malt and hops from the Žatec region are used. The alcohol content is 5%.

The beer tastes slightly malty and has a pleasant hop note. Only later do you notice the bitterness of the pilsner.

Staropramen Černý Ležák

The dark beer has an alcohol content of 4.4%. Four different types of malt are used for the beer: Bohemian malt, Bavarian malt, caramelized malt and colored malt.

Staropramen Granát

Staropramen Granát is a semi-dark lager with a beautiful ruby color. With its alcohol content of 5.5%, it is the strongest beer we drink that day. The beer is brewed from three types of malt (Bohemian, Bavarian and caramelized) and is triple hopped.

Staropramen Nefiltrovaný

The most surprising beer for me is the unfiltered pale ale. For the beer, the brewer uses Bohemian malt and wheat malt. The beer has an alcohol content of 5.0%.

Restaurace U Pinkasů

When it was founded in 1843, U Pinkasů was the first restaurant in Prague to serve Pilsner Urquell bottom-fermented lager. Perhaps the beer even flowed from the tap that I discovered in the restaurant’s cellar.

However, we didn’t visit the restaurant for the interior, we wanted to see the beer garden. It is truly unique and is located on the grounds of the adjacent Franciscan garden. Here you sit in a rather narrow beer garden right next to Gothic architectural elements and can enjoy a beer in comfort. The following varieties are on offer: Pilsner Urquell, Velkopopovický Kozel dark, Radegast Birell

Of course there is also something to eat. Traditional Bohemian dishes are on offer. We chose a hearty sausage and a stew as the basis for our beer.

Address:

Jungmannovo náměstí 16, 110 00 Prague 1

Opening hours:

daily 10-22.30

U Fleků brewery and restaurant

One of the most famous breweries in Prague is U Fleků. The brewery has existed since 1499 and beer has been brewed here ever since.

There are eight halls and a large beer garden with over 1000 seats. The halls, which vary in size, can of course also be hired for events. The U Fleků is actually always full, with international visitors flocking to the beer garden when the temperatures are nice. If you don’t have a reservation here, you’ll need a bit of luck to get a seat at peak times.

The 13° dark lager is particularly popular. It is brewed from 4 types of Gesten malt and has a truly inimitable taste.

Address:

Křemencova 1651, 110 00 Prag, Tschechien