Beer Culture: How to Drink Like a True Local in Prague

Are you planning a trip to Prague and looking forward to all the beer you're going to try? Here's something you'll need - a guide for drinking like a true local.

This guest post is by Jenni Tulip of Jet2Holidays.com

Beer is to Prague what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, which isn’t to say that there’s nothing more to do in the Czech capital than drink – it’s just that beer really is that treasured by the city’s residents!

You might even hear it being referred to as ‘liquid bread’, and although beer doesn’t taste as good with butter and jam, it really is an essential part of the Prague daily diet.

In fact, beer has been around in the Czech Republic for more than 1000 years, and unsurprisingly the Czech Republic is the nation that consumes the most beer in the world, with around 156 litres per capita knocked back by Czech men and women each year.

It’s still true that you can enjoy a glass of beer in certain Prague bars for less than it costs to buy a bottle of water, but to experience pilsners, the authentic Czech beers at their best, you’ll need to find out where the locals drink.

In Prague, you have a mind-boggling array of pubs and bars to choose from in, including traditional local pubs (complete with thick clouds of cigarette smoke and moody oak decor) that you may have to stray some distance away from the touristy Old Town Square to discover.

Say Thanks for Tanks

However, if you’d rather stay close to the beaten path whilst visiting on flights to Prague, you can find plenty of great pubs in Prague that have retained their identity in the face of more commercial, traveller-friendly bars.

The most intriguing places to drink Czech beer in Prague are at what’s known as tankovna (tank) pubs, in which beers like Pilsner Urquell, Budvar and Staropramen are served straight from the on-site brewing tank in all of their fresh, unpasteurised, glory.

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Sure, that might give some people the heebie-jeebies, but Prague’s historic tank pubs like U Rudolfina, U Pinkasu and U Medviku are always packed to the rafters, so clearly the beer isn’t doing anyone any harm!

After all one of the main reasons that beer is pasteurised is to give it a longer shelf life, but if it’s being consumed straight from the tank, longevity simply isn’t a concern.

What’s more, pasteurisation eliminates many of the nuanced flavours of beer, so beers like Staropramen that you may have enjoyed in British bars may have an exciting new taste.

Charming: Microbreweries

Among the established tank pubs and bars of Prague you’ll also find an ever-increasing number of microbreweries, which are expanding the variety of Czech beers on offer and also helping to stave off the proliferation of pubs serving international, big-name beers.

Now, we won’t name names, but during your time in Prague we’d seriously recommend a frosty glass of a locally-brewed beer over any watery ‘American’ beer that’s been shipped in from China.

Cheers to that! 

Cover photo: iutelecomgrad.wordpress.com