Of Beer and Hiveans: The Prague Mini Meetup

“I don’t drink beer at all. I simply don’t like the taste, dude.” Yes, I keep getting these grumbles when preaching about my favorite beverage—liquid gold, as we Czechs call it. “No way! Everyone loves beer. Some just haven’t stumbled on their style yet. Let me show you!” I usually push back. Forget all those well-marketed industrial brews. Well-known, yet mediocre at best. Instead, let’s hop on a roller coaster of tastes, flavors, and aromas. Let’s visit a proper craft microbrewery instead (while hoping it’s not in a place where the locals are wary of sampling local production, as described in my recent fable, Of Beer and Men).

Apparently, I can be quite persuasive. Or was it just a rookie mistake that @mipiano and @ph1102 booked their Prague stay right across the street from the nearest microbrewery? Nah, you can’t really blame them; we have breweries almost everywhere.

This one actually blends faith and science. It occupies two floors of the Research Institute of Brewing and Malting, one of the oldest research institutions in Central Europe, which was founded in 1887. What else could we Czechs have been researching for over a century, besides hiking and our questionable fashion sense? As for faith, the microbrewery is now a branch of the Břevnov Monastery Brewery (see my post from there), which happens to be the oldest one around. It was founded over a thousand years ago. Praised be Saint Adalbert of Prague, who first ordered the monks to brew beer!

As yesterday was Saint Martin’s Day, the place was bursting at the seams. It's one of the very rare occasions on which Czech restaurants offer a special seasonal menu, sometimes even in the countryside! I hadn’t booked a table, though, as we were supposed to gather way past the usual Czech dining time. This leap of faith, dare I say, landed us in the cellar until we were kindly asked to head upstairs just before closing time.

Okay, let's do one for posterity. Sorry for the pun, Mr. Waits. I couldn’t pass it up!

Just brewing: NEIPA 13°

So much for the place; let me briefly introduce the brews we sampled. I did not take notes this time; @mipiano did. And I have a hunch her beer post will read rather differently from mine. Like an exploration of the New Beer World through the Ninth Symphony @honeydue discovered in an eccentric vinyl store. But that’s a completely different story.

Nothing beery and nothing alcoholic. A tough task, one might say. Not for a real beer buff—Maisel's Weisse Alkoholfrei fits the bill, and @mipiano even learned to pour it like a pro by the end of the night.

Maisel's Weisse Alkoholfrei & Dark Bohemian Lager

Knowing @honeydue’s refined palate, I figured the Plum and Cinnamon Sour Ale sounded just right. Not only for her; it turned out to be @ph1102’s beer of choice that night too. For those of you not familiar with sours yet: Yes. It really does taste like plums and cinnamon. And it is very sour thanks to the lactic fermentation involved in this style.

My first guess for PH, though, was a proper Dark Bohemian Lager I covered in the post from the monastery. I ended up finishing it myself, which I didn’t mind at all. It went great with my goulash anyway.

Saint Martin’s Day is commonly associated with opening the first wine of the year, which is rather plain and tasteless to me—I am not that fond of young wines in general. However, the seasonal specialty, Rye Bohemian Amber Lager, fits the festive goose dish well, too. Besides, I could hardly resist a rye lager—you don’t stumble across them often, at least in the last two centuries. The body showcases the typical rye-lager notes of earthiness and spice. It is a full, heavy beer with pleasant creaminess on the palate. Hop bitterness is lower than in Pilsners, yet still noticeable, especially in the aftertaste.

And last but not least: @mipiano’s favorite brew. Sadly, the coffee lager comes only bottled, even at the monastery. The glasses may be teeny tiny, but don't be misled—they're for tasting, as the beer isn't extremely strong. All four of us shared the bottle as a digestif. Coffee is pretty dominant on the palate, outshining chocolate and nutty flavors.

As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed the evening—meeting Hiveans from all over the globe is always fun. If you’re about to visit Prague, feel free to reach out to me!

I’d love to invite @bitterirony to participate in #BeerSaturday! Even if you're not a huge beer buff, it's really all about the travel and tasting experience, isn't it? 😉

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