A beer trip to Prague and Pilsen for lager lovers
The Czech Republic is the spiritual home of pale lager. A few days between Prague and Pilsen teaches you how Czechs pour, serve and drink it and why it tastes different there.
Why lager lovers go to Bohemia
In 1842 the brewery in Plzeň (Pilsen) brewed the first golden lager, using pale malt, soft local water, Saaz hops and bottom-fermenting yeast. The style it created, Pilsner, became the template for most of the world's beer. Going there lets you taste the original idea close to its source.
Czech pale lager is fuller and softer than many international lagers. Expect a rich bready malt, a firm but rounded bitterness and sometimes a touch of diacetyl, a buttery note that is accepted in some traditional Czech lagers but treated as a fault in many other styles.
Reading a Czech beer menu
Czech menus often list beer by degrees, such as 10° or 12°. That number refers to the original gravity of the wort in degrees Plato, not alcohol. A 10° beer, called výčepní, is lighter, usually around 4% ABV. A 12° beer, called ležák, is the classic premium lager, usually around 5%. Darker lagers appear as tmavé, amber ones as polotmavé.
Comparing a strong Indian lager with a Czech 12° is instructive. Our guide to tasting a strong Indian lager against a Pilsner sets out how.
Learn the pours
Czech bartenders take pouring seriously and the style of pour changes the beer:
- Hladinka: the standard pour, beer with a thick, wet head on top.
- Šnyt: a glass about two-thirds foam with beer below, for a small taste.
- Mlíko: a glass almost entirely of wet foam, drunk quickly. It tastes sweet and creamy.
The dense foam is not a short pour. It protects the beer and changes how bitterness comes across. Try all three at least once.
Tank beer and why freshness matters
Many Prague pubs serve tankové pivo, tank beer. It arrives unpasteurised from the brewery and is stored in large tanks in the pub cellar rather than kegs. Fresh, unpasteurised lager kept cold tastes noticeably livelier than the same beer after a long trip.
That is part of why Czech lager tastes different at home than in India. Lager is fragile. Heat, light and time all strip it. Drinking it fresh, cold and close to the brewery is the best version you will get.
A day in Pilsen
Pilsen is around one and a half hours from Prague by train, an easy day trip. The Pilsner Urquell brewery runs guided tours that include the historic cellars, where you can usually taste unfiltered lager from an oak barrel. Book the tour online ahead of time, especially at weekends.
Leave time for the town as well. Several pubs pour the beer fresh from tanks and a walk around the old square is pleasant between tastings.
Other Czech beer towns worth a detour
If you have more than three days, look beyond Prague and Pilsen. České Budějovice in South Bohemia, known in German as Budweis, has its own long brewing tradition and is home to the Budvar brewery. It is a few hours from Prague by train and pairs well with a visit to nearby Český Krumlov.
Small brewpubs and village breweries are spread across the country too. Many brew only for their own tap room and make styles you will not see in Prague, such as a strong dark lager in winter or an unfiltered kvasnicové pivo, beer with fresh yeast added before serving.
The Czech rail network makes these trips easy. Buy tickets at the station or online and check return times before you settle into a pub. Our guide to a pub trip around Britain covers another country where trains make beer travel simple.
Prague pubs and pacing
Prague has historic beer halls, small brewpubs and neighbourhood pubs. In traditional pubs, the server may bring a new beer as soon as your glass is nearly empty. Put a beer mat on top of your glass when you have had enough. The server marks your beers on a slip at the table and you pay at the end.
Czech lager is easy to drink and pours come quickly. Eat, drink water and keep count. Prague's trams and metro are good, so there is no reason to drive.
Taste the detail
Czech lager rewards careful tasting. The differences between two 12° lagers are small: a little more malt here, a softer bitterness there, a hint of butter in one. Write short notes on malt, bitterness, carbonation and finish for each.
Picking up diacetyl or the gentle sulphur of fresh lager takes practice. Training on reference samples makes those notes obvious instead of vague.
Your first step: book the Pilsen brewery tour for a weekday and plan your Prague pubs around trying a hladinka, a šnyt and a mlíko.
Common questions
What does 12° mean on a Czech beer menu?
It refers to the original gravity of the wort in degrees Plato, not alcohol. A 12° lager is usually around 5% ABV and a 10° around 4%.
What is tank beer in Prague?
Tankové pivo is unpasteurised lager delivered from the brewery and kept in large cellar tanks at the pub, so it tastes very fresh.
How far is Pilsen from Prague?
About one and a half hours by train, which makes it an easy day trip.
