An Evening in Plzen

So, I arrived in the town of Plzen by bus, fresh from my beer spa. As luck would have it, a huge billboard pointed the way to my hotel on the main central square, Náměstí Republiky. As I left the bus depot to walk the short distance, I became aware that someone was brewing, as that tell-tale sweet malt aroma filled the street. It was strongest outside of a little door with a sign above called U Sládka. Unbeknownst to me at that moment, I had wandered into Plzen's smallest and newest brewpub. The young brewer was shoveling out his 200 little mash tun as I entered the premises, one of the smallest I've seen on this trip. The friendly barkeep had spent some time in Canada and was fascinated by the story of my adventures, as she poured my a stein of their Pašák Světlý (See Beer of the Day, Oct. 8). They also had Pašák Speciál, a 12° golden amber hued and hazy brew, but with a flowery hop nose and a full head that slowly drops to nice lacing. A sweetish malt palate is immediately pulled down by the underlying hops giving good balance, a pleasant creamy mouthfeel and a somewhat dry finish. There was a darker guest beer available on tap, Polotmavý 12°, from a little brewery about 20 kilometers outside of Prague. This was a reddish amber coloured offering, well balanced with a lovely dry finish. The food on offer was great, I had ordered a cheese and meat plate, that came with generous amounts of both, plus some veggies and and good, fresh bread. Love this place! The brewer even gave me a taste of the sweet wort he was turning into Pašák Světlý in his kettle. By then it was time to go, so I continued on, to find and check into my hotel, after this great little lunch break.
Located right on the centre square, it was easy walking distance to anywhere in the city centre. Of course, top of my list was the famaous Senk na Parkanu pub, one of the very last places you can find Pilsner Urquell unfiltered and unpasteurized on tap. The Nefiltrovaný Ležák had an herbal hop aroma, big white, thick head and a hazy pale gold colour. A biscuit maltiness first appears on the palate followed closely by the hoppy architecture, creating a balanced and smooth mouthfeel, with the hops winning out in the end creating a nice and dry, bitter finish. The temperature is perfect, the lacing looks good with a light covering of head remaining on the surface of the beer to the bottom of the glass, it has excellent carbonation and is very fresh and tasty. This is the best they can do these days, Pislner Urquell being owned and marketed world-wide by giant SABMiller. I've a had a few glasses of this famous beer in my travels in the Czech Republic, and it was not always good. I was unable to finish one or two due to dirty taps, old beer or just generally poor handling. It is a shame that such a well known beer is now just another international product geared for mainstream tastes and treated just like any ordinary mass market beer.
I found my way to Bernard-In, a tied house for the Bernard line of beers, one of the last regional brewers in the Czech Republic, now owned by .... The only one of the 7 taps available served an unfiltered version of Bernard 12°. It had a fresh nose, with some hop present, a pale gold colour, initial maltiness fades to an even hop bitterness, somewhat understated and drying in the middle, lightly hazy and medium bodied with an OK finish. It was a bit cloying and something in the aftertaste just screamed mass-market lager.
I decided to close out my visit to Plzen at Zack's Pub, a funky and favourite little hip bar of the local arts scene, because they are one of the only places to find Pernštejn Porter on tap. A big brew clocking in at 9%, this is the 'originální tmavé pivo' from Pernštejn Pivovar Pardubice. This is an intoxicating, heady brew, a big Baltic-style porter, not for the light hearted. It is a philosopher's beer, one you take time to sip and contemplate. Deep, dark and almost black, with a warming alcohol effect, creamy mouthfeel, tones of raisins, dried plums, coffee and dark, bitter chocolate. Dark tan head, full bodied and lacing its unique glass, this was my fair well to the Czech Republic. It also put my over the edge that night, an amazing night cap indeed! I slept like the dead after this one!