The Tap Race

There is no doubt anymore that the "rotating tap" model is a more than welcome trend that gets stronger every day. Right now there are at least a dozen hospody in Prague that have at least one tap dedicated to beers (mostly regional and craft) that constantly change. But the phenomenon is not limited only to the capital city. This kind of palces can also be found in Pilsen, Brno and Hradec Králové.

Together with the "rotating beers", many of these places are equipped with a growing number of taps. Pivovarský Klub has six, Zlý Časy has eight (for now) and U Radnice now has nine, just to mention a few. These seems to have become some sort of race that at the moment, and it is led by U Prince Miroslava and its 13 taps.
If it hadn't been for Hanz, the owner of ZČ, or for the article published in Svět Piva that noticed me of the existence of "U Prince...", I don't think I would have found the place. It's located in a part of Prague that I rarely go to and that isn't one of the nicest to go for a walk.

U Prince Miroslava is in a little street just a few metres from Radlická and it's visible from (the second) Laurová tram stop. It's got a nice patio in the front that seems almost to belong somewhere else. The restaurant itself is below street level and is divided in two largish rooms that don't have much of an atmosphere (at least not at late lunch time). It gives the impression of a place that hasn't found its identity yet. The back room wants to be intimate, but fails. It is decorated with Renaissance and Baroque looking paintings that are very out of place. The main room is unfortunately dominated by a big screen LCD TV that was showing a music channel. I don't like music channles at all, and I really hate it when I have to suffer them at bar, restaurant or café.

The food on my first visit, ďabelská masová směs (Devil's meat mix) with rice, wasn't very good. The meat wasn't as spicy as the name promised and the rice was undercooked. On my second visit I ordered an utopenec (pickled sausage) that, though smallish, was very good.

On both visits the service was fine. Young girls, pretty cute and friendly that seemed to be enjoying their job and even recommended beers.
And it was the beers that brought me all the way there. The 13 taps are distribuited among the Holy Trinity of Czech Beer (Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus and Kozel Tmavé), Primátor, Svijany, Opat and one or two "rotating" beers. Not bad, not bad at all. More so when two of the "permanent" Primátor are the Stout and the Weizen, both at 32CZK a pint.
On the first visit the Stout was way too cold, the temperature improved when I ordered it on the second visit. On both visits the Weizen was better than lovely. The people at Náchod are doing such a good job with this beer! It's wonderful!

You might be asking why I ordered the same beers twice when I have 13 (well, 10, the Trinity doesn't count) to choose from. The reason is one of the things that U Prince could improve. Both on the terrace and at the bar there are signs with all the beers that are apparently on tap. On my first visit I fancied a Primátor English Pale Ale, but they didn't have it. I tried with another one, with the same luck. On the second visit, a week or so later, the EPA was still unavailable, so I went for the Stout (a terrible pairing for the utopenec). As a second beer I wanted Opat Bitter, I asked the waitress if they had it, she wasn't sure, so I told her to bring me a Weizen in case they didn't, and what I got was a Weizen (a much better utopenec pairing).
This is a problem with a very easy solution. It will be enough to put a couple of blackboards where the service can write what's on tap that day. It's something that will also make things easier for everyone.

What I did like, though, was the copied paper that can be found on each table and works as some sort of beer list. Apart from the beers (not all of them available all the time) with their Balling graduation and ABV, there is also a brief description of each with tasting notes and even recommended food pairings in some cases. Something that I had never seen in Prague.

The prize goes to the description of Gambáč.
For those of you who don't speak Czech, it goes something like this: "The favourite výčepní beer in the Czech lands, indicated for undemanding consumers [...]. Characterised by [...] unified and flat "europivo" flavour...". Brilliant! Not that the usual Gambáč drinker will pay any attention to details like this, but it's fun to see that people that are selling this beer are also dissuading clients from drinking it.

I don't know how often I will go to U Prince Miroslava, it's a bit out of the way for me. But it is still nice to know that there is another place that offers a pretty wide choice of beers and not just the usual stuff.

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U Prince Miroslava
K Vodojemu 4
Prague 5 - Smíchov
+420 733 360 269
uprincemiroslava@seznam.cz

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A good intention isn't enough

The other day, on the beer blog Apuntes Sobre Cerveza I found an entry titled "Tasting Method". The author, Pedro Biehrman, refered to a pdf he had found in a Spanish beer website.

The paper is called "Método de Catado de Cervezas" (pdf, SP) and was written by Carlos Inaraja González, brew master at Heineken (Spain, I presume) and Francisco Javier Soriano Perdigón, Gastronomy Professor at the "Gambrinus School of Hospitality" (that also belongs to Heineken) in Sevilla. According to them, it's aimed at Somelliers, Hospitality school teachers and professionals in the restaurant business.

I thought the idea was great and worth of being promoted. The "handbook" has nine pages full of information. Much of which is very good and useful. Some of the rest can seem rather obvious to anyone with a bit of experience tasting whatever, but it is still worth reminding. There is some stuff in there, though, that seem a bit too "strict": 22°C and 60% humidity as a must to taste beers? It might be for a competition, but I think that any place where you feel comfortable and relaxed is perfectly fine to sit down for some beer tasting.

Everything would be really great anyway, if it wasn't for the two rather important mistakes that can be found pretty much at the beginning of the document and that kind of invalidate all the rest: The "freshness" of the beers and the temperatures they should be served.

The moment I read them I wanted to write a post, but I thought it would be better to ask first someone who knows more than me. I was planning to call a friend who happens to be an international judge, but a Czech beer related e-mail from Kristen England couldn't have been more timely.

And who is Kristen England some of you might be asking. Well, his e-mail signature says: "BJCP Continuing Education Director, Grand Master Judge" and, for those who follow Ron Pattison's blog, he's also the person who puts together the historical recipes for the "Let's Brew" series. I can't think of much better credentials than that.

And, just as I'd expected, his answer confirmed what I had thought from the beginning.

According to the document "beers with freshness lower than three months must always be used". It's true that there are many beers out there that should be drunk the freshest possible, Cask Ales and Kvasnicové come to mind. However, there are many more that could be drunk a bit "older" or even after some maturing in the bottle. I've seen many labels on which the maker recommends their beers to be drunk after a few months or even a year in the bottle. The authors of the document either don't know about these beers, or they are telling us to drink them before they are "ready". I just don't understand it.

But this could be considered a minor detail if we compare it with the temperatures they say beers should be tasted.

Pilsen: 3-4°C
Lager and Stout (without specifying which kind): 5-6°C
Ale, Abbey, Trappist and Bock: 7-8°C
Wheat Ales: 7-8°C (I'm sure they speak about German Weizenbieren, which ARE NOT ALES!)

Here I will qoute Kriten's comment on the subject:

"those (temperatures) are massively low. I would say pils and most other lagers at 7-8C. The rest of the ales should be around 9-10C. The higher in alcohol, darker and more complex the warmer they need to be to appreciate. Imagine drinking an 18deg (Baltic) porter at 4C. It would taste like bitter alcoholic crap."

Of course that if we are speaking about beers of the kind of Heineken, the colder you can drink them, the better. But Heineken isn't precisely a good example for Pils, or a beer you want to sit down and "taste", for that matter.

There are other things I don't quite agree with, but they aren't worth mentioning. These two mistakes are really basic. When to open a bottle ("freshness"-wise) and what temperature should the beer be drunk are two pices of fundamental information for a somellier or for someone with a bit of beer tasting experience. Not knowing them at all, or not well enough, could result in the experience not being as pleasant as it should, or ruin it altogether.

The worst of this is that the authors aren't just "a couple of bloggers writing in the free time". They are professionals in the field. And what's even more worrying, their target audience aren't just the average consumer, but mostly other professionals. No wonder then that so much rubbish is written about beer in the Spanish speaking media and that renown professionals like Ferrán Adriá can get away with the bollocks they say.

My advice to somelliers, hospitality professionals and general public: Ignor this "Beer tasting Method". If you are interested, get of people with real experience in real beer tasting.

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Welcome, princess

My daughter has finally arrived in this world, with a two week delay (she didn't want to come out, and who can blame her), and she is, of course, absolutely gorgeous, an angel. My life now isn't and will never again be what it used to. But don't be afraid, I'll keep on writing this blog, perhaps not with the same rythm as before, but write I will.

(And since I'm on the subject, I wanted to thank from the bottom of my heart all the staff of the Maternity Hospital Podolí. The birth was no party for my wife and each and every one of them were absolutely fantastic!)
As I announced back then, I wanted to brew something to celebrate such a sepcial event. The chosen recipe was a strawberry and mint weizen, which was quite a lot of fun to make.
When our princess was finally brought home I opened the first bottle. You can't imagine how curious I was. It pours an intense pink, almost red. Almost no head. The nose was like extra brut Champagne mixed a strawberry pureé. Pretty interesting actually. The taste, well, let's say it doesn't suit everyone's palate. It turned out a bit more sour than I had expected. In fact, it reminded my of a Geuze. Behind the sourness the strawberries can still be felt. I liked it, but only to drink in smallish doses. I will brew it again next year, but I think I will add some candied sugar to balance it a bit more, and perhaps brew it with a bit of a heavier body. It is far, very far, from being perfect, but I'm still satisfied with the result. Fortunately, the baby turned out a lot better.

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My angel, may your future be brigther than our present

PS: As many of you know very well, having a baby isn't cheap. I need some financial help in order to continue my work in a proper way. For that purpuse I've placed on the right hand column, right below my mugshot, a button for donations. Those of you who haven't got a PayPal account can pay by credit card. I promise that all the proceedings will be used on beer and related stuff. Thanks.

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The missing piece

I had really liked most of the craft beers I'd had so far from Denmark and Norway and I still wanted to know the ones from the other Scandivanian Kingdom, Sweden.

The only Swedish beers I had seen in my life were the ones sold at Ikea. But since everytime I go to that prison looking furniture megastore I end up in a bad mood and wanting to leave as fast as possible, I never bothered to stop and buy one (which might not be that bad, actually).

Now, thanks to Gnoff, a fellow beer enthusiast from Sweden, this "problem" has been solved. He brought me nine samples from his native land. He was also kind enough not to tell me much about the beers. He said I could find all the necessary information in Rate Beer. You already know my position when it comes to looking for information on the internet before tasting a beer I don't know, and since all the labels were in Swedish, it was almost like a blind tasting. Fantastic!

I started with the only "industrial" beer he brought. Guld Källan brewed by Tomp Beer & Spirits, or at least that is what I thought util I went to their webpage and realised that the company is actually a distributor of alcoholic beverages from different countries. So, I don't now who brewed it (if anyone does, please, let me know)
Anyway, I wasn't expecting much from the seemingly mass produced pale lager. It pours a watery gold, with an abundant head that doesn't last long and not much of a nose to speak of. There is some taste, though, and not bad. A bit malty with some bitterness, everything very well brought together. Not a beer that I would eagerly seek, but if I were in Sweden, thirsty and I found it at a shop, I would pick it without any problem. A funny detail, the word "starköl" means, if Google Translate doesn't lie, "strong beer" in Swedish. Quite a relative thing, the beer has only 4.8%ABV. As far as I know (and correct me if I'm wrong), Swedish beers tend to be a lot lighter than the ones we are used to. Silly laws.
The lightest of all the samples was Hantverks Bryggeriet Bonden Svensk Folilig Ale (try saying that three times in a row) with only 3.5%ABV (could that be the standard ABV for Swedish beers?). It pours intense gold, somewhat cloudy, with a small, yet compact head. Although it isn't very strong, the nose reminds of summer fruit, sweet organges and some mint. The taste is predominantly fruity, but very well contrasted by a yeasty acidity. Ideal to drink while grilling in summer or when getting back home after a hot day.
A high step up in the alcohol contents is Ekolmen Ekologiska Ale, with 4.7%ABV and brewed by Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri. As you can very well figure out, it is an organic beer. Both the malts (pale ale, cara munich and crystal) and the hops (challenger, fuggles and hellertau) come from organic farms. Environmental credentials notwithsanding, this is a very tasty beer. Reddish amber, crowned by a thick and spongy head. The nose is almost a mix of pale and weizen, maybe thanks to the hop mix. It's got a silky mouthfeel that fills the palate with fruit, spice and just the right bitterness. Even though I had it a bit colder than recommended on the label (11-13°), I enjoyed every single drop. A delicious beer to savour slowly or even for a session. I see it as a great pairing for something exotic, but not too spicy, or pasta with a tomato sauce with a lot of garlic and herbs.
If someone had given me Oppigårds Golden Ale de Oppigårds Bryggeri blind, I would have probably thought that this beer was an attempt at recreating a Czech ležák, but using C-hops intead of Saaz. It looks just like a good Czech pale lager and the maltiness both in aroma and taste follow the same pattern, the same could be said about the mouthfeel. Nothing surprising once you read the ingredients of this 5.2%ABV beer. It's brewed with pilsen and caramel malts, a very usual mix in Czech světlý. The difference, as I mentioned before, is in the hop mix (yeah and the fermentation, etc, I know), a salad of pacific gem for bitterness, EK Goldings for taste and EK Goldings and Cascade for aroma. The finish is full of all these hops and makes a nice contrast. A refreshing beer, very drinkable.
I started then with the beers from Nils Oskar, a renown and successful Swedish craft brewer with a rather large product line. It pours a crystaline ocre. The nose is mostly caramel with fruit, mineral and licorice notes (not as interesting as it sounds, believe me). It tastes mostly dry, not much of an identity or body, and the finish is all too short. Could go well with some smoked meats, otherwise it's kind of boring. As with the previous beer, this one also felt like a lager, it reminded me to your average Czech polotmavé. This one did turn out to be a lager, though. When I finished drinking it I had a look at the back label. My Swedish leaves a lot to be desired, but I don't think you need to be a linguist to figure out what "inspirerat av Märzen" means. In fact, "Kalasöl" means "beer fest" in Swedish. Perhaps if they had used only one kind of hops, instead of the four they did, this beer would have had a bit more of an identity. The feeling it left me was of a beer made because they had to, rather than because they wanted to.
It was followed by India Ale (5,2%ABV). No mystery here with which style inspired this beer. I've had quite a few IPA's lately and I've come to the conclusion that it is the "fruitier" ones that I like better. I find them more interesting than the very hoppy ones. Unfortunately, Nils Oskar's is neither one, nor the other. Pours amber, with a mild bouquet where caramel rules. The taste is missing something, it teases but never gets there and leaves you wanting more, and not in a good sense. Only at the end it seems to gather the courage to say something, but it doesn't quite satisfy.
I decided to give good old Nils a break and chose Arboga Majbock (7%ABV), brewed by Three Towns Independent Brewery. It pours a clear intense gold, with hardly any visible carbonation and a generous head. The nose is dry herbal, sage perhaps, with a caramel and apples background. So far so good. Then comes the first sip and my palate is punched by an etilic fist that leaves an aftertaste akin to cheap vodka. As the glass empties the alcohol integrates better, but the damage is done. I wonder if I didn't have this beer too young. The 2009 written on the label seems to imply so.
I still had one from Nils Oskar, Rökporter. This was the only beer I had references about. Evan Rail had reviewed it in his blog. Unfortunately, the post is lost, but I do remember he liked it. Regardless of the references, I really wanted to drink this beer. I am a big fan of smoked beers. Rökporter is very dark. You can already feel the smokiness in the bouquet, though it is a bit less "hammy" than your average Rauchbier from Bamberg. The taste is a wonder of balance. One of the things I've always liked about old reggae bands is they way that, despite the technological limitations of their record studios, they managaed to make every instrument heard on the records. That is exactly what happens with this beer. It's dry, there is chocolate and there is the smokiness that now tastes more "woody", everything is felt at the same time, but not on top of each other. The finish is mild, with sweet coffee and some sourness to make it even more interesting. A delicious beer, the kind that you regret finishing if you don't have another one at hand.
I still have one left, MB Porter årgång 2008 (vintage 2008), from Mariestads Bryggeri, a brand that belongs to the Spendrups group. I've decided I won't open it now. I want to age it, unless someone tells me it's not worth it.

The overall impression is a bit mixed, there were a couple beers that I liked a lot, and others that I didn't like at all. If I had to, unfairly, compare them with their Danish and Norwegian pairs, the Swedish ones are a step or two behind. Anyway, thanks again to Gnoff for giving me the possibility of tasting beers that otherwise I would never have.

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That's it, I've had enough.

Last year, when I tasted the then relatively new Estrella Damm Inèdit I gave it a possitive review. Although I didn't think the beer was anything to write home about, I liked it, and I liked the idea behind it even more.

My heart started changing when the idiocies of Ferrán Adriá started. But I still had a soft spot for this beer and I even kind of stood up for it when The Beer Nut trashed it in his blog.

Today that is something I regret doing.

A few days ago, in the unfortunately very inactive discussion forum of Cerveceros Digitales, someone opened a new thread titled Estrella Damm Inèdit.

The message contains the same old and tired bollocks about how unique this beer is, how Ferrán Adriá and his Sommeliers (cool name for a pop band) created it because they felt a beer that could pair with the best gastronomy with the utmost respect was needed. Something that really irritates me. We all already know that all beers that are properly made can be a perfect and very respectful pairing for any kind of food, regardless of how cheap or expensive, simple or sophisticated it might happen to be, and they don't need the blessing of any celebrity chef.

At first I thought monix37, the person who left the message, was a shill from the brewery. It wouldn't be the first, nor the last time something like that happens. So I replied in a proper manner. But it turns out I was wrong. In the user's profile I found a link to an e-shop that sells gourmet products, Inèdit among them. And that's when the last straw dropped.

Until then I had paid no attention to the price of this beer. The bottle I tasted had been sent to me by my friend Delirium and since I can't buy it in Prague, the price was something of little relevance to me. But when I saw it...

€6.95!!! for a 750ml bottle.

I don't think I need to tell you that I've got no problem with paying that and more for beer as long as it's worth it. Inèdit isn't, not even by chance.

It isn't bad, and stripped of its marketing it could still be considered a valid attempt by a major Spanish industrial brewer at offering something different and, if you want, more interesting than their competitors. But €7 for it, is way, way too much.

A same size bottle of Westmalle Triple costs about €6 in specialised shops in Spain, and this beer's 9.5%ABV gives it a lot more chops to pair with food than Inedit's 4.8%. Not to mention that, differences in quality apart (and they are big), Westmalle is a lot more expensive to brew.

On the other hand, this beer could be a bit too much to handle for many. No problem then, they can buy Hoegaarden that not only is it very easy to find, but also costs €1.5, or less, for a 330ml bottle and is, in my opinion, a better drink.

You see now what they've just made me do? I am recommending a product from InBev. Damm you, Ferrán Adriá! Damm your beer and your Sommeliers! I hope you'll all burn in hell!

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News, truths and bollocks from Heineken

Those of you who know Czech and want to know a bit more about Czech beer should certainly visit Pivovary.info. Not only thre is an updated list of all the breweries in the Czech Republic regardless of size, but also, on their home page, you will find the section "Monitoring pivních zpráv" (monitoring beer news).

It is here where they other day I came across an interview with Jiří Daněk, one of the managers of Heineken.CZ.

Mr Daněk says that Heineken won't buy Staropramen (at least not for now). Currently the company is restructuring. They want to finish with the consolitadion of all their breweries under one company, Krušovice.  

When asked what effect is that going to have in the plans of the Dutch brewing concern to become #2 in the Czech market, Daněk admits that, although buying a brewing group would have been easier and faster, there is also the possibility of increasing the market share of the brands they now have.

I must agree with this. When Heineken bought Drinks Union last year their market share increased considerably, and was then only two percentage points below that of Staropramen's. Krušovice, the group's flagship brand, has been sort of revitalised with a redesing of the logo and a new advertising strategy. Investment in marketing also seems to have increased for both Starobrno and Zlatopramen. It is also left to be seen what effect the inminent withdrawal of AB-InBev will have on the Staropramen group marketwise.

The interviewer follows up with a very good question: "What other acquisition, besides Pivovary Staropramen, would be interesting for you? What would you say if K Brewing offered you their breweries? Many believe that K Brewing has been buying breweries on Heineken's behalf."

The answer is short and a tad worrying: Basically "No comments". We all know what this answer often means. Of course, it's still left to be seen what good can do a giant like Heineken buying six smallish regional breweries with a combined volume of less than 700 thousand hl a year.

The interesting thing here is that at no time they mention the group PMS (Pivovary Moravsko a Slezsko), the onwers of Litovel, Holba and Zubr (hardly the finest in Czech brewing) that has an interesting market share of, if I remember well, around 6%, or the still state owned Budvar, that has 13%.

The other day it was announced on the press the closing of two breweries belonging to Heineken, Kutná Hora and Hostan (Pivovar Znojmo). This didn't surprised anyone, really. Hostan had been already for quite some time on "life support", and Kutná Hora was the smallest brewery that belonged to the Drinks Union group. Daněk's explanation for this is as sincere as it is heartless, "it is clear that the profitability of a brewery that makes millions of hectolitres a year is different than that of one that makes 60 thousand". That's it, the decision of closing down two breweries with hundreds of years of history came from some accountant. The brands, promised Daněk, will keep on being brewed elsewhere, but, why bother?. It also seems that the future of Pivovar Louny isn't all that clear; Heineken hasn't decided yet what they will do with it.

Of course, being that this is an interview with a manager of a big multinational company, corporate bollocks are almost mandatory:

"Heineken nevaří žádná europiva" (Heineken doesn't brew any europivo) - Jiří Daněk, June, 2009.

Yeah, right, and I'm a Trappist monk.

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PS: If you want to read the full interview, you can find it here

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Notice

Some months ago I got my own domain and the URL of this blog changed from pivni-filosof.blogspot.com to www.pivni-filosof.com.

Back then I didn't consider this worth mentioning because Blogger would automatically redirect traffic to the new address without any intermediate step. However, I noticed that since a few days ago whenever someone clicks on or tipes the old address they are met by a kind of warning screen that could scare a few people before they accept going to the new address.

That's why I would like to ask those of you who've been kind enough to link my blog from your websites to update the address. And also, if there is anyone who subscribed to the feeds before March this year, you will probably need to do it again if you haven't received any updates.

Thanks and Na Zdraví!