Pivní Filosof - Beer Philosopher

In view of the enormous success the first edition was (and because I can't be arsed with writing anything else today), here's another roundup of short reviews originally posted on my Facebook Page.

When was the last time I had Kocour Stout? I can't remember, but fuck it's good! And it goes wonderful with a well cured italian Provolone cheese.

Badass = A girl minding her own business while casually drinking a 16º Czech IPA straight from a 1l PET bottle

Evan Rail's Dark Saison: A drunken band of young, jazz raising stars who suddenly realise they must play together instead of pissing about with their instruments. And very well they play.

Nomád Black (IPA). Ristretto, bitter chocolate, pine, nettle, autumn fruit and a touch of prunes that manage to work surprisingly well together...
Slaný Nakouřovaná 13º. A tad too polite of a rauch, perhaps, but quite a nice tipple nonetheless...

Harrach Kouřový Speciál: Imagine you are kissing the neck of a krev a mléko Slavic beauty w…

On May 19, 2002 I took an Air France flight to Paris, which would later connect me to another AF flight, operated by Czech Airlines, that would leave me in Prague the following day at around 7PM. 10 years have passed since that event, the most significant one in my life, bar none.

I wanted to celebrate this anniversary my way, drinking a beer that would fit the moment. I meditated long on which it should be. The ideal would have been to find a 2002 vintage beer, but that turned out to be out of the question. Having come to terms with that, I thought that I could celebrate with more than one beer, each with their meaning, including a truly special one that I had never drunk before. Here they are.
Gambrinus Světlý, canned: It was the first beer I drank after getting off the plane, so it belonged there. I won't lie and tell you that I remember what the beer was like then, but on Saturday Gambáč was exactly what I was expecting, no more, no less.

Svijanský Rytíř: My epiphanic beer. I …

The closing of U Slovanské Lípy the other day made me realise that since putting out my book I had not published any update, something I should have done a while a go.

There have been some changes regarding the places that are included in "Prague: A Pisshead's Pub Guide".

Pražský Most u Valšů (p. 27, 40) has had some, mostly, administrative problems and has been forced to stop brewing, which, in my opinion, was the only excuse to visit that place. Fortunately, the other day, not far from there, a new brewpub opened Pivovar U tří růží. I haven't visited it yet, but for what I've heard, it's seems quite good.

Kavárna Meduza (p. 53) closed shortly after the book was published. It's a real shame, I loved that place. It's been replaced by another café that has Bernard, not bad, but far from the same. On the other hand, Dejvická Divadelní Kávarna (pág. 54) replaced Richter's Světlý Ležák for Únětická 12º.

And since we are in Prague 6, Bistro U Baronky (p…

Just like I told you the other day, last weekend I went with my family to Kostelec nad Černými lesy with the festival, or celebration, as main excuse. We had a fantastic time, pity the weather that was on the wrong side of crappy, but there's nothing you can do about it.

We arrived on a very warm Friday evening. We were accommodated in the dorm that belongs to the local branch of the National Agricultural University, a building from the 18th century that used to be a orphanage and a hospice. The rooms were rather spartan, but very comfortable, more than adequate to crash for a couple of nights.

Once we had left our stuff in the room, we went to the Pivovar. Jarin, who had invited us, was waiting there, together with Milan Starec, one of the owners and a very nice guy. The pub is beautiful, it reminded a bit to those rural pubs in Franconia. The walls are full of treasures, old adverts of bygone beers, photos and documents from the times when Černokostelecký Pivovar was still brew…

I've wanted to go to Černokostelecký Pivovar (which is not a "pivovar" proper, at least not yet) for a long time. Many people have told me about how nice it is and how well you can eat there, but it was one of those many trips that I've always postponed because this or that. Not anymore, the "official" invitation I received for this Saturday's event has given me the best possible excuse.
Vysmolení, to put it in simple words, will be a day of frolicking outdoors. There will be plenty of activities that include live music, visits to the old brewery and the museum, food, lots of food and four beer specially brewed for the occasion: a desítka, a hoppy světlý ležák, a wheat beer and a dark beer with smoked and rye malts (which I can't wait to taste).

I'll be with my family from Friday evening (we've been generously invited to stay the whole weekend). For those who want to go on Saturday, getting there is easy, buses 381 and 387 leave from the Metr…

In some corners of the beer drinking population IPA is no doubt one of the most popular styles, if not the most. It even seems that in some countries micro breweries are almost legally bound to brew an IPA, if they expect to be taken seriously.

But what is IPA? What does IPA mean? That is the question that a few days ago Boak & Bailey were asking themselves and the one that Ghost Drinker is asking today. All this is somehow related to Greene King IPA, which doesn't quite fit within the idea many people have of IPA (it doesn't get to 4% ABV and it's not very hoppy). The thing is, this beer has been brewed since forever and it doesn't seem to have changed much throughout the decades. Now, if we consider that this beer precedes the modern concept of styles and all the existing American IPA's and the BJCP, then we could say that it is Greene King who are right and everyone else is wrong, but well, let's not go there.

Controversy aside, and referring to what Ron…

You thought I had forgotten? That I was going to disappoint you? HA! You were wrong.

Since it was posted on April 1, I'm still not quite sure of the veracity of the la "Albino Porter", but I truly hope it was just a joke by Jeff.

What was an April's fool's joke was this press release from Vyškov announcing a new kind of environmentally friendly packaging for their beers. A swing at the PET bottles that are giving so much to talk about. Curiously, a few days later Bernard rolled out the new piece of their campaign Svět se zbláznil. Držte se Bernard (The world is crazy, hold on to Bernard) with a very similar, though more direct message. "Dnes z PETky, zítra z tašky" (Today from PET, tomorrow from bags).

Getting more serious, but not too much, Adrian Tierney Jones posted a beautiful ode to the noble art of getting civilisedly pissed. Brilliant.

Tandleman, on the other hand, deals with the somehow controversial topic of music in the pub. I don't think …

I've been a beer drinker since I can remember. It's not hyperbole, is true. When I was little my parents would let me take sips from their beers (tradition that I continue with my own daughter) or mix some of it in my Coke or Pepsi. Our doctor, very sensibly, had assured them that there was nothing wrong with that.

Of course that for someone of my generation in Argentina, beer meant Quilmes. In fact, it was Cevecerías y Malterías Quilmes the company that managed to get Argentinians to drink beer with a brilliant marketing campaign that they started at the beginning of the 80's, which produced one of the best slogans for any beer, ever “El Sabor del Encuentro” (sorry, there's no English translation that does it justice). But that aside, the truth is that I liked Quilmes Cristal, a lot. I still remember fondly the Quilmes I drank with my mates at a takeaway pizzeria or the 1l bottles we passed around sitting on the pavement after an afternoon of playing basketball (quite…