Comments on Pivní Filosof - Beer Philosopher: Why?

The undercover patrolman became silent. His gloomy...

2009-08-15T02:28:00.338+02:00

The undercover patrolman became silent. His gloomy expression improved only upon the arrival of Švejk, who sauntered into the pub and ordered a dark beer.
“They’re sad in Vienna today,” said Švejk, hoisting his black-colored beer, “and in mourning, too.”

". . . it is with a great relief and pleasure that we are hereby dutifully reporting that Book Two and Book(s) Three&

Well, this is really great because now I want to k...

2009-07-23T23:08:20.007+02:00

Well, this is really great because now I want to know for sure what beers were people drinking in Prague at the time and what the bigger breweries were making. You've convinced me about the colours, but I still need to be sure.

I've found a book someone gave me years ago called "Ve Stínu Pípy" (In the Shade of the Taps) that seems to be about old Prague hospody,

Interesting discussion! Typical prague beer were a...

2009-07-23T14:59:53.558+02:00

Interesting discussion! Typical prague beer were a dark lager such as the beer at U Fleku today, or the much praised dark Branik or the beer which were brewed at the u Thomas brewery. This was a beer style of its own I think.

In norwegian newspaper in the late 19th century I have seen ads for "prager" beer while i worked with my thesis in history. Some norwegian breweries

I thought stuff like Branik 12º dark was the typic...

2009-07-23T13:23:54.352+02:00

I thought stuff like Branik 12º dark was the typical beer of the large Prague breweries. Somewhere getting its beer from Pilsen would probably have sold pale beer. But what Czechs have told me is that up until the 1950's most pubs sold both pale and dark lagers.

Wildly speculating here, but dark lager might have...

2009-07-22T16:44:32.389+02:00

Wildly speculating here, but dark lager might have been the typical Prague beer at the time of WW I if we speak about the city's brewhouses, but what about beerhalls tied or stocking stuff from the already industrialised breweries?

I thought that at the time of WW I dark lager was ...

2009-07-22T11:25:32.591+02:00

I thought that at the time of WW I dark lager was the typical Prague beer.

The new lager beers would have been more stable, but also would have had a higher CO2 content as a result of the lagering process. I think that helped the spread of all bottom-fermenting beers.

About the colours. There is a good joke at the beg...

2009-07-22T09:48:03.419+02:00

About the colours. There is a good joke at the beginning of "The Good Soldier Švejk". After he learns about the death of Franz Ferdinand he goes to the pub and orders a black beer because "they are also mourning in Vienna".

Švejk was an everyday man and the author, Hašek, was a notorious barfly, the pub, U Kalicha (now a bit of a tourist trap), was your average

Then it wasn't only pale lagers, but lagers in gen...

2009-07-21T17:48:23.080+02:00

Then it wasn't only pale lagers, but lagers in general that displaced the old top fermented (mostly) wheat beers. Can that be then because of the drinkability and stability issue I mention by the end?

And now that you mention the colours, you remind me of one thing that sort of nagged me about the spread of pale lager. If its "seethroughness" was due to the

Unfortunately I don't have any statistics on the c...

2009-07-21T14:38:47.976+02:00

Unfortunately I don't have any statistics on the colour of Czech beer 1850 to 1950. But, if you look at old adverts and labels, it's clear that there were plenty of amber and dark lagers being brewed. My guess would be that pale lezak only came to dominate the Czech market after WW II.

I've heard the glassware theory before. It sounds convincing. Except that at the time

I agree with you on both points. The ethnic situa...

2009-07-16T07:53:55.657+02:00

I agree with you on both points.

The ethnic situation was indeed quite complex and I guess it deteriorated after 1848. I can see Czechs and Germans blaming each other for the defeat and the failure to acheive their goals.

And I think the glassware played a big part, but if the beer hand't had anything else going for it, it wouldn't have got very far, methinks

I think ethnicity in Bohemia is a massive problem ...

2009-07-15T20:51:52.642+02:00

I think ethnicity in Bohemia is a massive problem here, and let's take a beer personality as an example - Karl Balling. I have read somewhere that his ancestry was in fact English, he regarded himself as German and yet his children considered themselves Czech. Nothing is really clear cut and simple with the German/Czech thing in Bohemian history.

Talking with Evan one time he