[mkgordon]

I would appreciate any information on beers to try, pubs to visit, and micro breweries to tour.  I'll be there for 3 days.  I'll post an update on what I tried and found when I return.

[tom]

Every place has excellent local lagers. Pilsner Urquell is the best, but all of them are good. I also enjoyed Krusoviche. And the dark lagers are great too.

You might want to check (pun intended) out U Flecku. They are supposedly the oldest "Brewpub" in the world, since the 1500's. They brew only one brown beer and have a very nice indoor and outdoor beer hall.

Enjoy
 

[euge]

I am so jealous. Prague would be my choice over Belgium. Absolutely love their pilsners. And I hear the food is great.

[theoman]

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Guide-Prague-Czech-Republic/dp/1852492333

I had some amazing beers in Prague (though I did get a little tired of saaz). Unfortunately (or fortunately) I had a local beer expert giving me the whirlwind tour, so I don't really remember where I went. I'll try to find the name of my favorite place. It's pretty much the place to go for Budweiser, but you go through the building and up some stairs to a small cafe with their own tiny brewery. Awesome. Anyway, the "Good Beer Guide" books are excellent.

[johnf]

http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/

You should go to U Fleku but be aware that it is very touristy, expensive (for Prague) and smoky (well that's Prague). The waiters are very pushy with schnapps too. I had one beer there once and don't think I'll ever go back. The beer is pretty good, but not the best of the dark Czech lagers, in my opinion (far from the worst though).

It is pretty easy to get unfiltered Pilsner Urquell in Prague, and you should do so.

U Medvudiku has some interesting beers and also serves Budvar.

Pivovarsky Dum is kinda of an american style brewpub. They do a lot of coffee/fruit/herb beers that range from interesting to very good. They also have light and dark lagers that are very good. They do czech mead too, had an almond one there I enjoyed quite a bit.

Pivovarsky Klub is out of the city center a bit and is owned by the same people as own Pivovarsky Klub. It is an American style beer bar (including $8 bottles of Sierra Nevada which you might opt to skip). Here is where you get a lot of interesting dark czech lagers that are very hard to find in Prague (a couple on draught, along with some other draught stuff) and a bunch in bottles. Bernard and Herold come to mind as standouts. They have a lot of belgian stuff in bottles but most of it is available in the US (along with most of the other imported stuff). I did bring home a bottle of Thurn and Taxis/Paulaner Roggenbier home from there and you can buy bottles (or pours) of czech mead here as well.

If you go through/to Plzen, Bernard has a restaurant there with all their beers. I would definitely go there (they were closed when I was there, sadly).

[mkgordon]

Thanks for all the information.  I leave on Monday and will be in Prague on the 1st.  I'll let everyone know what I found and tried.

[joeysmokedporter]

+1 on Pivovarsky Klub, it is not that hard to get to it (less than 100 yards from nearest metro stop), and the selection of Czech darks from smaller brewers is something you won't find easily.  Also great food there, and much less expensive than the city center.

Also consider Klasterni Pivovar, in the castle quarter at the top of the hill near the monastery.  It is a brewpub that usually has 3 beers on draft--unfiltered amber and dark, and typically a third that might be from another brewing culture.  when I was there, the 3rd was Bavarian weissbier, and they were about to put an American IPA on draft (I would have been very interested in seeing the Czech interpretation of this).

Prague was one of my favorite cities in Europe.  The architecture and history are amazing, it is relatively inexpensive (though becoming less so), and good people.  I also came to appreciate the Czech dark style of beer, which I see very little anywhere outside the Czech Republic. These are fantastic session beers with interesting complexity, particularly the artisan examples we tried at Pivovarsky Klub.  This is a hidden gem.

Na Z'dravie!