"Don't drink alone!" ... oops, too late!
Trying out beer (pivo, in Czech) is probably one main reason to travel to the Czech republic. The country not only boasts of having the largest beer consumption per capita in the entire world but also of being the source for some of the world's most popularized brews -- Pilsen and Budweiser, two crisp lagers that are chugged in more places than one can enumerate.
I myself was never a beer fan - I found beer back home terrible (and could only drink some brews like Red Horse and San Mig's Cerveza Negra) and while the options in Italy were slightly better (Peroni, Nastro Azzurro, Heineken), it was easier to prefer wine. This changed after learning about Belgian beer (in this specialty pub I found in Naples) and after going to Belgium itself. Hands down, Belgium won my heart with beer (from the commercial brews to the rarer trappist ones made by monks) and I always thought it would be hard to challenge Belgium's standard.
After trying my first mug of Czech beer (a Pšeničné pivo or weissbier with a slice of lemon), I was won over - this place could give Belgium a run for its money.
Still, four days and four nights of chugging beers (and one can really only drink so much) doesn't make one an expert and what this experience of beer degustation really just did was pique my interest on the subject. That being said, I believe I still picked up quite a few things about Czech beer from my first hand experience of going around the country and drinking all the beer that I can -- one's gut can only hold so much liquid and, further, since I was traveling alone (for personal security).
I myself was never a beer fan - I found beer back home terrible (and could only drink some brews like Red Horse and San Mig's Cerveza Negra) and while the options in Italy were slightly better (Peroni, Nastro Azzurro, Heineken), it was easier to prefer wine. This changed after learning about Belgian beer (in this specialty pub I found in Naples) and after going to Belgium itself. Hands down, Belgium won my heart with beer (from the commercial brews to the rarer trappist ones made by monks) and I always thought it would be hard to challenge Belgium's standard.
After trying my first mug of Czech beer (a Pšeničné pivo or weissbier with a slice of lemon), I was won over - this place could give Belgium a run for its money.
Still, four days and four nights of chugging beers (and one can really only drink so much) doesn't make one an expert and what this experience of beer degustation really just did was pique my interest on the subject. That being said, I believe I still picked up quite a few things about Czech beer from my first hand experience of going around the country and drinking all the beer that I can -- one's gut can only hold so much liquid and, further, since I was traveling alone (for personal security).
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