The beer flows freely in Prague's pubs

Text and photos by Meidyatama Suryadiningrat

PRAGUE (JP): It is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It is celebrated as the city of a thousand spires. But Prague is too often forgotten as home to the world's finest beers.

To walk around the city and not notice the dotted lines of small pubs along the Old Town's cobblestone streets would be like neglecting to see a traffic light at a busy intersection.

In between the Kafkaesque theme shops and crystal stores lie some of Europe's oldest drinking establishments which serve the world's oldest and best tasting beers brewed for several generations.

Something one learns very quickly in Prague is that the Czechs love their beer, or spivo as it is locally known. For many it is part of their social diet. Just as vodka is to the Russians, beer is the Czech's national drink.

Pubs here are more than hangouts for the lonely passerby to pull up a chair and sit chatting at the bar. Entering a classic pub in Prague is a social event done daily or at regular intervals with a group of friends.

Apart from the touristy bars which cater to foreign visitors and the more trendy cafes, Czech pubs are very distinctly proletarian in their nature. A simple mecca for the laymen, artisans and business-suited people alike.

They all gather with their cherished spivo in the smoke-filled rooms that clamor with loud chatter.

In a Czech pub, with its typically Gothic archways, beer is the most likely, if not the only, thing that should be ordered.

While there is little patience here for tropical cocktails or some bizarre new-world concoctions, customers must be patient in getting served.

A sobering lesson which newcomers quickly learn is that snapping fingers at a waiter simply is not done here.

The trick is to grab a coaster, usually stacked under an ashtray, and to put it on the table in front of you.

Another helpful trick is to know how to order in Czech. Thus, even if you are only in Prague for a day or two, Spivo prosim" (a beer please) is usually enough vocabulary for someone to pick up.

Once visitors learn to do that and to gulp down the half-liter glass put in front of them, the next step is to memorize "Jeste jedno pivo" (another beer).

There are many typical Czech bars surviving today, with a few still functioning as small breweries.

One pub that has become almost legendary is the U Zlateho Tygra located in a small alley in Prague's Old Town.

It was here that United States President Bill Clinton sat down with Czech President Haclav Havel during a visit in 1994 to sample the local brew.

The most popular beer around is Pilsner Urquell. It was first brewed in the town of Pilsen in 1842.

It is said that Pilsner beer was first served in Prague at a pub owned by a tailor named Pinkas. The pub, U Pinkasu, still stands today, located just a stone's throw away from the central Wenceslas Square.

Another popular brand that has been copied throughout the world is Budweiser. The light and sweet tasting beer was first brewed in the mid-16th century in a south Bohemian town.

The secret to these intoxicatingly great beers is that North Bohemia has traditionally produced high quality hop plants.

According to historians, hops from Ausch, Daouba and Saaz in North Bohemia have been exported to Hamburg, Germany, since the 12th century.

Hops are used to give flavor to the oats, barley and wheat, which are brewed to make beer.