Time for a confession, I failed. My plan to have a fortnight without beer came crashing down on Saturday afternoon when I stuck my head into Pivovarský klub to see who was working that day. The plan as formulated in my head was to go for a walk with my camera around the Karlín district of Prague, and pick up some bottles for my cellar to enjoy after the two weeks were up – I had texted one of the managers on Friday to ask when they would have the new Primátor Stout available in bottles, and he replied saying they would have them on Saturday. So as I say, I took a look through the window to see who was working and it was my favourite staff, Ambroz and Klara – having not seen them for a while I headed in for a chat.The plan went to pot when I asked Ambroz for an espresso and mineral water and he pointed out that they had the Primátor Stout on tap. Bugger. In some ways though the beer that was sat down in front of me was much like an espresso, very dark with a slight ruby tinge and head the colour of the foam on top of a good espresso. The beer smelt fabulous, full of coffee and chocolate, with wonderful smoky depths to it. As you would expect with a stout it was rather bitter, tasting of full roasted coffee, but nice and smooth going down. The only gripe I would have is that the body is a little on the thin side. It is a very nice beer, although I had to wait for a while to let it warm up a bit – it was served at the standard lager temperature. I do have another gripe, but not about the beer – I like stout to be in pints, well ok then as we are in metric Europe, half litres. 35kč for 300ml of stout is taking the piss in my opinion, especially given the fact that a bottle of imported Black Wych costs 45kč at Cider Club.
As Ambroz and I were chatting, I am one of those people who likes to sit at the bar, he mentioned that they had a new selection of beers from Germany which hadn’t been put out for public sale yet. I decided to get a bottle of each for the cellar, and an extra bottle of the Bischofshof Zoigl from Regensburg to have at the bar. This one blew my mind and almost gave me sensory overload. Pouring light amber with a bright white head and good carbonation, you could easily mistake it for just another lager, until you put your nose anywhere near it. The nose on this beer is quite amazing, smelling of stables, extra mature farmhouse cheddar cheese and other farmhouse smells – it reminded me of a cowshed. The beer then tasted like overripe bananas, it was sweetish and smooth, like bread and butter pudding, with honey. It was simply a wonderful beer to drink, I loved it and am very much looking forward to breaking open the other bottle in the cellar.
So while I am really annoyed with myself for messing up my intention not to drink for two weeks, I enjoyed some nice beer in one of my favourite pubs in Prague – even if Pivovarský klub could do with a little bit of music playing, nothing loud and rocking, just something to break the silence a bit.
Had Stout the other day and was very impressed. Hope it's on next month, when my parents come to visit. Totally agree about the measures as well - although on this occasion I didn't object, on the basis it was a new one and i assumed they only had a limited supply. I think they only started selling the Pale Ale in big bottles recently as well...?
ReplyDelete