Pilsner urquell buy uk cheapest plus#

They stretch for nine kilometres and were once used to condition the beer theyвЂ™re by some distance the highlight of a mildly diverting tour. ItвЂ™s a point I canвЂ™t help reflecting on on my final morning in Pilsen, when I visit those cellars. Why would they? It might be mass-produced but in its unfiltered, unpasteurised form, itвЂ™s hard to resist. вЂњTheyвЂ™ve tasted beer in foreign countries and theyвЂ™re looking for something different here in the Czech Republic.вЂќД¬hange is in the air in Pilsen, perhaps вЂ“ but I canвЂ™t see the locals ever forsaking Pilsner Urquell. вЂњItвЂ™s down to the younger generation,вЂќ he says. Both the stout and the wheat beer are excellent, though, and itвЂ™s no surprise when Josef Krysl, PurkmistrвЂ™s brewmaster, tells me these beers are increasingly popular.

Pilsner urquell buy uk cheapest plus#

I hurry to the main dining room, where a flight of PurkmistrвЂ™s beers await thereвЂ™s pale lager, of course, but also stout and wheat beer plus another flavoured вЂ“ not to its advantage, in my view вЂ“ with vanilla. It has quickly become one of the most important microbreweries in the country every year it hosts Slunce ve skle (Sun in the glass), a festival of small breweries that attracts thousands to this quiet suburb. IвЂ™m keen to see one of PilsenвЂ™s smaller breweries (there are four), so after lunch I head for Purkmistr, a brewpub based on the site of an old farmhouse in the south of the city, which opened in 2007. ItвЂ™s packed вЂ“ with locals as well as tourists вЂ“ as I tuck into a pork-heavy BrewerвЂ™s Plate, washed down with more of that Nefiltrovany Lezak. The next day I spend a delightful hour looking around the Brewery Museum (the highlight of which is a tiny, full-operational brewing kit) before lunch at U Parkanu, the restaurant attached to the museum. There is clearly lots of good beer in Pilsen beyond Pilsner Urquell. I sample KocourвЂ™s Samurai IPA, which combines the softness of Czech Pilsner with the hop punch of an American IPA, and MatuskaвЂ™s Knir, a beautifully balanced polotmavy, or amber lager, that offers doughy malt and prickly hop character. ItвЂ™s certainly not swanky: there are beer mats and football scarves (the home ground of Viktoria Pilsen is nearby) on the wall and one of the barmen is sporting a denim shirt and an extravagant mullet.ДЄnd then thereвЂ™s the beer. ItвЂ™s evening by the time we reconvene in Klub Malych Pivovaru (Small BreweriesвЂ™ Club), a great place to try beers from the Czech RepublicвЂ™s smaller breweries. More and more of these places are opening, he tells me вЂ“ and weвЂ™ve saved the best until last. The gates of the Pilsner Urquell brewery Photo: Alamy Bars selling micro rather than macro-beers are often less swanky: places where punters go for a session. вЂњOften it is sold at higher prices and usually itвЂ™s all thatвЂ™s on offer at the posher places. вЂњMany locals are convinced that the mass-produced Urquell is the best,вЂќ he says. ItвЂ™s remarkably cheap, but it reflects the local attitude towards beer that isnвЂ™t Pilsner Urquell, Filip tells me. A half-litre of Kout na SumaveвЂ™s 12-degree pale lager (a soft, delicate drop вЂ“ like drinking a cloud вЂ“ with a firm bitter finish) costs just 28 Crowns, or 80p. We step through the front door into a fug of cigarette smoke itвЂ™s still legal to puff away indoors here. Next, itвЂ™s U Kance, where the Stara Skola 12 degrees (Czech beer is ranked by degrees Plato rather than alcohol by volume 12 degrees is about five per cent ABV) is a little buttery for my liking вЂ“ and finally U Kostela, a 15-minute walk from town, in a working-class district close to the Skoda factory. We start at Francis Retro-Cafe, where, basking in the warmth of a wood-burning stove, I drink Beskydy Yellow Leaf, a tasty American pale ale made with hops from the United States. HeвЂ™s going to show me what beer culture there is in Pilsen beyond its famous golden lager. I could stay here all afternoon, but IвЂ™ve arranged to meet Filip Miller, an expat Australian whoвЂ™s lived in the city for eight years and knows the beer scene inside out. Today Pilsner Urquell is drunk around the world Photo: Alamy How well do you know the world's beers?.