Czech beers in Seattle

Well-stocked supermarkets and drink shops offer much more than the usual bland, dull, fizzy lagers from the national megabreweries; there is a much wider range of beers from smaller craft breweries (or some still call them, "microbreweries"), and alongside these, a huge variety of beers imported from just about everywhere, particularly the modern-day European brewing homelands. You'll find German Bock and Weissbier, British pale ale and porter, Irish stout, and all manner of Belgian ales these days. Americans are becoming ever more familiar with the classic beers from these countries, and the craft breweries are responding with their own interpretations of these styles. There is one country, though, that needs a at least a little more examination.

When Americans think of the beers of the Czech Republic (no, it's not "Czechoslovakia," and it hasn't been called that for years; the two countries peacefully separated in the early 1990's), the dominant variety is something called a "Bohemian Pilsner." Typically, this is represented by the single most dominant Czech beer sold in the USA, Pilsner Urquell, the original lager of the big Prazdroj brewery in the city of Pilsen. The first version of this beer came out in 1842; refinements were later made possible with advances in the fields of brewing science, including sanitation and yeast culturing, and the golden pale lager of Pilsen, infused with aroma of the fabled Saaz hops, has become the definitive model for what Americans consider to be Czech beers. In other words, the original Bohemian Pilsner has become the archetype for all Czech lagers. For decades, this was almost the only Czech beer available in the USA; there wasn't a great deal of trade between the USA and the countries that were considered nominal Soviet allies in the Cold War era, and we were fortunate to get Pilsner Urquell, and less often, a lager from Ceske Budejovice's Samson brewery, labeled "Crystal" in the USA, and not very well-known. In recent years, we've seen a bit more variety; Prague's Staropramen has been available in many regions, and a number of beers have graced the shelves in American shops, from Lobkowicz, Radegast, Kozel, Starobrno, and a few other Czech breweries, including a version of Budvar's flagship lager, relabeled "Czechvar" for the American market. It would seem that Americans are enjoying a good range of Czech beers these days. These beers were the inspiration for the original lagers brewed in the USA in the 19th century, even if that tradition has become terribly diluted (or in American idiom, "dumbed down") in the past century or so.

The truth, though, is something that potentially holds far more interest for the American beer drinker, particularly the ones interested in exploring a country's style. It is true that lager beer styles are overwhelmingly predominant in Czech brewing. At one time, in the days before the mass popularity of pale lagers, Bohemia was well-known for its wheat beers; today, a very small number of breweries might also offer an unfiltered wheat beer, and in recent years, newer brewpubs have opened in Czech cities, but overall, the predominant style of beer is pale blond or golden lager, usually brewed from a wort of 10 to 12 degrees Plato and fermented to an alcohol content ranging from about 4% to 5% alcohol by volume. There are also dark lagers in the same strength range, and a small number of stronger lagers, both pale and dark, that are considered relatively unusual, not least because they aren't as conducive to session drinking as the everyday beers. Most people might be forgiven for thinking that there is very little variety among these beers, but the truth is far more delightful than that; there are quite a few mid-sized breweries in the Czech Republic, and the lagers they offer can have a surprising degree of variety, sufficiently so as to put paid to the entire notion of "Bohemian Pilsner" as the defining style of Czech beer. Many of these Czech lagers emphasize malt character, not hops, and are, for the most part, well-made examples of lager beer, even as each brewery strives to maintain its own identity against the big market leaders like Pilsner Urquell and Radegast. Fortunately, these smaller competitors have a champion.

Honza Kocka has taken up the mantle of Czech Beer Evangelist. He's been traveling the world, bringing fresh bottles of Czech beers with him, beers that for the most part are virtually unknown outside of the country; some of these beers are barely known outside of their home region. I first had the fortune of meeting Honza at a tasting session at Denver's Falling Rock taphouse, before the first evening's session of the 2001 session of the Great American Beer Festival. More recently, I hosted Honza in Seattle, where we visited some local brewers and others in the beer trade, and gave out bottles for sampling, much to the delight of all the recipients. I was fortunate enough to host a small tasting session, in somewhat unique circumstances; on a dark and stormy evening, the power had gone out in our neighborhood, and we examined our beers by candlelight. The flavors, though, came through just fine.

First up was a low-gravity lager, Krakonos10 from Trutnov. This is labelled as a "pale draught lager" (in Czech, "svetle vycepni pivo," with several diacritical marks not found in English), a common description for beers of this type. It finished out at 3.9% ABV, giving it a fairly light body and malt sweetness, a short-lived head, and the aroma and flavor of noble hops, most likely Saaz or a similar Czech-grown hop. Next up came Bruno 12 from Svitavy, at 5% ABV, with a much more restrained background hop bitterness; this beer was noticeably malty-sweet with a firm malt body. Third on our tasting list was Hostan 12, from Znojmo. Hostan is something of a sister brewery to Starobrno, both being owned by BBAG, Austria's biggest brewing group. This beer also comes in at 5% ABV, with a fine balance of malt and hops, and aroma hopping gives a fine noble hop presence in the nose. This was considered a favorite early on in our tasting.

Zavis 12, a 5% ABV pale lager from Policka, again leaned towards malty aromas with a subtle hop background; the flavor effects were similar to the aroma, with a malty introduction followed by lingering hop bitterness. More surprising was Jezek ("Hedgehog") 11, a 4.7% ABV lager from Jihlava. The malt depth in the aroma reminded us of home-cooking, with hints of good things in the oven, like roasted meats and sweet potatoes. Drinking this beer revealed a surprisingly deep maltiness, not something normally expected from a relatively light lager beer. We followed this with Cerna Hora's 13 "Kvasar" ("Quasar"), a strongish lager at 5.7% ABV; the first impression was of a sweetly malty nose that carried through in the flavor. This is enhanced by the addition of honey, quite unusual in Czech brewing, but not forbidden; Czechs brewers aren't quite as hampered as Germans by Reinheitsgebot-like laws, and the main thing that keeps their creativity in check is the conservative nature of the typical Czech beer-drinker, who prefers a light session lager at a reasonable price. The Cerna Hora "Kvasar" doesn't overwhelm with honey, keeping it light and subtle, make for a wonderfully drinkable lager. Ferdinand 12, a 4.8% ABV lager from Benesov, had a nicely balanced malt-hop flavor, but I detected a touch of butterscotch in the aroma, typically a sign of a bit of diacetyl. It was really not at all dominant, though, and tended to fade.

Next up came one of the most impressive beers of our session, Korbel 12 from Maly Rohozec, at 5% ABV, with impressively perfumy hop and yeast notes wafting from the glass, and drinking this beer only made apparent an immediate wish for more. One taster opined that this was almost "Belgian" in its distinctive flavor and aroma, meaning it as high praise indeed. The session's concluding beer, though, was a show-stopper. The beer is called Rychtar; in Czech, it sounds more like "Rykhtarzh", and this particular beer was the brewery's special "Vyrocni" ("anniversary") brew. The brewery, in Hlinsko, was founded in 1913, making 2001 its 88th anniversary, so a special amber lager was brewed to 19.13 degrees Plato, finishing at 8.8% ABV. This beer screamed "MALT!" with rich malt aromas that carried through to the flavor, with just enough hops to balance. In Germany or Austria, this would be considered a Bock, perhaps, falling in the general category of Starkbier (strong beer). It's a distinctive pale-amber beer, an extraordinary expression of Czech lager-brewing art, one to savor for special occasions. In a subsequent tasting session, I sampled the Rychtar Premium 12, a 5% ABV malty session lager, well-balanced and superbly drinkable. Also tasted was Samson's Budweiser Burgerbrau, a 12.6 degree lager finishing at 5.5% ABV; this is a distinctive flagship beer from the "other" brewery in Ceske Budejovice, the town that also gives us Budvar/Czechvar lager. Samson's beer is somewhat hoppier and bigger than the Budvar brew from across town, but still shows good malt character. Of this entire group of breweries, only Samson is known in the USA, where its beers are sold under the "Crystal" brand, and include both a good everyday pale lager and a tasty "Diplomat" dark lager.

Currently, the imported beers getting the most attention in the USA are the specialties of Belgium. We're seeing a broader variety of beers from elsewhere, too, particularly the UK and Germany. Waiting in the wings are an impressive variety of well-made lager beers from the Czech Republic, from one of the countries most instrumentive in the development of lagers, and still producing a range of pale and dark lagers that offer far more than the term "Bohemian Pilsner" would ever suggest. I have a feeling that Honza Kotcka's efforts just might pay off in the long run, and we could be seeing a renewed interest in the great lagers of the Czech Republic. I sure hope so.

Don Scheidt for Celebrator