A Bostonian's Beer Guide to Prague

Prauge, Czech Republic...New Year's Eve. Not really sure what I was expecting out of this trip, but I knew a few things about Prague: "cabarets" are in abundance (which in Prague boils down to a strip club); its damn cold even by New England standards; and the Pilsner rules. Well I didn't visit any cabaret's and the weather was unseasonably warm in the mid-40s, but I did get to try out Prague's beer scene, along with variety of pilsners and lagers.

View Prague Trip in a larger map

The map above highlights some of the popular beer bars and brewpubs that we tried to venture to, and in the end we were able to make it to U Zlateho Tygra, U Fleku, Pivovarsky Klub, Minipivovar U Medvídků, and Barego at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Our first night we stayed around Old Town Square and went to some of the bars that border the square. Although touristy (and thus a bit more expensive), the views and atmosphere are great.

On New Year's Eve we decided to make a journey around the city, starting in Old Town Square, strolled across the Charles Bridge, visited The Lennon Wall, and stopped in at a few of the bars. U Fleku, a traditional and popular Prague brewpub, was first on the list. U Fleku only serves one beer, a dark 5% lager, that is highly acclaimed and gets praise from beer drinkers around the world. While a lager, it is similar to a stout and has a bit of tartness to it. The beer does live up to the expectation, and was hands down the best beer I had while in Prague. U Fleku itself is a great bar with an awesome atmosphere; the 2-man band come around with tuba and accordion, and the goulash is delicious. If visiting Prague again, this would be my number one go to.

Our next stop after U Fleku was another brewpub, Minipivovar U Medvídků. While the atmosphere didn't match U Fleku, Medvídků has a variety of house beers, including a 12% strong ale - X33. Strong and sweet, this beer had a dominating presence of molasses and fairly thick mouthfeel. However, for a 12% beer the drinkability was definitely there and would easily go back for more; it actually reminded me of Double Arrogant Bastard.

Minipivovar U Medvídků had a few other beers, including two smaller lagers, both which appeared to be unfiltered and had a very malty backbone. Interesting and worth at least a small serving.

Before heading back to our hotel to get ready for New Year's Eve celebrations, we stopped in for a beer at U Zlateho Tygra, which (I believe) translates to "At the Golden Tiger". The only beer served was Pilsner Urquell in large mugs, but everything is done quickly and it's clear the motive of this place is to drink your beer. There weren't any open tables and it looked like only locals were standing around the bar conversing with the man in charge, so we ordered our beers and stood off to the side. A very different(and smoky) experience, but a memorable one at that.

New Year's Day was a slow start, but by noon we had made it out of the hotel and wandered over to Mala Strana, eventually settling down at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. The hotel itself is beautiful and built within an old monastery, with elements of the old buildings still intact. The hotel bar, Barego, had an impressive Czech craft beer menu. Prices were reasonable given the variety and serving sizes.

While I was looking for information on beer bars in Prague, I actually came across a group that looked like it rented out the hotel's wine cellar for beer tastings. The beautiful cellar is located below the restaurant and is walled with exposed brick; it is probably one of the most unique and extravagant tasting rooms I've ever seen.

All told, Prague was a great trip and definitely has a unique beer scene, dominated by a variety of pilsners and lagers. If you happen to make a trip, U Fleku and Minipivovar U Medvídků are the two brewpubs to visit, while U Zlateho Tygra and Barego have their own appealing settings and offerings. And if you do visit Prague, make sure you don't forget the true drinking essentials.

A Bostonian's Beer Guide to Paris

Before I left for my trip to Paris a couple weeks ago, I made a map of Paris beer bars that I was going to try and get to. While I didn't make it to all of them, I think we did a pretty good job considering we were only there for 2 nights. If you are going to Paris and want to venture into their local beer scene, here is a mini-guide that hopefully give you some good info.

La Cave à Bulles

One of the places that I really wanted to go in Paris was this beer store because of it's focus on French craft beer. I kid you not, this was the first place we went after dropping bags off at our hotel. A few blocks north of Notre Dame, off of Boulevard de Sebastopol, this beautiful little store sits down a side alley, tucked away from the more crowded streets. Upon entry, its evident the beers are well organized, making it simple for even the non-French speaking customers such as myself to navigate through the selection of bottles.

We were greeted by who I believe is the owner, Simon, asking if we needed any help. I told him how I heard about the store on a beer website, to which he replied, "BeerAdvocate?" Well aware of his popularity among American beer geeks, he was extremely nice and helped me pick out a selection of French craft beers that may suit my tastes. The prices were relatively cheap, especially when compared to going around bars in Paris. I drank some of the beer in the hotel, and brought a few back to the States.

I don't know why, but this was one of the coolest beer stores I have ever been in. Maybe it was because I was in a completely different country where I barely spoke the language, but the love for great beer was still apparent.

Au Trappiste

By time we had left La Cave à Bulles we got a bit hungry, and I knew that Au Trappiste was in the general area. After a healthy bit of exploring through the busy streets, we found Au Trappiste on the lower part of Saint Denis. The brasserie isn't located on the part which is mainly pedestrian walking, it actually sits on the drivable part of Saint Denis.

There is a fair amount of seating outside at Au Trappiste, however it was pretty busy when we went, so we had to find a table inside. We were greeted by a friendly waiter who took us to a table right by the bar on the first floor.

Au Trappiste offers up a pretty solid selection of Belgian and French beers, as well as the usual French fare. We had a great cheese plate, and for beer we went with a 750ml of La Choulette Blonde, which was served with the appropriate branded glassware...always a nice touch.

In all, Au Trappiste is a place to enjoy local craft beers in a busy part of Paris.

Falstaff Bastille

I came across two different Falstaff brasseries in Paris, but the one we ventured to was in Bastille. We walked from Notre Dame, north to Rue de Rivoli, and down Saint Antoine until we got to the traffic circle where the Basille station is. On our walk there, it became apparent that we were definitely venturing into a more residential area with less tourists, which seemed to translate into more French speaking only places. But this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as it kind of added to the experience.

Falstaff Bastille has a larger outdoor seating area than Au Trappiste, and appeared to have a larger beer selection as well. While there we had a few Belgians, including some krieks and gueuze.

The atmosphere was pretty cool, and there was plenty to watch between the street performers, large traffic circle and people bustling from the train station. While I wouldn't make this a must stop beer bar because of its location, it is nice to get away from the more tourist central locations. However when we left, the walk we took down Boulevard Henri IV towards Ile Saint Louis was nice, especially once we reached the island.

Frog and Princess

The Frog bars had been recommended to me by a couple of friends, particularly the Frog and Princess. Seeing as it was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel, we decided to check it out the first night we were there. After a late dinner, we walked in around midnight to a pretty low key, but fun setting. The great thing about the Frog bars is that they are a chain of brewpubs; the menu below shows what their own selection of beers was.

However, when we went back to the Frog and Princess the next night (Thursday) it was a completely different scene. Think Faneuil Hall on a Friday night. Now substitute college kids from Boston with college kids from Paris. While it was a great place on Wednesday, I would think about what kind of scene you are looking for before jumping at the Frog and Princess.

While I wasn't able to hit all the places I had laid out on the Paris beer map, I definitely got a good taste of the beer scene in Paris. The only place that I was unable to get to that I wanted to was Académie De La Bière, but was just a little too far away to be convenient.

I hope this mini-guide comes in helpful for any beer lovers traveling to Paris.