Brewery Visits

BEERCATION 2022 – PILSNER URQUELL – CZECH REPUBLIC

Hoppy’s last visit in Prague was at a Pilsner Urquell taproom/restaurant in the Vaclav Havel Airport. You’ve probably heard someone say that a certain beer tastes better in its home country than it does after being imported to the U.S. In the case of Pilsner Urquell, I would heartily agree.

Pilsner Urquell is brewed using triple decoction which is described as heating a portion of the mash three times to add more flavor and color to the beer, as well as using parallel brewing in wooden lagering barrels. They use Moravian Barley and Saaz hops from the Czech Republic. In Europe, some of their beer is served from tanks.

Their description of taste is a refreshing crispness from natural carbonation, then subtle caramel tones and a clean finish with a pleasing hoppy bitterness. The reason that I feel that Pilsner Urquell tastes better in the Czech Republic is the way that they pour, which results in a much larger head of foam. This would be the use of the Hladinka pour which is three fingers of foam on top of the beer. That thick head of dense, wet foam seals in freshness and flavor giving the beer a perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness.

Pilsner Urquell is brewed by Plzensky Prazdroj, and is the original pilsner having been brewed since1842. It is 4.4% ABV, 40 IBU.

BEERCATION 2022 – PIVOVAR STRAHOV (BREWERY STRAHOV) – CZECH REPUBLIC

The next beercation brewery stop was at Pivovar Strahov in Prague. It is located in the Strahov Monastery which was founded in the 12th century. Beer has been brewed at the monastery since the 17th century, and the majority of their beers are named after St. Norbert. The brewery is located in a picturesque spot, just inside an old wall from the cloister around which the ancient monastery stands.

Hoppy quaffed a Sv. Norbert Weizen described as a very brisk and refreshing drink brewed with Saaz Special hops and top fermentation yeasts which produce a naturally wide palette of aromas and flavors. 5% ABV; 17 IBU

BEERCATION 2022 – LOWENBRAUEREI PASSAU – GERMANY

Hoppy’s next international brewery visit was in Passau, Germany at a microbrewery known as Lowenbrauerei Passau. The location consists of a brewery bar/restaurant in the historic Ratskeller building along with a 250-seat beer garden. Hoppy enjoyed his time in the beer garden where he drank their Stockbauer Weisse, a German-style Hefeweizen clocking in at 5.4% ABV.

BEERCATION 2022 – GRAVITY BREWING – HUNGARY

Hoppy has gone international! He visited Gravity Brewing in Budapest as part of his international tour. This nano brewery which opened in 2018 consists of a 5 bbl production brewery and a 1 bbl pilot brewery. They are located in a basement along with a 40-seat taproom. While there, Hoppy enjoyed sampling their ales along with a guest brewery offering. The beers that he samples included the following:

Polaris – India Pale Lager – Described as hop-forward, starting with a crisp, classic Czech-style base, an ultra-creamy head and a touch of grain complexity. They use a blend of German, American and New Zealand hops. 6% ABV; 38 IBU

Parallax – West Coast IPA – Balanced toward gentle bitterness. Packed with Centennial hops for a solid body of piney, resinous citrus, while Cascade, Citra and Simcoe layer even more bright lemon zest and orange blossom onto the foundation. 5.8% ABV; 58 IBU

High Orbit – Dynasty IPA – An Imperial/Double IPA featuring high hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. 8.5% ABV; 82 IBU

Dark Matter – Chocolate Milk Stout – Their darkest core brew is an all-season warmer stacked with chocolate from front to back. 7% ABV; 25 IBU

Guest Tap from Brew Your Mind Brewery – Still Dreaming – An Imperial/Double New England/Hazy IPA. 8.2% ABV

BEERCATION 2022 – GEORGETOWN BREWING – WASHINGTON

Between flights Hoppy was able to visit Georgetown Brewing in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, WA. He had met the founders Manny Chou and Roger Bialous in 2003, a few months after they opened in a small portion of a building that was formerly home to the original Rainier Brewery. (They have since moved to a much larger facility, also in Georgetown.) When Hoppy met them, for beer samples, he asked them if they might be coming out with an IPA anytime soon, but they said no, as many other breweries were offering IPAs at the time. Hoppy is happy that they now offer a number of IPAs throughout the year!

Their Bodhizafa IPA won the gold medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and Johnny Utah Pale Ale won gold at the 2019 GABF! Their Manny’s Pale Ale is only sold on draft and can be found at over 900 bars and restaurants in Seattle and 7.7 pints are consumed each minute, which means every 7.8 seconds someone drinks a pint of Manny’s! (For a limited time during COVID, Manny’s was available in cans, as a fundraiser for bar and restaurant workers in Washington State and it raised a total of $412,000 on their behalf.)

While at Georgetown, Hoppy enjoyed a Bodhizafa IPA. It is described as getting its light silky texture from rolled oats. The flavor and aroma both express mandarin and citrus all around. Over five pounds of hops per barrel makes this IPA truly Bodhilicious. It is brewed with Chinook, Citra, Mosaic and Columbus Hops. 6.9% ABV; 80 IBU