Craft Beer--Beer Events Calendar--Information
While in Prague, Hoppy visited the BeerGeek Bar which also serves as a taproom for Sibeeria Brewing, their own microbrewery which opened in 2014. They have 32 beers on tap which change regularly. During his visit, Hoppy sampled six or seven of the beers that were available, including three or four from Sibeeria. To no one’s surprise, most of these were IPAs.
Hoppy’s next visit was at Cafe Dacicky which is a traditional old Czech restaurant in Kutna Hora. It is named after Mikulas Dicicky who is the most renowned inhabitant of Kutna Hora who lived from 1555-1626. The life of this chronicler, writer, poet, drunkard and rambler inspired many other artists. His house is located next to the restaurant.
While at the cafe Hoppy enjoyed a Kutna Hora Vienna Lager. It had a 4.7% ABV; 24 IBU.
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
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.
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
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
