Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: pivo

This isn't Pilsner Urquell, although the mug is a Pilsner Urquell mug. This is actually U Dvou Kocek's house brew, made in their brewery. It's an unfiltered, unpasteurized beer, like most beers sold in Prague brewpubs, and would probably be considered a Lezak, or lager.

Another brewpub in Prague, almost as famous as U Fleku, is U Medvidku. U Medvidku is mostly known for their X33 dark beer, supposedly the most powerful beer in the world (although 33 indicates 33 degrees Plato, rather than 33% alcohol). However, a milder, and far cheaper option is Old Gott, seen here. My understanding is that the name is a pun in several respects, referencing "God" in German, but also, probably, the now-geriatric Czech pop star Karel Gott.

Maybe the most famous pub in Prague, at least according to the tourist literature, is U Fleku. This pub supposedly used to be frequented by Jaroslav Hasek (like most of the older pubs in Prague, actually), and is a well-known brew pub as well. Their specialty is this very-rich, sweet dark beer. It isn't cheap, but neither is the pub, which is rarely frequented by locals anymore. The shot glasses in this photo have Becherovka in them, which is also passed around in this pub as if it were beer. It's not beer, though. I have photos elsewhere of the distillery for this herbal liquor, which usually has an alcohol content of about 38%, more powerful than most vodka or tequila, although there are some weaker, sweeter versions of it. In reality, though, the full-powered stuff is also pretty sweet.

This is the end product of the Novomestsky Pivovar, which although a brewpub literally translates to "New Town Brewery." This beer, while light (in the Czech sense), is nevertheless cloudy due to its being unfiltered. It's rich in taste as well, which is typical of its also being unpasteurized. Pasteurization of beer is more to increase shelf life than to improve food safety, so although its generally safe to drink, it isn't economical to bottle it usually, so a brewpub or brewery is usually the only place you can drink it.

This is one of the fermentation vats at the Novomestsky Pivovar, a brewpub on Vodickova in Prague. Most of the brewpub is located underground in medieval cellars thought to have long been connected to brewing, although the current business only dates to 1993. These vats are unusual for places like this in that they're fully modern, as in stainless steel, while most brewpubs pride themselves on using very old fashioned methods in order to improve quality. To be fair, though, these vats are open, which is old fashioned, although they're protected behind glass.

I took this photo on the same day as the bike picture in Nadrazi Cercany, but I didn't notice it when I was selecting photos on Monday. In any case, I think it's one of my better cameraphone shots.

Here's my alternate shot of Hrad Kotnov. The foreground is a bit dark, I know, but I wanted to show the variation of architectural styles.

Tabor's castle, Hrad Kotnov, was built in 1420, although like many castles it has been rebuilt many times since. The tower is the only original aboveground part still intact. The current castle is more the product of the 1532 reconstruction, after it was burned down in a fire, and the 1613 reconstruction, when it was rebuilt into a support facility for a brewery, which was physically connected in 1844. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, and then the castle fell into disuse before being reconstructed, as both a brewery and tourist attraction, in 2004.

Real proper breweries, regardless of age, brew their beer in copper kettles, and that naturally includes Plzensky Prazdroj. I was amazed that I got this photo to come out at all, since I shot it with 100 ISO Fomapan shot through an Ikoflex, using a bad light meter.

In the old days, Plzensky Prazdroj had its own industrial railway, and the equipment is still there on display. The designs of the equipment are noticably Czech/Austrian, although I don't know a lot about all of it.

Here's a general view of the Plzensky Prazdroj Pivovar, built (mostly) in 1842-1900 or so.

This water tower is part of the original Plzensky Prazdroj Pivovar (brewery) in Plzen, home to the world's first Pilsener beer, Pilsener Urquell, invented in 1842 with the construction of the brewery.