Take an armchair visit to a unique brewery, pub or other intoxicating venue that has a story you’ll love.
Plzeňzký Prazdroj:
I hope this post finds everyone staying safe at home. Today’s armchair visit takes us to the Czech Republic, the city of Plzeň and Plzeňzký Prazdroj, the brewery that makes the world-famous Pilsner Urquell beer.
Plzeň is about 57 miles southwest of Prague. My wife and I traveled by train from Prague for our visit.Two round trip tickets cost less than twenty U.S. dollars. And we took a short walk from the train station in Plzeň to Plzeňzký Prazdroj brewery and the Pilsner Urquell Visitor Center.
Arrival at Plzeň and Plzeňzký Prazdroj
In 1842, brewer Josef Groll introduced the world to the first golden (or pale) ‘pilsner’ lager, called Pilsner Urquell. His invention soon became the most popular style of beer on the planet. More than two-thirds of the beer produced in the world today is pale lager, sometimes named pils, pilsner or pilsener after Pilsner Urquell.
Plzeňzký Prazdroj brewery, which is now owned by Asahi, actually produces more than just Pilsner Urquell. Their two main brands are Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus, but they also brew several other brand name beers.
Part of today’s modern brewery
Pilsner Urquell beer is made with 100% Czech ingredients of Moravian barley, Saaz hops and Plzeň water. Also, the yeast was originally cultured in Plzeň. Pilsner Urquell is brewed using a triple decoction process – which involves brewing a portion of the mash three times.
Originally Pilsner Urquell was brewed in a metal vat, fermented in open wooden vats and matured/ stored in large wooden barrels. Today the beer is brewed in copper mash tuns and ferments and matures in stainless steel tanks (I’m just highlighting some of the key steps for simplicity).
Josef Groll brewed Pilsner Urquell in this metal vat, on display at Plzeňzký Prazdroj , in the 1800’s. During World War II, brewery workers hid the vat to prevent the Germans from seizing it and melting the metal to reuse for war support.
The original storage cellars consist of man-made caves/tunnels that are carved in sandstone. The underground caves/tunnels were cooled with ice collected in winter that was dropped into ice room sections of the cave.
In the Caves/Tunnels of Plzeňzký Prazdroj
You can visit both the modern brewery and the caves/tunnels when touring Plzeňzký Prazdroj. One of the best parts of the tour takes place in nine kilometers of underground caves/tunnels. Plzeňzký Prazdroj parallel brews in these cellars, fermenting and lagering Pilsner Urquell just like Josef Groll did. This is just about the only place on earth where you can taste this unfiltered, unpasteurized golden lager right out of a wooden vat (foeder). It’s a highlight of the brewery tour, and I can promise you that you will never have a more memorable pilsner beer. Na zdraví!