The short answer: order a fresh Czech lager, ideally unpasteurized, and try more than one. Prague has three kinds of places worth your time. Brewery halls that brew their own beer. Pubs that pour tank beer delivered fresh from the brewery. And bars with a long line of taps from different Czech breweries, where you can taste half the country in one evening.
Below is what to order, how Czech beer is poured, what it costs and how to order it without pointing at the tap.
Czech beer in 60 seconds
The number on the tap is not the alcohol. The degree (°) shows how much malt sugar the beer started with before fermentation. A 10° beer (desítka) is lighter and easy to drink. A 12° beer (dvanáctka) is fuller. Most 12° pale lagers end up around 4.5 to 5 % alcohol: Pilsner Urquell 12° is 4.4 %, Staropramen 12° is 5 %.
Three colours. Světlé is pale, polotmavé is amber, tmavé is dark.
Fresh is the point. Look for "nepasterizované" (unpasteurized) or "tankové pivo" (tank beer) on the board. Tank beer arrives from the brewery in large tanks and goes straight to the tap.
What to order
Start with a pale 12° lager. Pilsner Urquell is the classic: first brewed in Plzeň in 1842, it was the world's first pale lager. Budweiser Budvar from České Budějovice and Staropramen, brewed right here in Prague, are the other big names.
Then try the smaller breweries. Únětice, Chotěboř, Klášter and Rychtář Rataj pour the same style with a different character. Rychtář Rataj, for example, is hopped four times.
Want something else? Czech craft brewers make IPAs and sours too: Permon Sherpa is a 16° IPA at 7.5 %. At Annie's the Matuška tap changes every week. Or go dark and sweet: Krušovice Dark has a caramel taste, Černá Hora makes a honey special and Rohozec a sour cherry beer.
All of the beers above are on tap at Annie's on Malé náměstí, so you can compare them side by side. → What's on tap at Annie's
How Czech beer is poured
Czech bartenders pour the same beer in different ways, and the foam is part of it.
- Hladinka: the standard pour. Beer with a firm, creamy head about three fingers tall.
- Šnyt: a smaller pour, roughly half beer and half foam. For when you want one more, but a small one.
- Mlíko: almost all foam, sweet and creamy. You drink it in a few gulps.
Not every bar pours all three, so ask before you order.
Where to drink beer in Prague
Brewery halls. Beer brewed and served under one roof. U Fleků in the New Town has brewed beer since 1499 and is famous for its 13° dark lager. Up by Prague Castle, the Strahov Monastic Brewery brews its own St. Norbert beers inside the Strahov Monastery.
Tank beer pubs. Look for "tankové pivo" signs. The beer comes fresh from the brewery in tanks.
Tap bars with many breweries. The best way to taste a lot in one place. In Old Town, Annie's Beer Bar & Grill on Malé náměstí has 21 taps of Czech beer and cider, steps from the Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square.
Beer gardens. In the warmer months, the beer garden in Letná park has a wide view over the city and the Vltava. It is mainly a summer spot, so check before you go.
How to order (and toast)
- "Jedno pivo, prosím." One beer, please.
- "Ještě jedno." One more.
- "Zaplatím, prosím." I'd like to pay.
- "Na zdraví!" Cheers. Look the other person in the eye when you clink glasses.
In traditional Czech pubs the classic size is half a litre, and a small one is 0.3 l. In some pubs the waiter marks every beer on a slip of paper on your table and you pay at the end. At Annie's beers are 0.4 l and tasters 0.15 l.
What a beer costs
Prices vary a lot between a neighbourhood pub and a bar on a main square, so check the price list before you order.
At Annie's, a 0.4 l beer is 79 to 139 Kč and a 0.15 l taster 39 to 99 Kč. Every day from 4pm to 7pm it's happy hour: buy 1, get 1 free. → Happy Hour
Can't choose? Get a tasting flight
A flight is the quickest way to find your Czech beer. At Annie's you pick 5, 10 or 20 tasters of 0.15 l, and the price depends on the beers you choose. The house flight of five is 335 Kč: Černá Hora Honey, Démon, Primátor Weizen, Rohozec Cherry and Krušovice Dark.
