Op de fles staat Original Pilsner Bier en 1842. Dit is in dit geval zeker terecht:
Plzeňský Prazdroj (Original Source of Pilsner), better known by its germanic name Pilsner Urquell, is a lager brewed in Plzeň, now in the Czech Republic, since 1842. Pilsner Urquell, the world's first pilsner beer, is now produced by global brewer SABMiller.
Pilsner Urquell is hopped with Saaz hops, a noble hop variety which is a key element in its flavour profile, as is the use of soft water and fire-brewing. It is available in 330 ml, 355ml and 500ml aluminium cans and green bottles.
As the name suggests, ("Urquell" in German or "Prazdroj" in Czech both mean "the ancient source") Pilsner Urquell is the original pilsner and first pale lager beer. It is characterised by its golden colour and clarity and was immensely successful – nine out of ten beers produced and consumed in the world are derived from the original Pilsen beer. Before 1840, the standard beer in Bohemia was top-fermented and characterized by a dark colour, turbidity, and inconsistent quality. Plzeň burghers had not found this satisfying and the Plzeň city council ordered 36 casks to be dumped. They invested in a new, state-of-the art brewery, the Bürgerbrauerei (Town brewery, Měšťanský pivovar in Czech), and commissioned Josef Groll, a Bavarian brewer, to develop a better beer. On 5 October 1842, Groll had an entirely new mash ready and on 11 November 1842, the new beer was first served at the feast of Saint Martin markets.
Bürgerbrauerei registered Pilsner Bier B B brand in 1859. In 1898, they also registered Original Pilsner Bier 1842, Plzeňský pramen, Prapramen, Měšťanské Plzeňské, Plzeňský pravý zdroj and finally Pilsner Urquell and Plzeňský Prazdroj which are in use today (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilsner_Urquell).
Pilsner Urquell (internationale naam) of Plzeňský Prazdroj (Tsjechische naam) is een biermerk uit de Tsjechische stad Pilsen. Het wordt sinds 1842 gebrouwen en geldt als het eerste pilsener bier. Tegenwoordig is dit biermerk het vlaggenschip van het wereldwijde brouwersbedrijf SABMiller. De huidige brouwmeester van Pilsner Urquell is Václav Berka.
Waarschijnlijk werd er in Pilsen al kort na de stichting van de stad in het jaar 1295 bier gebrouwen. Omdat het bier in Pilsen aan het begin van de 19e eeuw van zeer slechte kwaliteit was, besloten de inwoners van de stad die een brouwvergunning hadden, een nieuwe brouwerij te bouwen. In de lente van 1842 werd de Beierse brouwer Josef Groll als eerste brouwmeester aangesteld. In 1898 werd het handelsmerk Pilsner Urquell opgericht.
Pilsner Urquell wordt in Nederland door Koninklijke Grolsch B.V. en in België door Corsendonk geïmporteerd (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilsner_Urquell). Deze zullen dan ook wel bij SABMiller zitten?
Main gate of the Plzeňský Prazdroj
The tour of the brewery starts at the Visitor’s Centre, in the building housing the original wort cooler. The guide will lead you to areas associated with the history of the Pilsner Urquell legend as well as to areas where beer is brewed today. In addition, you’ll see one of the most modern bottling lines in Europe, a panorama cinema, a unique exhibit of beer ingredients and an historical and a modern brewhouse. The highlight of the tour is a visit to the historical beer cellars, where visitors of drinking age can taste unfiltered, unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell tapped directly from an oak lager barrel. Even on the hottest of summer days, though, be sure to take a warm jacket with you. It is only 4°C (39°F) in the cellars (www.inyourpocket.com/prague/Pilsner-Urquell-Brewery_116472v).
Dit op en top Tsjechische bier van SAB Miller is trots op de toegangspoort van hun brouwerij te Plzen, die op hun fles en etiket voorkomt:
De fles heb ik wat bewonderd, de etiketten zijn er half op, dus na het afweken geeft dit geen representatief beeld van de fles. Gelukkig hebben we de foto's nog. Na het bewonderen van de fles is het tijd om de fles te openen:
Pilsner Urquell (4,4%)
Het bier is goudgeel met wit schuim. Op de foto is te zien hoe slecht ik het heb ingeschonken.
Het mondgevoel en de smaak hebben beide wat metaligs. Het bier heeft meer impact dan de andere Tsjechische pilsjes die ik heb gedronken. Die waren wat zachter, dit is hard, al voelt de alcohol en mout wel zacht aan. Ook is er hier meer hopbitterheid aanwezig. Er is ook behoorlijk wat koolzuur aanwezig, waarbij wederom iets metaligs. Ik heb dit bier in Tsjechië gekocht. Dus er kan geen lichtskunk-effect zijn toch? Wat je zou kunnen verwachten bij bier dat lang getransporteerd is of iets.
De smaak Urquell pilsner is te omschrijven als vol van smaak, intens hoppig en met een Fijne bitterheid.
Pilser Urquell betekent letterlijk "Pilsner van originele bron". Het bier is meer dan 160 jaar geleden ontstaan in de Tsjechische Pilsen en wordt bijzonder gewaardeerd door de kritische bierdrinkers uit de hele wereld. om de karakteristieke smaak (www.biernet.nl/bier/merken/urquell).
Pilsner Urquell (4,4%) is de moeder der aller Pilsners. Sinds 1842 op de kaart en wat ons betreft nog steeds erg goed. Lekker moutig, mooie bitterheid en goed drinkbaar. Deze Czech Pilsner is een blijvertje.
Het bier Pilsner Urquell van brouwerij Urquell is een mooi bier uit Tsjechie. Het bier valt onder het type Pilsener met een alcoholpercentage van 4,4% valt het onder de lichtere bieren. Geniet ervan!
Geniet ervan! (http://bierlab.nl/pilsner-urquell-33cl?gclid=CPCOuM_YuMgCFda4GwodTQMGiw)
The world's first and original pilsner from Pilsen, Pilsner Urquell has an intensely hoppy, full-bodied flavour and a characteristically fine bitterness against a background of honey-sweetness. Uncompromised since the day it was created, it continues to delight discerning beer drinkers around the world.
Pilsner Urquell is the original Pilsner, brewed here in Pilsen. Subtle malty sweetness and caramel tones from our open-flame triple decoction pairs well with the assertive bitterness from the triple-hopped Czech Saaz. The beer is slowly fermented and matured for more than five weeks.
Petr Kofron | Brewer (www.sabmiller.com/brands/brand-explorer/pilsner-urquell)
First tapped on November 11, 1842, the original Pilsner’s sublime taste and golden color has made it a hit throughout the decades. To celebrate this monumental occasion, we have an awesome new special edition badge for you to unlock (http://blog.untappd.com/post/33011606891/celebrating-170-golden-years).
ryho, Yesterday at 09:18 PM
I think it's fantastic that we can still purchase the original beer that started the Pilsner style. If only the first Porter and Stout were still available,I would never have to hear conflicting stories about what the difference is. But with Pilsner you know it should taste like, this is it.
A beautiful beer, so bright and such a nice head.
The aroma is a malty caramel-ness.
The taste has that Pilsner flavor that is similar to other pilsners that I have tried. Light caramel sweetness, and a Pilsner flavor. I'm not sure what of the flavor is Saaz and what of the flavor is from the kilning of the Pilsner malt, that is something I would like to be able to differentiate (www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1/429/).
almightyme3, Thursday at 03:39 AM
What a great representation of style. Beer does not have to be heavy or light it has to be just right for the style. This one is excellent. Yes it has a bitter bite and a tad of alcohol shows up but nevertheless it is very good. It's bready malty and just light enough. It is the formula many try to replicate but rarely get right. You can tell the water used is excellent otherwise it would show through in a pilz. Brown bottles and throwback cans make a difference eliminating a bit of skunk. Very worth it! Great brew (www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1/429/).
LazyPyro (40) - Gloucestershire, ENGLAND - OCT 7, 2015
Pours clear golden colour, small foamy white head. Aroma is malty and floral. Taste is bready and hoppy, a little bitterness in the aftertaste (www.ratebeer.com/beer/pilsner-urquell/717/).
tronester, Oct 03, 2015
Pours a clear golden with a thin off-white head. A hint of sulfur, some bread, and honey make up the aroma. The taste begins with a mild herbal component, then some table water cracker, then a hint of lemon and a super clean refreshing bitterness in the finish. Very dry, and hoppy. Mouthfeel is good. Overall an excellent PIlsner, my bottle was extremely fresh which no doubt helps with this style of beer (www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1/429/).
Pilsner Urquell
Brewed by Plzensky Prazdroj (SABMiller)
Style: Czech Pilsner (Světlý)
Plzen, Czech Republic
ABV: 4.4%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
It is called the "model of meter" among beers. All other pilsners are a better or worse attempt to copy the original - the first ever Pilsner Urquell. Its unparalleled exceptionality is guaranteed by the same recipe dating from 1842 (www.ratebeer.com/beer/pilsner-urquell/717/).
My first beer: Pilsner Urquell and the challenges of green bottles
I was introduced to the effects of clear and green bottles on beer - the allowance of UV light, the degradation of flavor, the introduction to what we call “skunkiness” - but those effects aren’t usually so cut and dry. Green bottled beers don’t necessarily equate skunkiness - in fact, I now realize that the reason for the skunked taste in the two previous examples was as much time and fluctuating conditions as it was the green bottle.
Time and fluctuating conditions are the two things that Pilsner Urquell has a hard time controlling. The issue, in this case, isn’t the bottle. It’s the distance. Pilsner Urquell comes from a long long way away - Czech Republic, home of my wife’s ancestors and home to one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Prague.
Though you’ll never be able to pronounce it correctly without spending a few weeks in the Czech Republic, the pilsner we all know and love originated in the town of Plzeň, a location that not only stumps the tongue, but also forces us to find the “alternate characters” option for our keyboards. It was from here that the European pilsner got its foothold, and it was from here that Pilsner Urquell sprouted into a multi-national brewery with ties to giant conglomerates.
Pilsner Urquell is different from most giant breweries, however, in that it values some elements of tradition over the capitalistic trend toward accessibility and corner-cutting. They didn’t see the green bottles as a problem - they saw the method of shipment as a problem. So they kept the bottles and improved the packaging.
For this reason, Pilsner Urquell has dipped its toes into the “container wars” that beers like Miller Lite continue to wage against their foes. The difference, of course, is that Pilsner Urquell’s changes - cold shipping its beer and hiding its bottles from light during the entire trip from Europe - actually improve the taste of the beer. There’s no vortex neck or vent hole here. Just protection.
A lot of things have changed for Pilsner Urquell over the past few years. They’ve become a big name. They’ve adapted their brewing process. They have done everything they can to rid their beer of skunk - even going as far as replacing some of their hops with hop extract (http://beerivebeendrinking.tumblr.com/post/43562515931/my-first-beer-pilsner-urquell-and-the-challenges).
Ja, ja Pilsner Urquell:
...it was today in 1842 that the Citizen Brewery in Plzen, Bohemia — in what today is the Czech Republic — first brewed Pilsner Urquell, the world’s first pilsner. The ad is fairly recent, but plays on the beer’s heritage as a noble beer, Pilsner I, or Pilsner the First. And it’s just beautiful (http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/beer-in-ads-209-pilsner-urquell-pilsner-i/).
The first Pilsener, brewed in 1842 Bohemia, was a lager unlike any other. Its brilliant clarity, golden color, and light body made it an instant success in a world that was accustomed only to dark, heavy, cloudy beers. Its popularity soared. Within a couple of decades it was being exported around the world.
No sooner had shipments of this new beer reached American shores than brewers set to work duplicating the style. The import's subsequent impact on American brewing trends is most manifest in the popularity of its most famous American successor, Budweiser. No imitator, however, can hope to match the true character of this Czech original. Brewed with a combination of soft Plzen water, home-malted barley, superb native Saaz hops, and a lager yeast originally smuggled out of Bavaria more than 150 years ago, Pilsner Urquell is to this day a true king of beers.
The Kingdom of Beers -- A Brewers' History of Bohemia
The origins of Pilsener beer can be traced back to its namesake, the ancient city of Plzen, located in the western half of the Czech Republic in what was formerly Czechoslovakia and, before that, part of the kingdom of Bohemia. Brewing in this region dates back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Though surely incomplete, early historical records show that the Slavs, the ethnic and linguistic group to which Czechs belong, served beer to Byzantine envoys as early as A.D. 448. Additional sources indicate that Bohemians were growing hops by the year 859 and brewing beer by 1088
Plzen's contribution to beer history began in 1295, when the King of Bohemia, Wenceslas II, founded the town of New Plzen on the banks of the Radbuza River.
Old Plzen was located nearby, about 9 kilometers southeast in the Uslava Valley, in an area that was not easily accessible for trade. King Wenceslas chose the new site carefully, placing New Plzen (now known simply as Plzen) near the confluence of four waterways, the Mze, Radbuza, Uhlava, and Uslava Rivers. The city was also near the junction of major trading routes leading to Nuremberg, Regensburg, and Saxony. It was a site that would put the city at center stage in an exciting chapter in brewing history.
At the city's founding, King Wenceslas gave its 260 citizens the right to make beer and sell it from their houses, a lucrative privilege that was passed down through each family. The first written records of a distinct brewery in Plzen date back to 1307. Evidence suggests that many of the early residents of Plzen formed joint breweries and even a community malthouse to make production more efficient, with individual brewers making their own wort and then dumping it into a large vat for fermentation.....Czechs such as Frantisek Ondrej Poupe (1753-1805) reintroduced scientific exploration in the pursuit of brewing progress. Czechs claim that Poupe was the first brewer to use a thermometer, invented about 200 years earlier for the purpose of measuring human body temperature. By the 1800s, brewing was becoming even more technical and specialized, and formal training programs began to emerge. The renowned Professor Karl Balling, for example, developer of the Balling scale (a measure of the sugar content in a solution) was appointed lecturer on the chemistry of fermentation at Prague Polytechnic. Prague was also the home of a brewing school (founded in 1869, four years after Weihenstephan in Germany) and a malting school (founded in 1897) .
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Beer quality had been deteriorating during this period, probably due to a lack of understanding about proper fermentation practices. Bohemian brewers, armed with their new-found knowledge of yeast, began to connect differences in style with variations in yeast properties. In 1838, several of the city's brewers deemed 36 barrels of local beer undrinkable and dumped it out in the town square, right in front of City Hall. The brewers decided that building a brewery would serve the dual purpose of making money and brewing better beer.
Legend has it that soon after this event (1840), a strain of much-envied bottom-fermenting yeast was smuggled out of Bavaria by a monk and passed on to a Bohemian brewer. The resulting beer met with instant success, and two years later, the brewery responsible for launching the Pilsener style began operations.
The Birth of a Brewery and New Brewing Tradition
Pilsner Urquell's brewery began as a collective facility operated by several of Plzen's independent brewers, who designed it specifically to brew the new lager style. The brewery was built on the bank of the Radbuza River, near a well and directly above a sandstone foundation that was easily carved with tunnels for cold storage, or lagering, of this new breed of beer. A 29-year-old lager brewer from Bavaria, Josef Groll, was named master brewer of the new enterprise. Originally known as the Mestansky Pivovar (Citizens' Brewery), the brewery was later renamed Plzensky Prazdroj, meaning "original source of Pilsener" in Czech.
The Plzen brewery first sold Josef Groll's clear, light-colored lager in 1842. The beer acquired the name Pilsner Urquell (urquell is German for "original source"), in honor of the language of the ruling Austrian Empire. Though certainly distinctive, Pilsner Urquell was far from the first beer to be lagered. Bavarians had been brewing lagers at least as far back as the 1400s, when their method of storing beer in the cool caves of the Bavarian mountains inadvertently selected for lager yeast, which thrived at the low temperatures. These Bavarian lagers were mostly dark beers, however, and any light-colored ales that were available were probably cloudy.
The timing was right for Pilsner Urquell to sell the lager that was to become the model for so many others. The lagering process so recently arrived to Plzen produced a smoother and mellower beer than any Bohemia's brewers had created before; clearly, the cooperative effort resulted in a dramatic turn-around for Plzen's beer quality. New and improved kilning methods also contributed
Word of Pilsner Urquell quickly raced through Europe, and before long (1859) the brewery made "Pilsener Beer" a registered trademark. The beer was finally exported to America in 1871 (12). In 1898, following numerous breaches of the Pilsener trademark by imitators, the brewery took further precautions by also trademarking the name "Pilsner Urquell". Interestingly, Anheuser-Busch applied for trademark of the Budweiser name in 1907, even though Czechs had long known of "Budweiser" as the beer from the Czech city of Czeske Budejovice, or "Budweiss" in German (3,16). Anheuser-Busch's "Michelob" brand is also named for a Czech town, Michelovice. (Anheuser-Busch's right to sell beers in Europe and Asia under the Budweiser trademark is being hotly disputed in the courts.) (http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue5.3/urquell.html) Wacht even... Is het originele Pilsener nu ontstaan door een Duises brouwer met een uit Duisland gesmokkelde gist?
The first Czech brewery was built at Cernenice in 1118. Only the citizens who lived in the Czech lands had the right to brew beer in the earlier days. Most citizens had a microbrewery in their own homes. As time went on, some of the citizens bonded together to form a cooperative central brewery. They would take the beer extract home and finish the brewing process there. In the 13th century, King Wencelas convinced the pope to revoke an order banning the brewing of beer, which may explain why beer drinkers call him “Good King Wencelas.” The breweries began selling their products to the public. This began the Czech beer industry.
Sixteenth century beer didn’t last very long. Feudal lords forced their laborers to drink the beer produced on their property. This was a way for the lord’s to make money. The Czech beer industry was greatly effected in Northern Europe during the Thirty Years War. The emperor of Vienna sent a Czech brewmaster to Mexico to teach the Mexicans how to brew beer.
Beer drinking is probably the most popular hobby among Czech men. The communists produced beer simply to squeeze as much money as possible out of the beer industry. They almost doubled the price of beer in 1984 because they knew the Czechs would buy the beer regardless of the price.
As the price of beer increased, a decrease in beer consumption was predicted, but the numbers did not go down much even afer the price controls were lifted in 1991. Beer prices have gone up just as the price of everything else has gone up, but the price of beer is still comparatively low. Breweries try to make up for their low profit margin in exports. Czech beer demands premium prices for their exports. Even though many breweries are deeply in debt, they have still been promoted and trade at the top of the stock market. Many breweries are deeply in debt due to payment problems. It is expected that there will only be a few giant breweries and a small clutter of small local microboundries in the Czech Republic.
The brewing industry has been around for a long time. Over the thousands of years, it has changed a great deal. The prices have gone up and down along with the quality. Several famous people have had an impact on the production of beer. Hopefully beer will continue to become better and better as time goes on (www.hotelpraguecity.com/fotky/okoli/beer.html).
Het bier is te combineren met eten (http://goodlifevancouver.com/canadian-chefs-create-lager-inspired-cookbook/).
The Europeans have been brewing beer since the beginning of their civilization. Brewing a fine beer is considered as a great art form by many.
"The world was astounded in 1913 when it was discovered that as many as nineteen types of beer were brewed in Mesopotamia five thousand years ago. It is fitting that the archaeologist who first deciphered the Sumerian tablets containing this information was a Czech named Bedrich Hrozny. Beer was also brewed in the earliest Czech civilizations. There is evidence that hops were cultivated there as early as 859 and were being exported in 903. The first written documentation referring to brewing dates from 1088, and even British beer authority Michael Jackson agrees that "the Czechs are the number one beer-brewing nation in the world today." The Czechs are first in per capita beer consumption, they founded the first Beer Museum in the world, they founded the first brewing textbook, they founded the first Pilsener and Budweiser, and they also had the president to write a play based on his experiences working in a beer brewery.
It took the Czechs a long time to develop their fine art of brewing. The worldwide fame of the Czech beer industry dates back from the Renaissance, as does the Bohemian tavern which is famous throughout Europe. In the early sixteenth century, the Czech beer industry contributed as much as eighty-seven percent of the total municipal income. Their main export came from the town of Ceske Budejovice in south Bohemia; however, the name was so hard to pronounce that it was referred to as "Budweis," which is still associated with great beer today. The word Pilsner is a derivative from the west Bohemian town of Plzen.
The Thirty Years' War, which devastated much of northern Europe, also devastated the Czech beer industry. Beer was once used to pay off a Swedish army to prevent the ransacking of Kutna Hora. The Emperor in Vienna even sent a Czech brewmaster to Mexico to teach the Mexicans how to brew beer. The Czech beer industry came out of its slump with the "national awakening" movement in the nineteenth century (www.hotelpraguecity.com/fotky/okoli/beer.html).
Pilsner Urquell has been a publicly owned company since the demise of Communism in 1989. The largest shareholder (51%) is a Czech bank, Investicni a Postovni Banka a.s. Another 10% of the shares are still held by the Licensed Brewers Association, a group comprising the descendants of the original shareholders before nationalization. Over the years, Pilsner Urquell bought out a number of other Bohemian breweries, including the adjacent Gambrinus Brewery (founded in 1868 as First Shareholders Brewery) and breweries in Cheb, Karlovy Vary, and Domazlice. The brewery in Domazlice closed early in 1997 for economic reasons; Gambrinus is now producing Domazlice's Purkmister black beers under the Gambrinus label, along with six other beers.
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The brewery has taken many steps toward modernization in the 20th century while trying to maintain the quality and character that made its beer such a success. Part of the transformation involved a gradual phase-out of the brewery's long-standing brewing methods in favor of expanded capacity and modernized facilities. The years following Vaclav Havel's Velvet Revolution have yielded the most drastic changes as the brewery has taken steps to compete in the country's newly adopted capitalist economy.
The most prominent and widely reported change came in 1992, when the brewery replaced its traditional oak fermentors with shiny new stainless steel vessels -- a move first contemplated as far back as 1929. Although the brewery conducted extensive taste comparisons and claims to have preserved the original character and flavor of the beer, Pilsener aficionados still debate the topic.
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The classical fermentation procedure, which originally involved five different yeast strains in separate open wooden (and later, both wood and steel) barrels, was changed in 1993. According to Prucha, Pilsner Urquell now uses only one strain of yeast, called the H-strain, which may well date back to the original brewery (the nearby Gambrinus brewery uses Weihenstephan yeast that is so commonly found in these styles). Primary fermentation takes place in 40 closed stainless steel cylindroconical fermentors, each of which holds 1,800 hL of beer (1,530 bbl) (18). The brewers pitch about 0.5 L of a thick yeast suspension per hectoliter of hopped wort, which translates to about 15 million yeast cells/mL. The yeast is pitched at 39 °F (4 °C), and primary fermentation lasts 11 days. The temperature is allowed to rise to a maximum of 48 °F (9 °C) before fermentation is halted and the young beer from each of the fermentors is combined for lagering
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The final product has a bitterness level of about 40 IBUs and a nicely balanced aroma of Saaz and malt. Despite the relatively high IBUs, Pilsner Urquell impresses most beer aficionados as having a very soft and malty taste, no doubt the result of soft water and triple-decoction mashing, both of which emphasize malt character in finished beers. The original gravity of the export is about 12 °P (1.048 S.G.), with a final gravity of 3.8 °P (1.015 S.G.), and an alcohol content of 4.4% (v/v) (18). The brewery also produces 10 °P (1.040 S.G.) beer to appeal to the increasingly lighter Czech tastes.
Pilsner Urquell's flavor profile includes some diacetyl notes, detectable to some beer drinkers as a buttery flavor. The brewery claims the maximum allowable level is 0.12 ppm, a bit on the high side, but probably due to the beer's incomplete fermentation. Few, however, seem to find the flavor objectionable. Some would even say that it enhances the beer by giving it added complexity.
One thing that hasn't changed, and isn't likely to, is the beer's hallmark green bottles. The company's steadfast commitment to maintaining traditional methods as much as possible unfortunately includes a bottle color that makes Urquell more susceptible to skunky "lightstruck" reactions if the bottles are exposed to sunlight during distribution (http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/
Beer is measured in the Czech Republic by degrees according to the method devised by Professor Balling in the seventeenth century. The degree sign caused some confusion for consumers in the past as international norms used it to signify the temperature of brewing and other things. So it was changed to a percentage sign which causes confusion among consumers today. Many think that the percent is the amount of alcohol, but it's actually the amount of maly extract used in the brewing process. The percentage of alcohol is about a quarter of the "percent"shown on the bottle, so twelve percent beer is roughly 3.1 percent alcohol, though it's often higher. Czech beer comes in degrees from six to nineteen percent, but ten percent and twelve percent are the most common. The highest degree is Pernstein from Parbudice (http://www.hotelpraguecity.com/fotky/okoli/beer.html).
There are many urban legends about Czech beer. One of the best ones says that drinking beer makes you live longer because it reduces the aluminum in the body, saving it from the effects of aging and Alzheimer's disease. Considering that life expectancy in the Czech Republic is among the lowest in Europe, this may be stretching the truth a little. Beer does contain natural B-complex vitamins, though, so it does have some nutritional value. Another story going around after the revolution claimed that Czech beer is made without hops. This is pretty silly because beer without hops isn't beer. A more reasonable Czech tale concerns beer consumption when times are hard. People don't drink less beer, they just drink 10% instead of 12%, as 10% beer is cheaper (http://www.hotelpraguecity.com/fotky/okoli/beer.html).
Beer is a very big part of European culture, if you didn't notice. Its like baseball to Americans, tequila to Mexicans, food to Italians. It has been in their culture for a long time and will continue to be in their culture for many many years to come (http://www.hotelpraguecity.com/fotky/okoli/beer.html).
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