The gates of Prague Castle opened to beer fans on Friday and Saturday. In fact, there was a festival of mini-breweries at Prague Castle, organized by the Českomoravský svaz mini-breweries. The main purpose of the 11th edition of this tasting event of the year was to present to the public the production of mini-breweries from all over the Czech Republic and to compare it with nearby foreign countries. This year, 50 Czech and Moray mini-breweries and a brewery from Hungary were introduced. The president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, also visited the festival on Saturday.

President Pavel’s first steps were toward the Alma mater stand of all brewers, a test brewery at the University of Chemical Technology in Prague.

“We were really pleased that our festival was also visited by President Petr Pavel. It’s a great recognition of our work for us. We are very happy that we were able to show him the “bottom-fermented colour” which is also on his portrait on the stamp, with our own eyes. It was a really nice meeting,” says Michal Voldřich, president of the Czech-Czech Minibrewery Association.

At this already traditional festival, over 100 types of beer were prepared for tasting for visitors in 33 different styles from all over the country. In total, more than 5,000 litres of beer were bottled for free, which amounted to 66,000 tasting portions of 0.75 dl each. As a result, the visitor received 39 degustation doses.

“For beer lovers, the event is a unique opportunity to sample dozens of high-quality samples from the production of mini-breweries in one place, giving an insight into the increasingly diverse world of small beer producers. In addition, the festival is always attended by brewers and owners from each brewery, who can give visitors the most comprehensive and accurate information about their beers,” says Jan Šuráň, director of the Festival of Minibreweries at Prague Castle, adding: “There were 2,500 beer lovers at the festival who already knew exactly what was coming for them, as they have been attending the event repeatedly. They were from all corners of the Czech Republic, but there were also many foreigners who also travel regularly. The festival of mini-breweries at Prague Castle is completely out of step with the beer festivals as we know them in the Czech Republic.”

The breweries that participated in the festival are members of the Českomoravské svaz minipivovarů, the organizer of the event. Each of the breweries selected their two best beers:  Břevnovský klášterní pivovar, Pivovarský dvůr Zvíkov, Městský pivovar Domažlice, Zámecký pivovar Pikard, Minipivovar Welzl, Pivovar Kocour, Minipivovar U Medvídků, Joes Garage Brewery, Pivovar Volt, Královéhradecký měšťanský pivovar, Šumavský pivovar Vimperk, Pivovar Máša, Pivovar Záhora, Pivovar Strahov, Karlovský pivovar Pod Pralesem, Pivovar Beránek, Pivovar Mazák, Pivovar Matuška, Rožnovský pivovar, U Tří růží, Chmelařský institut, Pivovar VŠCHT Praha, Klášter Želiv, Pivovar Permon, Pivovar Lednice, Pivovar a restaurace Faltus, Vinohradský pivovar, Pivovar Potmehúd, Bad Flash Beers, Pivovar Horác, Pivovar Obora, Pivovar Hostomice pod Brdy, Pivovar Purkmistr, Beskydský pivovárek, Podřipský rodinný minipivovar, Pivovar Řevnice, Soběslavský pivovar, Pivovar Slavičín, Pivovar Bartoš, Pecký pivovar, Pivovar Neratov, Měšťanský pivovar Kojetín, Pivovar Tišnov, Pivovar Podlesí, Pivovar Červený vlk, Pivovar Zhůřák, Pivovar Holendr, Pivovar Moravský Žižkov, Pivovar Ládví Cobolis, Pivovar Uhříněves and White Rabbit of Hungary.

“Great, great atmosphere, I am thrilled that despite all the blows suffered by the mini-breweries in recent years, this industry lives on, which we just celebrated together at the Festival of Mini-Breweries in Prague Castle. For brewing is a national treasure, and without it our social life would be in grave danger. We have prepared a great experience for our dear beer drinkers and improved everyone’s mood, which our company definitely needs at the moment,” adds Michal Voldřich.

JK