Beer Orgasms

So Czech it, a few weeks, when I was in Prague, me and my boyz decided we should celebrate with a few beers before noon. One of the fuckers suggested U Fleku! Of all the thousands of pubs in the capital, this is THE pub of consequence, where dissidents gathered under communism to chat about things revolutionary, where Hašek created the iconic character The Good Soldier Švejk, and of course where hundreds of thousands of tourists go each year to partake in one of many Czech pagan rituals - mass consumption of beer.

Neither of us ever had visited the sacred grounds before, cause well, it's pretty overrun. But, it being early December and early on a Monday, we figured the place would be mostly filled with the old guard, lushes who wake up to several pints of the 'kind-mug'.

We were right. And the homebrewed 11 degree (sugar content, not alcohol) yeast lager, was delicious. The pub had great interior woodwork and decorative freezes, sticking with blacks, browns, and greens (hunter's colors). And though the place was quite clearly honed to draw in the numbers (complete with traditionally garbed accordian player), it seemed to remain sincere enough to its roots that it kept the locals interested. But at nearly 4 times the price of a pint in a regular dive pub, the beer's a fuckin' hefty investment.

Later that week I was in my mother's hometown, Jindrichuv Hradec, a jewel of eastern Europe. It is in fact the nicest small town that I know about anywhere. But it also has history. It was the Bohemian seat for some time in the 15th century and has the second biggest castle in CZ, after Prague.
Within that castle's walls also sits the newly restored first electric plant in Central and Eastern Europe, and one of the oldest breweries in CZ. Unfortunately, the brewers succumbed to hard times and closed the brewery long ago, but last Friday, Bernard (brewery from Humpolec) released the long awaited brew dedicated the town of JH. It's called Jindrichohradecka Jedenactka, (#11 from JH) and it happens to be a better brew than the one from U Fleku, albeit slightly milder and more bitter (more reminiscent of a tweaked-out Pilsner).

My fortune had it such that I was there for the opening, an historic event shared by the towns most noble - mayor and judges, to the most humble - construction workers and town drunks. Free beer on tap, and 5 crowns per bottle to take home (25 cents). The fact that knew I would be driving back to France the next day was practically begging me to buy their whole stock. And although the fuckers put a cap on my greed, I'm still sitting in France on 6 cases of goodness. ;)

Na Zdravi!!