Finally, I've crossed the border in Squat Land for the very first time.

Having our very first Czech pub experience at the Lokal old town spot. I also booked my train tickets & the tour for Pilsen.

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Now we are at the Golden Tiger. I presume we are drinking standard Plato Pilsner Urquell the whole time. To be honest, I have no idea what the hell is going on. I just keep drinking Pils.

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I've had a copious amount of Pilsner Urquell on draft. Now I've finally had Budvar on Lukr side-pour draft.

A dream come true. Although, I can see why the Czechs much prefer the crisp bitter bite of PU. Maybe a bit of a more professional pour would've made the difference.

Budvar is still my favourite lager in the world. But Augustiner made a great run of it. Wish I could get it....

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Omw to Pilsen, for a Lager pilgrimage, via improvised train ride.

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Had a Snyt before we bounced to PU Brewery. It's so lovely to just see the beer tank in a Lokal.

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The tour is a bit corny for those who know a decent amount about brewing / PU -- if not, maybe pick-up @akrennmair 's books for some context -- but it's really worth it to visit the cellars.

I had the unfiltered barrel beer. It truly has its own character / element; Perhaps more like Budvar than PU. With the amount they have, I wish they offered more.

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Had a Oldgott at the U medvidku. Very good caramel / brown malt character.

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Had the Helles & the Dunkles at U fleku. The Dunkles was the clear winner. Nice roasted profile & smooth carbonation.

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I've never heard of this beer before: Otakar unfiltered 11 degrees Plato lager. Was a refreshing malt profile, but definitely not the best of the trip.

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@sumisu3 I can confirm Budvar 33 is way better on Lukr side-pour. Has a very crisp bitter presence, but lacks that caramel melanoidin profile of PU. Surprised to find myself a PU convert, after Prague.

I tried B33 next to the original (thanks to my wife, who also walked ~30 mins, including the Prague Castle stairs, to come to Budvarka for dinner).

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I also had my first Dark Budvar on side-pour. Just 3 hours left in our vacation. Budvar Dark is a real treasure. It's way better than Kozel dark.

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@kazaii @akrennmair The Mecca of beer. Looks awesome!

@sumisu3 @akrennmair Truly a nice pilgrimage, but I consider Bamberg the Mecca of beer 🙏🏻📜🍺👼🏻🍺🏰

Maybe Pilsen is Bethlehem?? 😂 It did start a new sect, after all. 😉

@kazaii I've never visited myself, but with everything I've seen, the old cellar part with the wooden fermenters and wooden, pitched lager casks, they're operating 19th standard equipment. A living museum, essentially. It's crazy to think that they operated like this until the early 1990s.
@kazaii Can you get a Budvar 33 and compare? I brewed my Budvar clone to a higher IBU as I always have found Budvar to be a bit too sweet.
@sumisu3 sure, I can likely do that. I'll be on the hunt & let you know. Likely not possible today in Pilsen 😂