The centre of České Budějovice is remarkably poorly served for pubs. The
main square - which you would expect to be lined with boozers - only has
a couple. Of those few pubs there are in the centre, very few sell beer
from the two local breweries. As in the rest of the Czech Republic, SABMiller
in the form of Pilsner Urquell and Inbev with Staropramen, dominate. I
couldn't find a single outlet for the town's smaller and less well-known
Měšťanský Pivovar brewery,
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České Budějovice breweries
Thre are still has two breweries, though you might not realise it just
wandering around town. Budějovický Měšťanský
Pivovar is the smaller, but older and, one billboard aside, totally
invisible. The other, Budějovický Budvar,
is the last Czech brewery still owned by the state. There's a simple reason
for that: no-one wants Anheuser-Busch to buy it, which is what would certainly
happen were it to be privatised.
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The
City
Long
and low, with a bar counter at its heart, it's reminiscent of many Prague
boozers. The copper beer taps gleam cheerfully. At the front booths line
either wall. The rear are long tables and benches. 
Even
if you were unaware that this was part of an Inbev-run chain of pubs, you'd
realise as soon as you looked at the draught beer list: Staropramen Světlé
10°, Staropramen Světlé 12°, Staropramen Tmavé 12°, Staropramen Granát,
Staropramen Velvet, Leffe Bruin, Stella Artois, Hoegaarden. The Stella is
43 crowns, the Staropramen Světlé 12° just 30. What sort of mental deficient
would drink the Stella? No, don't answer that question, I already know the
answer. A young trendy with neither a sense of history nor tastebuds.
It's
still one of the few pubs in town selling Budvar. In the old days, that
was because it was all exported, being one of the country's best sources
of hard currency. I'm not quite sure what the reason is now. 