Brewery courtyard Chyne report
Dear Dutch readers, imagine this : you are in Prague. As a lover of good beer you are a pretty lucky person, because this city can, without any exaggeration, be called one of the world's beer capitals, where you can find countless good pubs, restaurants, and bars with many different kinds of Czech beer.And in the city centre itself there are, at least, four brewpubs with their own beer. You can easily get to all of them within 30 minutes, walking. I don't need to name them, right?
But the situation is more "complicated" : you want to try probably the best beer in area !! So, my advice is to drive a bit out of downtown and be suprised !
Just Outside Prague
Located about 13 km south west of city, you will find Pivovarský dvůr Chýně. It should be translated as a Brewery courtyard Chyne, where the last word refers to the name of the local village.Founded in 1992 by an enthusiatic and fearless man with an enterprising spirit, mr.Hojda Miroslav, it was converted from ruined, messy, dirty, socialist-style former agricultural buildings. And the succes story should just be beginning. Come inside with me !
The Brewing Kettles
After you close the door from the inside, your first glance will be surely dedicated to three dignified copper brewing kettles (pictured left) placed on a small platform. Something like a stage. But nobody plays a music... Actually, as a matter of fact there is music. Those three kettles, despite the fact that they are silent, play a very savoury melody. Much better music for beer lovers than the average music band with noisy equipment.Each kettle is exactly 10.5 hl. and if the brewery is going at full capacity, about four brews are produced a week.
The Lagering Cellar
Now we will move downstairs, behind the platform, where there is a small and narrow stairway leading to the nearby lager cellars. You can see 10 big wooden barrels (pictured right), with a little line in the middle, where beer stays for certain time (weeks) to mature.I have some very good advice for you : don't ever ask the guide for a glass of beer to taste ! If you do, you will never want to leave this cellar in your life !!! I am serious about that. I am writing to you right now from this cellar !!!!!
There are two brewers in my company. The head brewer, mr.Mikulica and the second brewer, mr.Pavlik (pictured right). Both guys understand what beer is all about.
The Restaurant
OK, it is time to go upstairs again and sit down at a table. In the restaurant (pictured left) which is able accommodate up to 80 hungry and thirsty guests, you can, besides the beer, also satisfy your stomach. Order some properly fat Czech specialty.How about roasted pork knee with freshly grated horseradish, mustard and bread as a side dish? Make some small sin while you are in Czech republic. It goes well with beer!
From each seat in the restaurant, you can observe those majestic brewing kettles mentioned earlier.
"Mister waiter, pleeeease bring us some glasses of semidark (amber) Courtyard's Lager (Dvorní ležák, 12° Plato). Here we are. The beer is just arriving in front of you.
Dvorní ležák
Rich head, nice pleasant colour, naturally cloudy as it is not filtered. Full , velvet taste like it is suppose to be, with a slight flavour of honey (but none is added). It goes down almost by itself. A very addictive beer. A beer of Old Times! "Hey Sir.. one more please". I bet you, you will fall quickly in love with this beer. All the beers from this brewery are unfiltered, so it doesn't need any comment. Beer lovers know.Its shelf-life is only 14 days, which is another unmistakable sign of a quality beer. No preservatives are added, no protective CO2, no pasteursation - just nothing like this.
Other Beers
Beside Coutryard's Lager, another 2 kinds of beer are regularly made, one of them Dark Special (Dvorní černé) with 5% alcohol by volume (14° Plato).Three or five more beers are made occasionaly. For example Biker Lager (Kolařská Jedenáctka, 11° Plato) , as the brewery is located right on a famous bike trail. Also ginger beer is available from time to time. And some more.
I
would say : the great experience is almost done. You have my recommendation.
CzechBeerMan was there ! Take a look on Brewery
courtyard Chyne the official, simple web site on www.pivovarskydvur.cz
, where you can find useful information. My name is Libor Vojacek (pictured right), and you can find me under my nickname written above. I am, just like you, a simple beer lover. I will bring you in future months, some more articles from my country.
NEXT
Watch my next story from a small microbrewery from the South Moravia region named Chateau brewery of Oslavany.
Yours
Libor Vojacek
CzechBeerMan
Teplice
Czech republic
Vojacek.L@seznam.cz
Note: if you are interested as a collector in Brewery courtyard Chyne beer coaster, contact me on CzechBeerMan@seznam.cz
Hojda restaurant,
Hlavní 28,
253 01 Hostivice-Chýně.
Tel: 0311 - 679 592
Fax: 0311 - 670075
Email: info@pivovarskydvur.cz
Homepage: http://www.pivovarskydvur.cz/
Opening times:
Mon - Sun 11:00 - 23:00
Bus 347 from Zličín metro station to stop Pivovarský dvůr Chýně. Depart Zličín at approx. 15 minutes past the hour, about once an hour.
Prague bus route planner.Czech only, so here's a glossary:
Odkud - where from
Kam - where to
Čas - time
vyberte ze seznamu objektů - choose from the list