Prague Brewery Tour – A Review of a Fun Beer Tasting Evening in Prague

I usually say that the best way to start a trip to a new city is to book a food tour on your very first day there. A food tour involves some walking through the city center, a bit of history and storytelling, and valuable information about the best food in town. However, in Prague, I found something even better, a Brewery Tour. I mean, the Czech Republic is the world leader in beer consumption! So I suggest starting any trip to Prague with some proper local beer tasting on a brewery tour.

Beer Prague Tours

First of all, I browsed on GetYourGuide to find the best tours in Prague. BeerPrague stood out because they run a daily microbreweries tour and they have some great reviews. It also sounds like they know what they focus on.

The tour advertises tastings at 3 small breweries in Prague and unlimited beer at the last stop. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Prague and Beer

Almost everybody can associate Prague with beer, but we mostly know about the big brands like Staropramen or Pilsner Urquell. Well, there is a lot more beer to try in Prague. A lot of that beer comes from microbreweries across the country. About 20 of them are in Prague, and each of them creates unique craft beers that you can’t find anywhere else. Of course, hitting 20 microbreweries on a weekend trip isn’t realistic. So, a microbreweries tour is your best option to be introduced to the craft beer scene of Prague.

A step-by-step review of Beer Prague Brewery Tour

Meeting point

We met our guide at St. Liudmila’s Church, about 25-minutes walking distance from the Old Town center. We were lucky to have a pretty large group that evening, 12 people. You know what they say – the more, the merrier!

The church of St. Liudmila is an impressive Neogothic church at Namesti Miru, so it is hard to miss as you walk by. Namesti Miru is also one of the few places in Prague having an open market despite the Christmas Markets being canceled in 2021.

Our guide for the Prague Brewery Tour

Our guide was Darian, a college student in Prague. He loves beer, and he can talk about it extensively (in his mother-tongue Spanish, but also in impeccable English and German). He knew how to make everybody feel comfortable, make things fun, and also how to manage the group when necessary. Thank you, Darian – we had a lot of fun on the brewery tour!

First stop – OSSEGG Brewery

Our first stop was Ossegg Pivovar and Restaurant, a short walk from the meeting point. On our cold November evening, the tasting started with a shot of beer spirit, something called Pivovice Svach. Pretty strong for me, but the guys in the group were happy to warm up with it.

OSSEGG makes 4 different beers, and they come on a tasting tray. In between sips, we learned about the ingredients and the beer-making process. We also visited the underground levels to see the large containers where they brew the beers. Our guide explained patiently the history of beer-making in the Czech Republic and the differences between the beers.

My favorite beer out of the 4 at Ossegg was a Red Ale, the Ruthard 11.

Regarding the numbers: in the Czech Republic, they label the beers with EPM, which is the percentage of the extract of original (hopped) wort (extrakt původní mladiny = EPM in Czech). It’s not the same as the ABV that we are used to (alcohol by volume). As a rule, the higher the EPM, the higher the ABV as well, but there is no exact formula. For instance, my semi-dark Ruthard 11 had a 4.5% ABV.

Second brewery – Narodni Pivovar

The second stop was at Narodni Pivovar, close to the National Theater (the building with a golden crown, by the river). Here, we had two unfiltered beers, one light, and one semi-dark. The beers here are called Czech Lion, and they also make a filtered version of their lighter 11.

Chips came along as well, as the beer was starting to make everyone hungry.

Last stop – LOD Pivovar

The last brewery was my favorite, not only because it’s a boat brewery (yes, a brewery on a boat!), but also because of the beers. We took a tram first and then walked for a few minutes by the riverbank. The walk was great to wash off some of that beer, so we got to Lod Pivovar fresh and ready to try some new beers.

Here, Darian ordered beers for us according to our preferences. We started with two beers, but we could drink some more if we wanted to. We also got a Czech appetizer, sausages in a pan, and pretzels.

I had two different beers here, the 10 Legie and the 14 New Jersey (notice the numbers again?). I honestly couldn’t make up my mind about which I liked best. The Legie has more bitterness, which I like. On the other hand, New Jersey is more hazy and citrusy. Another great beer at Lod was the 13 Honey Fitz. Traditionally, the Czechs make honey beer for Christmas. Apart from its festive taste, it also keeps you warm with its higher alcohol content.

Final thoughts about the Prague Brewery Tour

Though we started as a group of strangers, by the second pub, the atmosphere warmed up, and by the last stop, we were all laughing together (beer does that). It must have been funny to watch us from outside, talking louder and louder as the evening passed. Our guide did a great job in explaining things, as well as keeping everybody happy throughout the tour.

I guess you could get drunk on this tour, depending on your tolerance to large quantities of beer, but it’s best to drink just enough to enjoy yourself and remember most of it the next day.

All in all, I think the Brewery Tour is one of the best things to do in Prague. It would have been impossible to discover these great places on our own – some things are only known by the locals.

Useful info

The tour involves a little walking, so it’s best to wear comfortable shoes. Also, during the winter months (let’s say November to March), it gets really cold in Prague. Dress warm and don’t forget the gloves.

The other important things you should know are these:

• the Czech word for beer is pivo
• Pivovar means (you guessed) brewery, a bar that makes its own beer
• Na zdravi! (Cheers!)

You don’t have to worry about anything else except showing up on time.

Booking options for a Prague Brewery Tour

You can book your Prague Brewery Tour on the BeerPrague website or on your preferred channel below:

GetYourGuide

Viator

TripAdvisor

Are you interested in other attractions in Prague (aside from the beer)? Click on the link to read my post about them.

Disclosure

I was gifted the Prague Brewery Tour by BeerPrague company. However, all opinions stated above are my own.

Some of the above may be affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. However, I only recommend companies, activities, or products that I use myself. Thank you for your support in keeping my blog live!

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