It’s a beautiful late April afternoon in Prague and I’m standing at Jiráskovo náměstí, waiting where the gods of MHD will take me today. Frankly, I’m not very excited, if memory serves well, the chances of finding a solid pub in any of the four possible destinations of the first leg are not that great.
Here comes the first tram, #5 heading to Vozovna Zižkov. I get on and start counting the stops. Fuck! Hlavní nádraží. All I can remember around there are the two overpriced sports in the station itself, and U Staré Pošty in Opletalova, a hospoda I’ve never liked for some reason.
I get off, already resigned to the idea of having a Pilnser Urquell U Staré Pošty, when I tell myself ‘fuck it! I will cheat’, and change direction, towards the the tunnel that now connects the train station with Žižkov and the new building complex that has sprouted there in the last decade or so. Yeah, I’m cheating, in my own challenge, which I play alone – if you disapprove, good luck finding a better beer blog*.
My destination now is Turnovská pivnice Churchill, one of four pubs Měšťanský pivovar Turnov has in Prague. It occupies a fairly large corner in the ground floor of one of the aforementioned new buildings, and promises a very nice view to the city, which the people sitting in the patio seem to be enjoying. Inside, however, the blinds of the large windows are down, blocking it, and understandably so – with the sun shining right on them, the place would have been a sauna.
As is my habit, I pick a spot to perch by the bar. I’m about to pose my bum when the waiter calls me attention, pointing to a table hidden behind a rack of shelves. I poke my head and I see an old beer friend waving at me. Naturally, I join him while I order a 10°.
It’s a very competent Dešťovka. The kind that won’t demand your attention further than the first swig, and has no intention in becoming the focus of the conversation; it does, though, albeit for a very brief moment – inevitable with two old beer geeks like us. The month’s special, Porter 13°, on the other hand, elicits a somewhat lengthier discussion. My mate says that it’s too hoppy to be a proper Porter, that is closer to Black IPA, while I say it reminds me more of an American take on the style. But we both ultimately agree that it is an excellent beer.
But what about the pub itself, I’m sure you’re wondering? Well, truth be told, I didn’t pay as much attention as I probably should. All I can say is that it was the right kind of noisy and busy that afternoon, with a rather mixed crowd of office workers right after their jobs, families, and couples, with some having just beer or other drinks and others dinner. The service was very good and the premises are as uninspired as you can imagine, given the location.
Had I been alone, I probably wouldn’t have been impressed. But I wasn’t, and I was happy, having a great time chatting with my mate about beers, pubs, travels, and whatnot, which is actually the best reason to go to a pub – not to just to drink, but to socialise. It was unplanned this time, but all the more enjoyable for that.
Of the other three branches of Turnovská pivnice, only one is by a tram stop. MHD gods willing, if I end up there, I will visit it, just to compare.
Back to the tram stop it is then. As always, it’s fun to exercise my memory of the routes, trying to figure out where I might end up and what my options there would be. Unsurprisingly, the first tram to arrive is #9 (to Sídliště Řepy). The fourth stop is Lazarská, and I see what my next destination will be when the tram turns from Vodičkova.
I remember (vaguely) being at Vinárna U sudu a couple of times in the now distant past. It’s one of the pubs with longest opening hours in Prague (9AM-4AM Monday to Thursday, 9AM-5AM on Friday, 10AM-5AM Saturday and 11AM-4AM Sunday), and it’s known for its deep cellar divided in two levels, each with their own bar – I got lost once down there, I felt I was in a maze, it took me what felt like an hour to find my group again). This time I decide not to venture underground and instead sit by the bar at the street level entrance.
It’s past 6PM and people are just starting to arrive – students, old-timers, tourists, štamgasty – and most of them seem to be going straight to the cellars. I’m happy with the spot I chose. Watching the way the young tapster practices his craft is almost fascinating. Not only how he pours the Pilsner Urquell (very well, must be said), but also how he washes the krýgli, with both hand dishwasher and sponge, rinsing them well, followed by a visual inspection before placing them carefully in the basin filled with cold water next to the taps (or, alternatively, if a mug doesn’t meet his standard, putting it aside in an empty basin).
He’s also very attentive at what’s going on around the bar. At one point, the two tourists sitting by the entrance go outside for a smoke. A moment later, the tapster runs around the bar towards them to warn them not to leave their phone unattended on the table.
Even though I’m sitting alone in the narrow taproom, the atmosphere is still great, aided by a playlist of late Gen X-early Millennial Hard/Punk Rock at just the right volume. I feel I’m in the kind of pub where a spontaneous and very lively conversation with some rando that can carry on until the wee hours can start at any moment. There’s a part of me that hopes that will happen, which is why I order a third pifko, but ultimately (and despite such an opportunity arising) my more sensible self prevails – perhaps wary of getting lost again in those cellars.
Na Zdraví!
*(written by a middle-aged Argie living in the outskirts of Prague).
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