Plzen

The little’un and I have been to Pilsen a few time's now and can really recommend that you spend a couple of days there to do it all justice. So as normal I will set the scene with a little bit of history etc…

Plzen (Pilsen), the capital of West Bohemia, was founded by the Czech King Wenceslas II. The capital of West Bohemia is nowadays again a sovereign city boasting with number of historic monuments The historical city centre is dominated by the slim tower of the Gothic St. Bartholomew Cathedral. With its height of 102,26 m (335 feet), this tower is the highest church spire in Bohemia. Renaissance town hall reconstructed by Italian master-builder Giovanni de Statia in the mid 16th century, the unique Brewery Museum, the historic underground with medieval cellars, Franciscan monastery and the Church of St Anna definitely rank. All these sites make up a part of the original checker board ground plan of the historic downtown, which was declared an historic town reservation in 1989.The whole range of important buildings is an evidence for the era of great boom in the city on the turn of last two centuries.  Today's Plzen counts 165 000 inhabitants and is a significant cultural, business and industrial centre, famous mostly due to the products of Plzen's brewery and the heavy machinery factories Skoda.

Pilsener Beer; The officials of Plzeň founded a city-owned brewery in 1839, Bürger Brauerei (Citizens' Brewery - now Plzeňský Prazdroj), and recruited Bavarian brewer Josef Groll who produced the first batch of modern pilsener beer on 5th October 1842. The combination of pale colour from the new malts, Pilsen's remarkably soft water, Saaz noble hops from nearby Žatec (Saaz in German) and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which was regarded as a sensation.

Improving transport meant that this new beer was soon available throughout Central Europe and Pilsner Brauart-style brewing was widely imitated. In 1859, “Pilsner Bier” was registered as a brand name at the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Plzeň. In 1898, the Pilsner Urquell trade mark was created to put emphasis on it being the original brewery. So there you have it that is why we can her in the first place as it is the birthplace of the modern Pilsener (Pils) beer.

Public transport; Plzeňské městské dopravní podniky operates a network of trams, trolleybuses and petrol buses. A 24-hour ticket, valid on all three, costs 40 crowns. Single tickets cost from 12 crowns. The day ticket is excellent value at around £2:50!

You are only an hour or so away from Prague but the cost of beer and food etc is considerably a lot less. Plus there are 6 brewpubs as of July 2023, but with quite a few within 30mins on public transport.

Plzeňský Prazdroj (Asahi Group), U Prazdroje 7.

Hours:April-September 8-18, October-March 8-17. For tours & Visitors Center.

Pilsner Urquell is quite easy to find as it dominates the town and is quite near the main train station. Around £5 for the tour and allow at least 3-4 hours to do it all justice. The highlight form me was the old largering cellars and the ice store of days of old. At the end of the tour you get a sample of the Wood Fermented Pilsner Urquell, although you know this is just a tourist thing. Beware you have to pay to take photos, I did not and took just as many as every one else!

Minipivovar U Rytíře Lochoty, Karlovarská Třída 103.

Hours: Mon-Thurs 10:30-23, Fri-Sat 10:30-24, Sun 10:30-22

Located in a Pilsen blue collar neighborhood, definitely not on the tourist path. Which you need to take a tram No.4 to Sokolovská then walk back down the hill 50 metres and it's on your right. This is a roadside brewpub with two beers usually on sale plus good food the onion soup and bread was really good. The main room has a bar at one end is vaguely rustic with swords and armor on the walls. There is a large rear room with TV’s in and I think people we betting on the horses? The staff are very helpful and the beer is very quaffable.

Raven Pub Bolevec, Mozartova 132, Plzeň 1-Bolevec

Finally a local brewery with a tap list for everyone! You will ove this brew-pub! A nice modern brewpub, with seating outside, over 2 floors inside. 7 tap's of Hoppy IPA, pale ales, sours, lagers etc... plus cider and more. There is no view of any brewing equipment. It doesn't matter though, since the smallish, very cozy, brick-laden interior is very inviting and the service is very nice. Easy to get to from Plzen on the #1 tram. A neighborhood pub vibe with clientele encompassing virtually all drinking age groups.

Zlatá kráva Bandaska, Riegrova 24, Plzeň 3

The Zlatá kráva mini-brewery is a relatively young brewery[2021]. A bistro type bar, mostly one big well decorated room. 8 taps and fridges with a solid selection of their beers. You can sit in a pleasant and original environment. The foodis great and original. You can have small dishes, to most main meals or a pretzel and pivo! I definitely recommend a visit, all in all, a very solid addition to the Pilsen scene!

Pivovar Plzeňský Bandita, Nová 530/5, Plzeň 2-Slovany-Koterov

A small brewery with wide selection of beers. You need to ring a bell and wait for them co come out since the brewery is in their garage. Excellent full and artisanal beers. A family business who always serve the beer with a smile and willingness.

Saloon Roudná {1. Roudenský pivovar}, Na Roudné 387, Plzeň 1

Hours: Daily 11.00 - 23.00

Part of a bigger complex, in Plzeň's Roudná neighborhood, one of former villages, basically islands of houses/buildings between Plzeň's center and Plzeň 1 proper, just across the river and a short walk from the center. A steak restaurant (Argentinian-style) doubling as a bar/brewpub of course, with a nice little patio. Three beers of their own plus their radler. Service is nothing special, food is rather pricey - i get supposedly high-end ingredients, but serving and garnish don't do it any favour. All in all: been to worse places, definitely been to better ones too.

KEGzistence, 4, Rooseveltova 76, Vnitřní Město

A great place to explore local craft beer and the staff are friendly and helpful. Located in a street just off the main square, this is a cosy place, with a heavy rock pouring from the loud speakers it is probably the best bar in town? There are 12 taps, nearly all of them featuring lesser known Czech beers, plus three fridges full of intresting beers, with a heavy Polish presence. This definitely seemed like a must-visit place!

Klub Malých Pivovarů, Nádražní 16

Hours: Daily 11.00 - 23.00 

A Cellar bar with two rooms and a beer garden to the rear, which stocks four Czech micro-brewed beers and is a good place to sit and pass the time away in. Ten taps with a good selection of Czech beers with focus on local stuff. Lots of bottles from Germany, Belgum and Czech Republic. Interior is nice with wooden furniture. 

Francis - Beer Café, nám. Republiky 4, Plzeň 3

A great little bar in a back alley run by a true aficionado. Inside its a nice modern beer-bar in a very traditional Czech courtyard, just off the main-square (Namesti Republiky). The staff are very friendly and ready to tell you everything about the local craft brews served on tap and found in bottles, alongside some rather well-known Belgians.

Na Parkánu, Veleslavinova 4.

Right next to the Pilsen Brewery Museum this pub is supposed to be the only one in the world serving n-filtered Pilsner Urquell, bit of a tourist trap but there is a good restaurant that does a decent goulash and smoked pork mmmm and there is a beer garden if it is sunny.

U Chřestýše, Jablonského 1, Plzeň 2 - Slovany.

Hours: 11h - 22h

Wow! A basic suburban boozer not far from the central railway-station. Quite a rustic country saloon, very smokey, darts league, poor (awesome!) decoration choices and a few locals. Good beer, diligent and quick service. A clean environment, although from the outside it does not look like it? 

Pivstro - Brewhemian Beer Bistro, Bezručova 185/31, Plzeň 3-Vnitřní Město

A small cosy place split over 2 floors, a cool crossover cafe / bottle shop, mostly cafe with seating outside. 8 tap's of great local microbreweries. An incredibly delicious and sophisticated food menu, a gastronomic experience! Service is always friendly and welcoming.

Beer Club Blue Star (Pivní klub Modrá Hvězda), 2, Havlíčkova 340, Jižní Předměstí, Plzeň 3

Located slightly outside the centermost center but still very much reachable on foot, near Raven Pub City. They have 20 taps devoted solely to the beers from the Modra Hvesda brewery. A modern basement-bar, with wooden elements on the ceiling and on the walls, though the long bar is round and beaming with stainless steel, some tables on a patio at the entrance. Good service. All in all, a pretty solid should-visit when in town.

Raven Pub City, Plachého 10, Plzeň 3

Raven is one of the best craft breweries in the Czech Republic. A nice big bar / restaurant with 2-3 rooms, some seating outside as well. 9 tap's plus a frigde with bottles. The Raven brewery have two pubs in Pilsen - one here in the centre of the town, second one in "Bolevec" quarter, north from the centrum and in the same building where the brewery is. Seek it out.

Restaurace & Hotel U Salzmannů, Pražská 90/8, Plzeň 3 .

Supposedly the oldest pub in Pilsen serving good beer and Czech cuisine specialties. Located round the corner from the main town square. Outside seating. Comfortable chairs outside (other locations seem to prefer beer benches). Service is friendly and attentive. A tram stop right in front (lines 2 and 1). Menu with variety. Friendly traditional interior.

Zach's Pub, Palackého nám. 31/2, Plzeň 3-Jižní Předměst

A great place to chill out! A nice bar that is paraphernalia-filled (literally) tucked away in a courtyard behind some higher buildings. They have a stage for occasional concerts and have a fair amount of seats outside. You order and pick up your drinks at the window teller or inside in the bar.

The Wind Swept Outer Reaches of Pilsen

(Brewpubs just a short distance away)

Purkmistr Pivovarský Dvůr, Selská náves 21/2, Plzeň 8 - Černice, Pilsen.

Hours: Mon-Thu 17-22, Fri-Sat 14-24, Sun 14-22.

Now for a bit of an adventure on a trolley bus to the small town of Černice. Take trolleybus 13 to General Lišky, follow Ke Kači Louži (on your right in the direction of the bus) downhill until you reach the village centre and you can't miss it. This is a new multi-function hotel/brewpub/health club in the middle of a sleepy village. The coppers in the main bar produce some good standard beers plus there's usually a couple of flavoured oddities to try such as cherry and blueberry on our visit. Food was quite good although you are paying for the surroundings here so I would eat in town and if you are peckish just get a snack here as after the beer there is not a lot to do but walk back to the trolley bus and hit some of the bars in Pilsen. (Note: the brew master here came over and brewed for the Wetherspoons Festival in 2009)

Rodinný pivovar Radobyčice, Radobyčická náves 318, Plzeň 3

A family brewery located in a beautiful place, on the eastern edge of the small village near the Úhlava River lies the family microbrewery Radobyčice. It is also on the heart of the bike paths, so there are always many cyclists who stop here for their own beer, which has been brewed here since 2016. It was created as part of the reconstruction of a 200-year-old small barn. Today, different types of beer are brewed here. They are really delicious! In summer you can sit outdoors, that is pleasantly shady. For beer, there are also small dishes, you can have pickled camembert, drowned food, stuffed food. Getting there, 16 from the center to U Teplarny, then 32 to Radobyčická náves, then head up past the chapel and you'll see it to the right. If you are lucky, you can get 23 directly from Slovany (tram 1) once a day at 14h except most of July and August.

Pivovar Restaurant - Modrá Hvězda Dobřany, Nám. T. G. M. 159, 334 41 Dobřany

Hours: Daily 11.00 - 23.00

About 30min via tram 4 and bus 450561 from the city. Located right on the main square of Dobrany. Situated in a beautiful building, this brewpub is quite big with lot of seating space in different rooms. Quite traditionally decorated with stone floors, some wood panelling and white walls. 18/20 draft beers on, nearly all in good shape and a couple of them quite delicious and constructed with care. The food is your typical Czech stuff. They do pre-filled PET bottles to go. A nice beer garden and a cool brewery to visit (as well as a beer museum next door which just opened in summer 2012). A must visit while in the Pilzen area.

Šťáhlavický Pivovar U Šenkýřů, Šťáhlavice 150, Sťáhlavice

Hours: 16.00 - 22.00

A very nice little excursion from Pilsen. The brewpub is located in the center of Šťáhlavice, about 15km south of Pilsen. The brewery was established in 2016 on the site of a former inn, which was the first of three inns in the village, a preserved mention dates back to 1651. There are many beautiful places around the village, the names of which were used to name individual beers. The brewery's modern equipment and craftsmanship honor the traditional Czech technology of beer production. The beer is good, typical of the Pilsen region. It is definitely worth a visit, for example in connection with the Kozel castle, which is nearby. Otto says: Great beer, just a bit tucked away, it needs more advertising?

Pivovar Bizon, Čižice

Hours Wed - Fri 16.00 - 22.00 Sat - SUn 12.00 - 22.00

It is nice place to stop by (especially if you hiking or cycling) to get a really good beer. The environment is really brewery-like, a large selection of beers, they brew both bitter and sweeter lagers, as well as top stouts, and they have very good stout beer. Classic food. Great service and knowledgeable about beers. It is worth a visit on any trip. A great business in a small village.

Joe's Garage Beer, K Fořtovně 212, 312 00 Plzeň 4-Červený Hrádek

Josef is a generous and hospitable host and the beers are the amazing... a real maestro of the craft.

Pivovar U Lenocha, Pod Rozhlednou 700/31, Plzeň 4-Újezd

Hours: Mon - Fri 08.00-12.00 14.00-16.00

Pivovar U Lenocha is a small family brewery founded in 2017. The beer is brewed by hand and exclusively from Czech ingredients. The brewery was created out of love for good beer.

I hope you found my guide to the brewpubs and bars in Pilsen useful?

Now you just need to get yourself out there and start the beer adventure for yourself!

Go grab a locally brewed pint (or 2) and support your local brewers!

 Na zdraví  Otto

R.I.P.

Pivovar Groll / Na Rychtářce, Truhlářská 10.    Closed 2018?

Only a short walk from the Pilsner Urquell brewery a strange place which seems as if it's been there for years but only opened in 2008. It is quite hard to get into as the building is very big, but the brewpub section is up some stairs from the court yard, as you pass through the entrance and straight out into the court yard. The pub is basically a large room with a bar in the corner and The brew-plant which is bedecked in green tiles is at the end and can be looked down upon from the balcony. They produces two solid, tasty and traditional beers.

Pivovar / Restaurace U Pašáka (Pašák Plzeňský), Poděbradova 12    Closed 2018? 

The entrance and bar has a few informal tables. This leads on through two more rooms which are arranged with tables of different configurations. The beers are like the place, just alright. Nothing special but a good attempt, the building gleams against the surrounding buildings, no merchandise except the glassware. Coppers on show right next to the bar. Only a couple of minutes from the town center, an easy stroll.

Beer Factory Plzeň, Dominikánská 8, Plzeň 3-Vnitřní Město Closed

Centrally located, very modern and stylish, welcoming brewpub. This is a huge place in the city center, Quite nice modern brewpub in 3 floors, there is seating out side towards the street and in a nice garden behind it. 8 tap's 7 house beers. The place you would take your friends, your girl and your business partners with you.

Bernard–In, Sady Petatricatniku 2.

Serving the entire Bernard brewery range. The food is traditional and filling and I defiantly recommend it, no one spoke and English but we managed quite well and we were well looked after.