BYO Czech Republic Brewery and Walking Adventure

Day 1

We meet at 1:00 at our hotel centered in Prague's old town for a walking tour of the Old Town, Jewish Quarter, and Charles Bridge. We'll stop into Pivovar U Fleků, one of the most famous breweries in the country and in continuous operation for over 500 years, for a tour and tasting. Another stop will be at the outdoor beer gardens of Pivovar Národní, where we'll relax with introductions and an overview of the tour. Then it is on to the medieval underground brewery of U Kunštátů. If that is not enough for you for Day One, we'll then head back to our hotel, the U Medvídků Brewery Hotel, for a short rest followed by dinner in the brewery restaurant.

Day 2

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll do as the locals do and take the Prague tram system (tram 22 for us) to Břevnov Monastery, which has its own brewery. We'll take a tour with the brewmaster, learning about their beers, and then sit down in the Klášterní šenk monastery restaurant for a beer, perhaps in the company of monks enjoying the fruits of their labors - in silence. It is then back on the tram again to Prague Castle, one of the most famous landmarks in the city. You will then have time on your own to wander through and eat lunch in Lesser Town, a district of Prague founded in the year 1257. After lunch we walk through the city to Restaurace Červený Jelen (Red Stag Restaurant) for an incredible, 3.5-hour beer tapping class from Master Bartender Miroslav Nekolny, followed by dinner in the restaurant.

Day 3

This morning we depart Prague for the South Bohemia region of the Czech Republic, which borders Austria and Bavaria in Germany. Our first stop is Pivovar Obora, a relatively young brewery that prides itself on sustainability. Farmer Martin Novák founded the brewery by growing his own hops and barley; powering the brewery on biomass (cow dung); and using the brewing by-products to feed those same cattle. After our tour and tasting it is on to České Budějovice, home to the famous Budvar brewery. We'll first eat lunch in the Budvarka Budvar Pivnice or brasserie. Then it is off to a tour of the Budweiser Budvar facility (also called Czechvar in the United States due to a long-standing intellectual property fight with you know who), where if he is available we'll meet brewmaster Adam Broz. We'll walk to our hotel for the night, the Hotel Budweis, and after a bit of rest walk to the Solnice brewery for dinner. If you have any energy left, feel free to head out to local beer highlights such as Minipivovar Krajinská 27, Klub Malých Pivovarů, and Žíznivá Gumovka.

Day 4

After breakfast, we pack up and check out before moving on to the small village of Krasetin, which happens to be the starting point for a cable car to the top of Kleť, at 1,084 meters (3,556 feet) the highest peak in the region. There is a lookout tower on top. We'll then walk eight kilometers down through forested paths to the city of Český Krumlov, whose center is on the UNESCO World Heritage list for its historic preservation of the Middle Ages layout. You'll have time to wander and grab lunch on your own in this beautiful town. After lunch we'll walk to Brewery Český Krumlov, which as the only brewery in this castle town is continuing the tradition of local brewing started in the 13th century. After our visit we travel onward to the city of Nepomuk, where we check into our hotel for a short rest - if we can pry you away from the flowing beer tap in each room of the hotel! We visit the hotel's own brewery, Zlatá Kráva Brewery, and then dine at nearby Restaurace Švejk. After dinner you even opt to soak in a tub filled with hops, malt, and yeast at the hotel's authentic beer spa.

Day 5

After breakfast we check out, leave South Bohemia, and transfer to one of the most famous beer cities in the world - Plzeň (Pilsen), which in 1842 was home to the first brewing of pilsner beer. Our first stop is the Pilsner Urquell brewery that brew that beer, where you will discover that fresh unpasteurized pilsner beer straight from the barrel is like nothing you have tried before. After our tour we will have lunch in Na Spilce, a cafe located in the original fermentation quarters of the brewery. In the afternoon we stay on premises and visit Pivovar Proud, a small craft experimental wing of the Pilsner Urquell brewery. We will have a tour led by one of the two lead brewmasters, who is also a homebrewer. We work off some of that food and drink by walking to our hotel for the evening, for a little relaxation time. We'll then head out for a historical walk of Pilsen (the only major Czech city liberated by the Americans in WW2). Dinner is on your own this evening and we'll give you a number of options you can try.

Day 6

Today we move on to the small city of Žatec, which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site for its hop growing and beer making tradition. Our first stop is the Hop-Research-Institute Žatec, where we'll learn more about hop growing in the region. Courtesy of the local hop growers guild, we'll then stop at a small family hop farm to meet the actual farmer and learn about his life as a farmer. Lunch is on your own in Žatec. After lunch we transfer to the Zichovec brewery, considered one of the best modern craft breweries in the country (and producing some of the best beers). They are not generally open to the public but we will be able to taste their barrel-aged beers as well as a few meads, wines, and ciders. After a tour and tasting, we'll transfer back to Prague, check into a different, upscale hotel, and then eat dinner at Cobolis brewery, where we'll meet up with local Czech homebrewers to trade secrets (and perhaps taste some of their beers).

Day 7

On our final morning, you'll enjoy a last leisurely breakfast and then we'll head out to once again explore Prague's historic sights. Our final beer stop of the trip is back at U Medvidku, where we stayed on our first two nights. The small, modern brewery was opened in this historic building in 2005. However, the original brewery equipment is still in place and we can see brewing technology which is no longer used today such as stock cooling, open fermentation tanks, wooden lager barrels and manual racking into bottles with patented caps. We'll do a tour; a tasting of OLDGOTT, their signature semi-dark lager; and a lesson in bottling lager, walking away with our own personalized BLONDGOTT  lager as a gift. We'll finish by 12:30 PM and you are then on your own - to eat lunch in the brewery restaurant, hang out in Prague, extend your vacation elsewhere in Europe, or head back home. Na zdraví!