Easy Beer Tasting Guide

We found a simple, good beer-tasting guide on-line. Here.

New North Korean Tests

PRAGUE. North Korea's only 18-hole golf course, Taesong, is hosting a tourney tomorrow. This is a promotion to--sit down for this one--spur business investment in NK. The managing director of the Korea Business Consultancy, the event's host, was even quoted as saying the event has "razzmatazz." Does that mean they've scheduled an above-ground test this weekend? We're sure the reviews for the event will be glowing.

Tanks for the Land Back

PRAGUE. Ok, it has nothing to do with golf or beer, but it sure wins our "newstory of the week" title.

A German news source reported the story of a Czech man who used a WWII-era German tank to get back some land taken from him by the former government. Maximilian Simek escaped to Canada from Czechoslovakia in the 1980s, but returned to win the return of some family property appropriated by the Communists.

A resilient man, when he didn't meet with success against the bureaucrats, he drove a tank up to the steps of the Ostrava city hall in 2004, to demand his land back. Although he never fired a shot, he, apparently, parked the tank nearby at a crossroads since the standoff started.

The city hall just granted the return of his property, and he agreed to move his tank.

Old School Golf

PRAGUE. Yesterday, I ventured out to the "second oldest" Czech golf course, dating back to 1928, a course whose members included the likes of Jan Masaryk (T.G.'s son, and an early leader of the Czech nation): Golf Club Líšnice.

Today being the official anniversary of the birth of the Czechoslovakia nation, this deserves a blog (while hoisting an real Budweiser beer--not the rice 'beer' sold by Anheuser-Busch). (And it also deserves a timely mention that we here at welovebeerandgolf.com are still patiently waiting for the rightful return of Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia to the Czech & Slovak lands, dammit!)

Back to the story: this course is a 9-holer and cheap (550 Kcs/$25USD during the week for 18 holes, i.e., twice around). However, while it's only a very short 25 km south-south-west of Prague, you get what you pay for. While the staff and the other folks on the course are very pleasant, the course left this reviewer longing for greener fairways.

Now, to be very fair, this is a terrific course for beginners. It's essentially what Americans would call an "executive 9," insofar as it's short (4948m/5411 yds). You can tell it's been built on some very rocky soil, with very few trees. It almost appears as if they could cut less of the grass and sculpt the course better, letting some areas go fallow but focusing more on the fairways, and throwing in some new landscaping to break between adjoining fairways. But, we're not course designers, we're players, and what do we know?

Go there. Take your kids to play there (it's kid-friendly). Teach your significant other to play there. Introduce someone new to the game. Or, just use it for a quick (very quick) round. Unlike poor J.M., thankfully, you don't have to risk defenestration at the hands of Communists to play anymore.

Love of the 3-Hour Round

PRAGUE. We here love fall golf for one main reason: the crowds are thinning. Today, I stepped out to a lovely course I hadn't played before, close to the north-east of Prague, called Golf & Country Club Mstětice. I was the very first on the course at 9am, and had it all to myself for the duration. The consequence: a clean, easy, 3:05 round walking. Love it!

Now, let me sing the praises of this 4-year-old (the back 9 opened just last year), 6296m (6885 yd.) course. The greens were by far the best I've played in years. I am not kidding. There is only one word to describe them: pristine. Likewise, the teeboxes were exceptionally well maintained, and so were the fairways. The sand is real sand, and it's been raked. (What a dream after Forest Park a few weeks back.)

The course itself is a beautiful, wide-open, links-style 18-holer cut out of the corn fields in this breadbasket region of the Czech Republic. Very few trees, but beware of the rough, or bring extra balls--they're evoking Scottish links here. (Also, beware of the 2 meter deep sand trap right of the green on the 2nd!) If you play the whites (equivalent to the blues in the States) like I did, you'll be challenged by the carry from the tees--they are often long, filled with scrub grass, and the starts of most fairways are narrow. Only pull out the big guns if you shoot straight, or you'll suffer ('I coulda sworn it landed right here!').

Weekday rate: 950 Czech crowns (about $42 USD), and worth every penny.

Highly recommended.

Getting Weck'd in Buffalo

NEW YORK. Up visiting the Great Uncle and Aunt in Toronto on a fall weekend, flying way cheap on JetBlue via Buffalo.

Didn't get a chance to bring the sticks as it was a day trip. Shame, as there appears to be some "neat-o" golf around the Niagara area.

Especially enticing was the heavily promoted Big John Daly's Thundering Waters course. You know, the one he PR-stunted; trying 20 times to water carry a golf ball 342 yards over Niagara Falls to no avail. PR works party people.

But hey, what with no golf, there was a chance for a beer. First, a Labatt Blue at the rellie's house. This was a beaut, as there's nothing quite like being handed a sweet icy can from your 85 y.o. Great Uncle, and enjoying the bevvy in wise and fascinating octogenarian company.

Back at Buffalo Airport, biding an hour with the missus at The Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Landmark Bar, enjoyed a few Molson Canadians. These went down mighty fine with local cuisine, the now frat bar ubiquitous Buffalo Wings, and an excellent beef, salt and coriander regional speciality sandwich, the Beef on Weck.

What with some Sabres or Maple Leafs hockey on the box and perhaps the addition of some local brews at said bar befitting the rich brewing history of the Buffalo area it could be a perfect stopover, especially if you're snowed in, as last week's terrible storms did to many.

You'd be verily "beer' wecked" in Buffalo.

Like a Saint Bernard...

...we go running for beer. And tonight, it's not just any beer, but another straight from a Czech tap. Bernard is a smaller brand that's easier to find than this weekend's brews (see prior posts below), but still not one of the larger breweries.

The brewery is the Bernard family's 1991 revival of a 16th century brewery in Humpolec.

I stepped back into the Vinohrady neighborhood of Prague, and into a funky pub called Kvelb & Pub Pasticka ("PAHS-tich-ka").

I had both types of Bernard they have on tap: a 12 degree svetly, and 11 degree "polotmave" ('half-dark' or 'amber lager') beer. Now, let me tell you. These beers are sweet. They are both tasty, but they are some of the sweetest lagers out there. Recommended.

You have to love these guys: they have a great explanation on their website as to why pasteurization of beer is akin to physical abuse:
"During pasteurisation, the beer is heated to a temperature of over 80 °C, which eliminates all microorganisms present in the beer. This drastic treatment, when the beer is given a shock by being "torn" from the calm of the lager cellar, guarantees a longer lifetime for the beer, but damages its taste and colour."

Golf Courses Disappear in the U.S.

NEW YORK. An article in this week's Economist notes that, for the first time in years, the number of golf courses closing have exceeded the number of courses opening in the U.S. They note that even the number of rounds of golf have declined by 4% since 2000.

Even Myrtle Beach, SC, the self-titled "Seaside Golf Capital of the World," has slid backwards since 1999, after seeing a tripling of courses (to 105) in the last 25 years. They've lost a net of six courses since 1999.

This surely seems to buck the trend we've seen in NYC, where the number of golfers have skyrocketed, packing courses to unplayable levels (cases in point: a 7+ hour round at Dyker Beach, Brooklyn, 2 years ago, and 2 holes at Pelham/Split Rock, Bronx, which took over 1.5 hours and caused us to pack it in).

Tonight's Pub Crawl--All Good Things Must End--episode #3

PRAGUE. I was out the door before the slivovice and beers kicked in. The higher the "degrees" of a beer (a measurement of the specific gravity of the beer during the brewing process--to be explained in a later post), the higher the alcohol.

But I was undeterred in my quest for the last beer on tonight's tour: Mestansky Pivovar v Policce, which dates back to 1517. Their flagship pub in Prague is located in the Vinohrady neighborhood, straight west of the center. The restaurant is called Hrom do police. (No, that's not "police" as in "F the Police," but rather, literally, "thunder to the shelves" which colloquially translates into our phrase 'bull in a china shop.' In Czech, the name of the town where the beer is from, Policka, means "shelf" or "ledge," which lends itself to the pun for the restaurant name. It's pronounced "POH-lit-seh.")

This is the largest of tonight's three pubs. Twelve tables in a basement setting, with a large menu to order from.

Here, I grabbed a bite to eat, and tasted the last beer of the night: the 12 degree svetly ("light," remember?), called Zavis (pronounced "ZAH-veesh"). This is a very smooth beer. I'd recommend it to those who are new to the pilsner world, since it's lacking the bitterness common in pilsners. It's crisp, light, and vanishes from the palate completely, with, just maybe, a hint of caramel.

All in all, a successful night.

Tonight's Pub Crawl Continues--episode #2

PRAGUE. Like a Lay's Potato Chip--you can't have just one. So, I continued my crawl south. Next stop: the Cerna Hora (Black Mountain) brew pub, called restaurant Kralovstvi, on Kubelikova ulice (street), just around the corner from the big Prague TV tower, high atop the hill in Zizkov. This place felt like home: small restaurant with only four big tables, run by a husband and wife team, with their young son running around. Bartender drinking shots with the locals. I soon joined the fun. They also served five types of beer from the Cerna Hora brewery: a 10 degree light called Tas, a 12 degree light called Lezak, a 14 degree called Kvasar, and a dark 12 degree brew called Granat (grenade). The brewery dates back to at least October 28, 1530. I started with the Lezak: smooth, crisp pilsner taste. It literally vanishes in the back palate. Smoother than Podkovan, it is even more refreshing. Once done with that, I asked the barkeep about Kvasar. This is a honey and wheat beer, with the honey added near the end of the process. It was impossible to taste the wheat, unlike a hefeweizen, but I could notice the honey taste, very slightly. All I can say is smooth, smooth, smooth, with the slightest, vanishing bitterness. A truly exquisite beer. I loved it. I will be back. While I was enjoying the Kvasar, the barkeep asked me if I wanted to try the special slivovice (plum brandy) that was made specially for this pub. Not one to miss a good slivovice (I always keep a bottle of the home-made stuff around to share with close friends), I gladly gave in and drank up. We toasted a quick "nazdravi" (to your health) and downed the clear liquid. Quite a nice chaser to a fine beer. I paid my 48 crowns ($2.14 USD) for the drinks and left.

Prague Pub Crawl--episode #1

PRAGUE. Upon reading an article in this month's in-flight Czech Airlines magazine, I was spurred to go out and hit some regional brew-pubs that I'd, unfortunately, neglected over the years.

Now, I've lived in Prague for some time, and I've been surprised and dismayed by the dominance (ever growing!) of the larger breweries. As such, I try to support local brewing craft and smaller breweries because they are, frankly, generally better than the big guys. But, it's getting harder and harder. I was happy to have a couple of suggestions for new places to go.

Case in point, although I lived in Plsen for a time, I generally avoid Pilsner Urquell, the number one Czech brew, which is now owned by the international brewery mega-conglomerate, South African SABMiller (yes, the people that bring you Miller Lite, Henry Weinhard's, Amstel, Peroni, and Milwaukee's Best). Interestingly, I've had P.U. in both Prague and NYC on the very same day, and it tastes completely different, for reasons I don't understand. That all being said, the Pilsen brewery makes one of the world's finest beers, the not-for-export Gambrinus, which is marvelous.

And, even my old neighborhood brew, Staropramen, in the Prague working-class neighborhood of Smichov (west of the river, south of the castle), is now owned by the Belgian conglomerate InBev (the folks that bring you Leffe, Stella Artois, Brahma, and Beck's).

Tonight, forgetting about the big boys, and yearning for craft brewing, I started at Pivovar Podkovan, which has a brew pub at restaurace U Radnice ('restaurant at the city hall'), in the Zizkov neighborhood of Prague (east side), on Havlickovo namesti, right off Prokopova street. They operate a small restaurant, with only eighteen tables. The beer is obviously the focus.

They serve--on tap--five types of beer (I'll explain the types in another post), including a dark 10 degree, light 10 degree, 12 degree yeast beer, a 12 degree light beer, and a 14 degree beer. The brewery itself dates back to 1434.

I had the 12 degree svetly (light), which is the standard, premium beer (with an alcohol content somewhere around 5%). At 17 Czech crowns (about $0.76 USD) for a half-liter (about a pint), it's a gift from the gods. It was not flowery, but slightly bitter in a refreshing way (as any pilsner should be), with a very soft back-palate. The slight bitterness lingered after the taste. I highly recommend it. It's refreshing and light. Fantastic. I'll be back.

And, surprise, surprise, they apparently export to the U.S., under the name "Diplomat." Look for it.

Finally Someone Who Understands

NEW YORK. While surfing, we found the following article on pilsners, by Jordan Mackay:
Something More Than Crappy Pilsner: Americans learn how to make good beer.
Bless you, Jordan, for helping to steer the uninitiated away from the swill made by the big American breweries.

Stay Away from Forest Park GC!

NEW YORK. We did a round at an empty Forest Park Golf Course in Queens (NYC). A favorite of ours because it's normally a nice course and there's the potential for "subway golf"--being able to get there without a car. All in all, one of our top courses in NYC.

Now we know why it was empty: it was in the worst shape of any course we've seen in recent memory. Greens torn up, plugged, and heavily sanded. And I'm talking seven holes with unplayable greens. We've played better maintained putt-putt courses. A night and day difference from when we were there in May this year.

Our advice is to stay away until spring.

Golf Bulgaria!

NEW YORK. Here's a neat post on gadling.com about golf in Bulgaria. It's on our list, maybe for Golf Tour Europe 2007. . . .