Czechs amber liquid, called ‘Pivo’ is world famous, and for many centuries has been the finest beer available. The distinctive flavour of Czech beer comes from hand picked Bohemian hops. The Czech Republic is the largest consumer of beer in the world, beating Germany. That means that every adult drink on average 1L of beer a day. The majority of beers produced in Prague is lager, the best known being Pilsner Urquell and Budvar (Budweiser). Popular Czech brand includes Gambrinus, Staropramen, Krusovice, Radegast and Velkopopovicky Kozel. There are also some small breweries like NovoMestsky Pivovar producing Flek (dark beer). Another dark ale style beer - Velvet, is produced by Prague breweries in Ostrava. If you like Guinness, try Czech beer Kelt. Beer is normally served in half litre glasses, unless you ask for small beer (0.3l). Czech’s generally prefer light beer but in many pubs you can ask for sweeter dark or mixed beers. Wine produced in the Czech Republic is unfortunately a nothing special, however if you really like wine then try a young wine called ‘burcak’. This can usually be bought in September when the harvest season starts. If you prefer spirits all well known spirits are available there, the most popular amongst Czech people being vodka followed by rum and fernet. Fernet is a dark herbal bitter drink. Fernet can be drinking with tonic and then we call it ‘bavorak’ (Bavarian beer). Becherovka is another herbal spirit originally from the Bohemian spa town of Karlovy Vary, this is very popular for its medicinal use. Another spirits you may come across is ‘borovicka’ and ‘myslivec’. In the Czech Republic absinthe is still legal and can be bought in shops (be warned this is a very strong and dangerous spirit). ‘Slivovice’ is mostly home made brandy, made from plums and originally comes from the Moravian hills. If you don’t drink alcohol, then mineral water called Mattoni is worth trying.

Guided Tour: The Famous Pubs of the Old Town

Czech Pubs Atmosphere: drinking is done in smoky pubs with stained tablecloths and surly servers with dodgy maths. Anything less than half a dozen half-litre mug is suspect – if you can drink ten you can walk away with your pride intact.

A bit of history
Before 1842 beers were dark and cloudy, until visionary brew-master created the world's first golden beer. This revolutional breakthrough took place in the city of Pilsen, in today's Czech Republic; the town and the beer have given its name to the new style of beer - Pilsner. Find out why the total consumption of beer in the Czech Republic - 160 liters per capita per year - is the highest in the world.

Best Prague beer bradns:

Pilsner Urquell.
The original Pilsner beer, came in an overwhelming first place, echoing a recent poll in which the majority of Czech citizens called Pilsner "the beer with the highest quality." We'll have another.

Gambrinus.

Czech popular beer. Gambrinus pale lager is distinguished by its rich gold color and ample foam. Its outstanding feature is the full-bodied flavor with fine bitterness. The unmatchable flavor ensues from the use of the highest-quality domestic ingredients, the famous Pilsner water and local brewers` experience developed over generations.
www.gambrinus.cz

Staropramen.
Is another Czech popular beer exported to 36  countries. Pivovary Staropramen a.s. is the second largest beer producer in the Czech Republic, with a 14% share of the domestic market.
www.pivovary-staropramen.cz

Krusovice.
The  Royal Brewery of Krusovice is one of the oldest breweries in the Czech Republic. The brewery was established in 1517. Brewery is presently placed 5th amongst producers of beer in the Czech Republic. Krusovice beer is available on tap in thousands of pubs and prestigious restaurants alike throughout Bohemia and Moravia.
www.krusovice.cz