Dobrý den!
I'm Alex
And I'm Marko
And you're watching Vagabrothers
This week we're in the birthplace of good beer
Pilsen, Czech Republic!
If you know us, you know that we love good beer. And if you love good beer, then at
some point you've had a pilsner, Czech lager named after the city where it was born - Pilsen.
Pilsner is famous worldwide thanks to one of it's breweries, Pilsner Urquell, and its
brewing tradition is one of the reasons it was named Cultural Capital of Europe in
2015.
Czechs drink more beer than anyone else in the world - 148 liters per person, per year
- that’s 50% more than the Austrians in 2nd place, and double that of Americans.
So we figured that if anyone knew how to celebrate the honor, it would Pilsen, so we
hopped on a plane from Finland to the Czech Republic and arrived in Pilsen just in time
for the opening ceremony.
On the day of the celebration, we woke up to discover two good omens at breakfast- a
band playing traditional Czech music, and a buffet full of beer.
We knew it would be a long boozy day, so we skipped the breakfast beer and caught a tram
to old town to find the celebrations.
Today is the opening ceremonies of the Cultural Capital celebration for 2015 but we don’t
know where it is.
So we have to find the press center, get our press passes or we are going to miss the whole
thing, so that’s currently what we are trying to do.
Major obstacle at the moment is that we don’t speak Czech.
A walk through the Old Town, is a walk through its' history - founded in the 13th century
thrived in the Middle Ages and became an industrial center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
So we just got our press passes and they told us we are only one minute behind the tour
to the Pilsner Urquell brewery.
There’s the tour right there, and Pilsner Urquell is obviously rad because it’s the
original Pilsner, this is the home of brewing so were going
to go try some beer because we love that.
Our first stop was the Brewery Museum inside one of the old brew houses, complete with
a bit of history and some drunk mannequins.
Pilsen's brewing history started in 1295 when the king gave permission to all Pilsen families
to brew beer in their homes, but by the 1830s
the quality had become so bad that the beer was undrinkable.
So bad in fact, that they poured it down the drain. And we know, there's no bigger sin
than wasting beer. So that's when the Czechs called zee Germans.
To save themselves, Pilsen's brewers banded together, invested in a state of the art factory
and brought in a Bavarian named Joseph Groll to help them brew better beer.
The result? Pilsen.
Known now as Pilsner Urquell.
So we met with Pilsner Urquell's chief brewer, Vaclav Berka, who told us why their beer is
so good.
Na Zdravî
First brew was brewed 5th of October, 1842. By a young brewer Joseph Groll using only
three ingredients -
Pilsen soft water, Pilsner malt, and Saaz hops. And it's crazy, amazing for us that
we 172 years ago used only the same three ingredients
which means the beer we brew now is exactly the same as 172 years ago.
This beer invited you to another and another sampling and tasting, cheers!
Which is exactly what we came here to do, so we finished up our beers with Vaclav and
headed to the brewery itself.
Victory!
We have arrived at Pilsner Urquell Brewery
So it’s pronounced Urquell, like Steve Urkel
But actually Urquell is a German word that means the source of the spring.
So our goal right now is to go in here and drink this beer from the source.
I’m stoked let’s do it.
Alright let’s go Czech it out!
They took us into the cellars beneath the brewery, which reminded me of a dwarf cave
from Lord of the Rings.
This is a legitimate beer cellar, we are underground in the brewery and it’s moist.
It’s kind of like a mine.
Yah a beer mine.
I like it.
If mining involved drinking Pilsner Urquell every day, I’d probably consider it as a career
Pilsners are lagers, and lager is a german word meaning "stored" beer, which is why Pilsen
is perfect for brewing -
It sits atop 16 kilometers of underground tunnels, which served as a primitive refrigerator
or a place to hide from the occasional marauding medieval army.
That does not look like beer to me, it looks like creme brûlée or sort of burnt cheese.
It smells like fermentation in here though.
Yah but the final product is what counts and that barrel is from 1897 when this was still
part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
That means this is an old-school way of making beer and that’s really cool.
Finally, it was time to sample the beer.
Beer Pong?
Could it be?
Now we get to take these cups and try the beer fresh from the barrel.
Thank you!
To Pilsen, Czech Republic, Capital of Culture 2015, Congratulations.
We just came out the the Pilsner Urquell Brewery
We’ve emerged from the underground and it’s time for lunch at the press club so we’re
going to go have a typical lunch
And there’s circus folks walking around right now which is making things pretty interesting
so this should be fun day.
Let’s go!
The circus folk were actually part of the opening ceremony, which got underway just
before dusk.
So Marko and I split up - I went and got an aerial view, while Marko hit the streets
to follow the processions that went from different parts of town and congregated at the main
square.
Alright so I found the procession it’s pretty cool. There’s a lot of people having a good
time. Some fire twirlers, some puppets, some bohemian style clowns.
Now everyone is heading to the main square, Republic Square, to St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral
where they are going to ring these ancient bell towers.
It’s the first time they've rung them in a while since World War II when most were
melted down and made into weapons.
So it’s a big deal there’s going to churches and cathedrals all across Europe ringing the
bells at 5:30 in a show of unity.
So let’s get down there and see what the celebration entails.
Meanwhile, from my rooftop perch I watched as the square filled, the bells rang and the
buildings were illuminated with the story of Pilsen
Guys you are not going to believe this, there is a person walking on a high wire like three
or four hundred feet above this plaza.
He’s crossing the plaza to the bell tower of the cathedral.
Wow.
It was a great way to finish off an amazing day in the Czech Republic, but it was only
our first.
That night we hopped on a train to Prague, but to see that video you'll just have to
tune in again next week.
In the meantime, if you liked the video, give it a thumbs up, share it with your friends
and subscribe to our channel for new travel videos every Tuesday, and we will see you
guys next week in Prague.
Later!