Beer – the national Czech drink
The most popular Czech drink is definitely beer. If you are visiting the Czech Republic, you really have to try Czech beer, unless you are a cured alcoholic or a small child. The Czech Republic has a lot of delicious beers to offer.
Czechs love beer. They hold a world primacy in drinking it. Beer firstly has a really long tradition here, it tastes well and it is cheap. It often happens, that while you go to the restaurant here, the cheapest thing you can drink is beer, often cheaper then would be the same amount of soda or juice. Plus, when you do not drink too much of beer, it is healthy, rich of B vitamin. But Czech love for beer also have its negatives, some people, men mostly, drink too much of it, which is then unfortunately visible on their body-shapes. Notorious is so called “beer-belly”, which a lot of Czech men have. And we better do not speak about other negatives of excessive drinking.
Some visitors are sometimes quite shocked, how it can be that people here are widely able to drink alcoholic beverages – among them beer is counted, before noon as if there were nothing to it. Mostly those of Western countries are usually surprised. Those, who are from the East not, because they often do the same. Plus, some foreigners can get drunk on beer much sooner then Czechs, because of not being used to it. So drink beer … carefully.
And which brands are the best? It depends on the point of view, but very popular are Pilsner Urquell, Budweisser (Budejovicky Budvar), Gambrinus and Staropramen. Then there is Kozel (the name means he-goat in Czech), some people really like it, others not and many many other brands.