The new image (see pic below) isn’t the only (and certainly not the most important) change that the fifth edition of the Czech Beer Festival is bringing, there are several others, the biggest of which is perhaps…
The venue: After three years in world’s butt (i.e. Letňany), the Czech Beer Festival is going back to Vystavyště Holešovice, where the first edition was held. According to the organisers, this aims to bring in more locals.
The layout: There will be only one massive tent (football pitch dimensions, they say) divided into two sections. Each section will offer five beers on tap that will cover a classic range (nealko incl.) and two catering companies will take care of the food, all with live music. The Křižík Hall C will house the “Pivní Rozmanitost” section, where attendants will find a wider range of beers from smaller regional and micro breweries, as well as some imported stuff on tap and bottled.
Tupláky: In the main tent, only 1l measures will be available. Otherwise, you will have to go to ”Pivní Rozmanitost”, where beers will be available in 0.5l or 0.3l or even smaller measures, depending on style.
Special days: 21/5 will be Pink Monday, dedicated to the Gay and Lesbian community. 25-27/5 is the weekend dedicated to Czechs living abroad and 28/5 is Dragon day, dedicated to the Vietnamese community. “Pivní Rozmanitost” will also have several special events with tastings, etc. For the last weekend, a presentation of Italian micro breweries is planned.
After party: On Thursday to Saturday from midnight at Křižík Hall C. (who will be in the mood for that after knocking down five or six tupláky is another question)
And that’s pretty much it. Everything will be paid by Tolars, that sell at 45CZK each. Admission is free. The Festival kicks off on Thur. 17/5, with a Grand Opening that day at 5PM, and wraps up on Sat. 2/6. Hours are every day from 12 till midnight.
I’m really happy they are back in Vystavyště Holešovice. The first edition was flawed, yes, but the location gave it a beer garden atmosphere that the Shithole (i.e. Letňany) could have never matched. Whether it’ll be enough to bring in more locals, I don’t know, but it’s sure enough for me. I missed it last year because I couldn’t be arsed with going all the way to that metro station in the middle of effing nowhere just to have a couple of pints and check out the atmosphere. Now I’m looking forward to seeing what the place will look like and if I’m not happy with what I see or drink, I can always take a walk through Stromovka or go to one of the not few pubs around Storssmayerovo and Letenské Nám.
That aside, talking yesterday to a friend I met at the press conference, we came to the conclusion that the Czech Beer Festival has become actually two events in one. One the one hand you have the big tent with the tupláky and the live music for the tourists and the groups who don’t care too much about what they are drinking as long as it goes down well and Pivní Rozmanitost for those who prefer to drink more sensibly and quietly while being able to choose from wider and more diverse range. Quite clever methinks.
Anyway, if you see me there, feel free to buy me a pint, I won’t feel offended.
Na Zdraví!
You can read more beer ranting in my own blog Pivní Filosof – Beer Philosopher.
I have the feeling that the good news are only limited to the location. If I well understand, if one wants to drink beer in the main tent, MUST drink from a 1L glass? Thus investing 2 tolars (90 czk) each time? That´s ridiculous. I guess that all the “locals” will be filling the “Pivní Rozmanitost” tent, leaving the large area to some singing germanic crowd. How can one buy a 0.3L beer with the tolars system? I´m confused.
That’s why I say that the festival is actually two events in one. I won’t bother with the big tent, but I guess there will be many people who will like to go there for the atmosphere.
As for the 0.3l glasses. Beers in 0.3l glasses will cost 1 tolar, but they will be stronger/more specialty-like and won’t be available in bigger measures. Last year they were selling even smaller sizes for +10%ABV imperial stouts and stuff like that (that in some cases cost more than 1 tolar), it should be the same this year.
Thanks! Understood. It is actually a pity though because the main tent seems to have good beers too (especially Kout and Bernard) but there is no point in getting hammered with 1L mass. See you at the Rozmanitost then…
The main tent, I reckon, will only serve stuff from Lobkowicz, Kout, etc. will surely be found at Rozmanitost
This is really bad news about the 1 litre measures, at 90 Kr a time.
It will limit the number of beers I can try in the main tent.
By the evening, the main tent will be full of people who are totally wasted…
Here are the beers in the main tent.
Tent 1 section A:
Bernard, Bakalář, Kout, Pernštejn, Ferdinand, Nymburk
Tent 1 section B:
Černá Hora, Ježek, Klášter, Rychtář, Lobkowicz, Platan, Vysoký Chlumec, Janáček
Well, most, if not all, of them you can get elsewhere in town, and cheaper by the pint. So why bother?
The remote location (last year’s) was great in that it weeded out a ton of guzzling nimrod tourists. You want atmosphere? Go to U Fleku. Bringing it in closer will just mean longer beer lines.
If the main tent is your thing, then yes, it could be, but I don’t think I’ll bother very much to go there (unless work so demands)
I think instead that the big lines will be at the Rozmanitost tent. Every decent beer lover, both local or expat, will doubtless head there. The main tents will be, as said, big, and they will probably have table service, so I don´t expect long queues there. I am not very happy with the arrangement but maybe I´m wrong.
I frankly don’t know the arrangement at the Rozmanitost “tent”. Didn’t think of asking, either. It seems it’ll be a much bigger affair than the previous years. So, I hope you ARE wrong, after all…
Dobre den Pivni,
Will gladly buy you a pint on the 25th when I am in Prague on holiday with my wife.
Cheers,
Terry.
Well, let us hope our paths cross…
I’m cool with the location change idea because Letnany (along with the tolar prices) made it tough to recruit friends to come out to The Fest. However, the tuplak idea is simply retarded and counterproductive. Let’s be honest, the 90kc a beer pricetag is going to turn off Czechs to the event in droves. Who the hell really drinks tuplaks anyways; regardless of what kind of beer is in the mug? Nobody, that’s who. I think I’ll be leaving my money at Zly Casy and other great places those weeks.
I’m still curious about the Rozmanitost area, where (depending on the beers) a 45CZK price tag isn’t such an outrage….
as a veteran of 3 previous Beer Festivals at Letnany I am pleased they have moved things nearer the city center BUT I am most disappointed in them only having 1 liters available in the main tent.The Pivní Rozmanitost will be where i will spend most of my time,actually it is where i spent most of my time at previous Festivals.
Is there now way of changing the organiser minds.Last year they sold liters only through the table servers and you could buy half liters at the taps, a much better idea in my mind.
They didn’t say that, but they are known for changing things on the way if they see they aren’t working as they expected, so, I wouldn’t be surprised if 0.5l are made available at the big tent one way or another, but still, given the beers on the list, I think that Pivní Rozmanitost is where I’ll be found, as much as I like Kout and some of the others, I’m not too happy with paying 45CZK for a desítka whatever its name might be.
This event gets less interesting to attend every year. The high beer prices used to be much more tolerable when you could at least count on having a pretty girl cruise up on skates or whatnot to deliver your .5l beer. Half the fun was chatting them up and taking pictures with them between beers (my Czech wife LOVED this part of it-LOL). Now we hardly even have that unless you’re a professional alcoholic stupid enough to spend 90kc a beer. The past few years the beers have been getting more and more expensive and the girls are getting rarer, less attractive and fatter. It’s really getting hard to justify supporting this farce any more. Frankly, it just isn’t that good. Hate to say it but it’s true.
The girls still look great, dont wprry. And you buy beer in our part and take seat in the big tent:)
To Pivini Filosf, last year in the Pivní Rozmanitost they served several of the stronger more expensive beers in 0.33 glasses so i suppose it works out not to bad price wise.
I have a joke for everyone- How long does it take a “Local” to pour and serve a beer the “Great Locals” Beer Festival? 14 minutes 31 seconds. Yes I timed it and that is funny.(This was in the Craft Beer Tent) Slow promotion anyone? At that rate I could go to the distributor, arrange delivery, tap the keg, then pour it myself…..(One of the simplest jobs known to humankind is pouring and serving a beer.) I then sell the rest and make 396 Euros X 25 CZK exchange rate and have 9900 CZK for my pocket. Lets say the craft beer keg cost 2500 CZK – OK, and then 7400 profit minus 1500 for tap/cooler 5900 CZK which is 236 Euros profit. I am sure for 20 Euros an hour (500 CZK), I could find an “Expert” who can pour and serve my friends beers in less than a minute….I of course keep the 136 euros profit for my own pocket and have the satisfaction of knowing I pay 5 times the local minimum wage, but have magically found a “Highly Skilled Expert” who can pour and serve a beer in a fraction of the time. (This isn’t Thermodynamic Engineering) although my generous pay package by hour may be the same locally…. My Verdict: Skip the local beer festival. I am firing their management and taking it over next year……
If you say so, who am I to argue…
One thing you need to get right is the serving time and these industry specialists have not gotten this figured out…. People are already paying 3 times the normal cost of beer, so at least match the increased cost to professional delivery and serving time. Locals really know how to spoil good times with needless negatives and this Beer Festival is case in point.