Guide

How to spot a well-kept beer

Illustration: a beer tap pouring a hladinka

The same beer can taste completely different in two pubs. The difference isn't the brewery – it's how the beer is handled from keg or tank to your table. Here are five things that tell you more than the sign outside.

1. Foam

Dense, creamy white foam should hold its shape for several minutes and leave “lacing” on the glass after each sip. Thin foam with big bubbles that disappears fast often means a poorly rinsed glass or the wrong pressure.

✓ Dense, creamy foam holds and leaves “lacing” on the glass.
✕ Thin foam and bubbles on the walls – a poorly rinsed glass.

2. Temperature

A pale lager tastes best at around 6–8 °C. Too cold and it mutes flavour and bitterness; too warm and it tastes flat.

Thermometer: the ideal temperature for a pale lager is 6–8 °C

3. Glass

The glass must be “beer clean” – free of detergent residue and grease. Bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass are a warning sign.

4. Pouring styles

Czech beer culture has several ways to pour a beer. They differ in the ratio of beer to foam, and each has its reason. A good bartender pours in one or two pulls, doesn't let the beer stand and never tops up with old foam.

Glass: Hladinka
HladinkaThe classic. Dense foam about three fingers high, up to the rim, poured in one go into a tilted glass.
Glass: Šnyt
ŠnytA small beer in a big glass: one third beer, one third foam, one third left empty. For tasting or a last one.
Glass: Mlíko
MlíkoThe glass is almost entirely wet, slightly sweet foam. Drunk in one go – like a beer dessert.
Glass: Čochtan
ČochtanBeer with no foam at all. Drink it fast – without a protective layer of foam it soon goes flat.
Glass: Řezané
ŘezanéTwo layers: pale and dark beer. The beer with the higher original gravity stays at the bottom; the other is poured carefully on top, for example over a spoon.

5. Tank or keg

Tank beer arrives unpasteurised and is stored in large tanks; keg beer comes in smaller kegs. Both can be excellent – what matters is turnover and line cleaning. Where a lot is poured, the beer is always fresh.

Tip: if you don't like your beer, tell the staff. A good pub treats it as feedback.