Latest update: 3 August 2023
Perhaps the most popular beer in the world was born in Pilsen (Czech Republic): the lager, or rather: pilsner. Indeed, the name comes from the Czech city. So, of course, you can do all kinds of activities with beer in Pilsen, Czech. From a brewery visit to a beer bath!
Beer history of Pilsen, Czech
In the Middle Ages, they already brewed beer in Pilsen in the Czech Republic. Families had brewing rights so they could make beer at home. Only they were not all successful brewers; they just messed around a bit. A lot of beer ended up in the sewer because it was undrinkable. About 250 families decided to raise money and start brewing beer together. This required a brewmaster with the skills to brew tasty beer. The German Josef Groll was brought to the city and started working with local ingredients and different techniques. In 1842 he managed to perfect everything: the pilsner was born. The joint brewery? Plzeňsky Prazdroj, or: Pilsner Urquell. Obviously.
The pilsner (a type of lager) becomes a worldwide success. It is exported, copied, and, above all, drunk a lot. But the origin lies in the beer city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic. After three years, they were fed up with the German brewmaster by the way. He wasn’t exactly friendly, so they were happy to send him back to Germany. They already had the success recipe for pilsner now anyway.
Visit Pilsner Urquell brewery
Now that you know a little bit about the beer history of Pilsen, you have to pay a visit to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. A tour of the brewery is very extensive and takes almost two hours. With a guide, you will discover the site, including the factory where all bottles are washed, filled, and printed. I’m lucky, and the machines are running during my visit. I admire the process from the balcony. So much steam and heat!
Outside the factory, you see the old horse tram that used to bring beer to the city. Now they do that once a month to selected restaurants and bars as a tribute to the past. Also, take a good look at the water tower. The design is inspired by Dutch lighthouses.
The guide explains the brewing process in the historical and new brewing kettles in another building and shows a video. We walk along the four ingredients of the Pilsner Urquell beer: grain, water, yeast, and hops. The brewery has no fewer than five water sources of its own. The soft water is essential for the taste, says the guide.
We also look in the cellar, about ten to twenty meters underground. There are nine kilometers of cellar corridors here, but most are no longer used because the production process has been modernized enormously over the years. Yet there are still a few wooden barrels, so the brewers can check and compare the taste. I can too, by the way: a Czech grandpa taps an unfiltered, unpasteurized beer straight from the barrel for everyone. Na zdraví!
Beer lunch at Na Spilce
Combine your visit to the brewery with lunch at the Na Spilce restaurant. It is located on the Pilsner Urquell site. You will find a large dining room in the basement with pillars and vaults. There is heavy Czech fare menu and a seasonal menu. Strawberries and asparagus are the theme when I’m there. Very tasty, the strawberry-asparagus strudel that the waiter recommends works surprisingly well!
Pilsner Urquell’s Jubilee Gate
Pay attention to that beautiful gate you probably walk under when entering the site. That’s the Jubilee Gate. It was put there to celebrate Pilsner Urquell’s fiftieth birthday. You may recognize the gate from the Pilsner Urquell logo: you can see it in the red seal.
More beer breweries in Pilsen
Do you have more time in Pilsen to visit more breweries? Lucky you! Besides Pilsner Urquell, you can also go to:
- Kalikovar Brewery (Google Maps location)
- Gambrinus Brewery (Google Maps location, on the same site as Pilsner Urquell)
- Roudná Brewery (Google Maps location)
- Raven Brewery (Google Maps location)
- Purkmistr Brewery (Google Maps location)
Brewery Museum in Pilsen, Czech Republic
There is a brewery museum in the center of Pilsen. You can only visit it on a guided tour. You book a time slot and then discover the history of beer and fun facts, such as which beer records are in the Guinness Book of Records. The building is an old brewery from the 15th century, where dirty beer was brewed before pilsner was discovered. There is also a beer shop at the brewery museum, but you get a beer to round off the tour anyway.
Beer bath in a beer spa in Pilsen
Always wanted to bathe in beer? I’ve got you! At Beerspa Land in Pilsen, they have created two beautiful rooms for beer baths. The rooms are warmly decorated with a fireplace and stained-glass windows. There are two beer baths in one room and three in the other. So you can go with friends or romantically with just the two of you. There are no less than 1000 liters in a beer bath.
You get towels and bathrobes, and you have a private shower. There is beer in the bath for the foam, foam, and hops; yeast and malt are also added. And it actually smells good! If you want, you can turn the beer bath into a bubble bath. Such a beer bath is very good for you: it stimulates the metabolism, renews your skin, makes it nice and soft, and is very relaxing. So when you’re taking a beer bath, you’re being very healthy. In the meantime, you can tap unlimited Pilsner Urquell beer from your beer tub – also non-alcoholic if you like.
After bathing, you can relax on a bed of wheat straw and eat homemade beer bread. Sounds good? Book your beer bath here.
Take a beer bike through Pilsen
The beer bike is such a typical bachelor party activity. Drinking beer together while cycling through the city and seeing all the sights. Although you may pay less attention to the sights than to the beer.
Tip! No more beer please? Don’t worry, there is much more to experience. Find out what else you can do in Pilsen.
Order a beer in Pilsen’s oldest pub
People have been drinking beer in U Salzmannů, the oldest pub in Pilsen, since 1637. The football fans of FC Viktoria Plzeň like to come for a beer before the game. No scary soccer hooligans. Just people having fun.
U Salzmannů is also a great place to eat. The menu features typical Czech dishes. Start with a deli platter with a spicy pork belly, blue cheese spread, pickled sausage, and camembert, then choose something from the traditional cuisine. I go for roast pork with cabbage and dumplings in a dark beer sauce. A good choice, I can tell you.
Beer events in Pilsen, Czech
As a beer lover, go to ‘Brewstock’ in February. Beer brewers from all over the Czech Republic gather so that you can taste all kinds of beers from the country. Besides tasting beer, tasting food is also very important at this event. And especially food pairing: which beer goes best with which dish. Learn the exact dates for this year’s edition here.
Sun in a Glass is an annual beer event in September. Breweries from the region and far beyond gather on the grounds of the Purkmistr brewery to promote their beers. Come thirsty. Read all information for this year here.
The whole month of October is dedicated to beer in Pilsen. It’s Pilsner Fest. There’s music, there’s food, and lots of beer. You can visit tap competitions or participate in a beer workshop yourself. View this year’s dates and program here.
More Czech inspiration?
Useful links for your Czech trip
- Accommodation. My favorite is still Booking.com. Rather stay in a hostel? Check Hostelworld.
- Activities. GetYourGuide and Viator offer the best tours and activities. WithLocals offers activities with local guides. For ‘free’ walking tours, check Freetour.com and GuruWalk, and for bike tours, go to Baja Bikes.
- Attractions and museums. Check out Tiqets for tickets for museums and attractions (you get 5% discount with the code KIMOPREIS22)
- Car rental. You can compare prices at Discover Cars or Rentalcars.com.
- Flights. Compare your options! Be sure to check Skyscanner, Trip, and Kiwi.
- Package deals. Prefer a fully catered holiday? Expedia and CheapOair might have suitable options.
- Train and bus. Travel to the Czech Republic with NS International or book buses and trains with Busbud, 12Go or Omio.
- Travel guides. Call me old-fashioned, but I still enjoy browsing through a paper travel guide. Available at Amazon.
- SIM card. Beware of unexpectedly high calling and internet costs. Buy a local SIM card when you arrive, or arrange one online via Airalo.
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy something through these links, I might receive a small commission.
I visited Pilsen by invitation of Visit Czechia and Visit Pilsen. So they arranged some of the activities mentioned for me. I was allowed to write about it what I wanted.
