Czech Beer Revival: The Traditional Lagers of Kout & Konrad on Draft!

•  BBCKAnne
  Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - 6pm
• ChurchKey
  1337 14th St NW, Washington, DC, USA 20005

Details

Tuesday 2-12-13: 6 pm
ChurchKey
Czech Beer Revival: The Traditional Lagers of Kout & Konrad on Draft!

At long last, old school, craft-brewed Czech lager has made its way to the USA…and on this coming Tuesday, we at ChurchKey salute the very epitome of sessionable, nuanced complexity by proudly serving a host of modern classics from Kout & Konrad from the Czech Republic!

The once-proud Czech beer culture has taken some massive hits during the rise and fall of communism. The largest national breweries have been swallowed up by mega-conglomerates, while countless regional Pivovars have been shut down, most never to return. The traditional and distinctive Czech Pivo—unpasteurized, earthy, soft, and complex—has been replaced with over-carbonated and bland “international lager” beer meant to appeal to the mass market, with little local character evident.

Thankfully, there has been a revolt, and Czech beer enthusiasts have let it be known they want their national drink back. In a trend mirrored around the globe, new microbreweries and brewpubs are springing up all over the country, and the entrepreneurial enthusiasts starting up these companies are having little trouble locating eager master-brewers who’d lost their jobs in the corporate purge-brewers who know how real Czech beer should be made.

Enter the wonderful Kout lagers from Pivovar Kout na Šumavě, as well as the Konrad lagers from Pivovary Vratislavice! During our Czech brew review, we will showcase 3 brews from each Pivovar: Koutska 10° (Unfiltered/ Unpasteurized Helles Lager), 12° (Unfiltered/ Unpasteurized Bohemian Pilsener) & 18° (Unfiltered/ Unpasteurized Doppelbock w/ 6 Month Maturation) along with Konrad 11° (Helles Lager), 14° (Bohemian Pilsener) and Konrad ESO Märzen (Oktoberfest/ Märzen).

There is no admission fee for this event and all Czech Lagers will be priced individually in 4 oz. tasters and full-glass pours.

The Full Czech Revival Draft List:
Koutska 10° (Unfiltered/ Unpasteurized Helles Lager)
Koutska 12° (Unfiltered/ Unpasteurized Bohemian Pilsener)
Koutska 18° (Unfiltered/ Unpasteurized Doppelbock w/ 6 Month Maturation)
Konrad 11° (Helles Lager)
Konrad 14° (Bohemian Pilsener)
Konrad ESO Märzen (Oktoberfest/ Märzen)

More on the breweries:

Kout:
Kout na Sumavé, a small town in the Bohemian Forest near the German border, was a prosperous center for beer production until it’s local Pivovary was shut down in 1969. Years later, Jan Skala, who as a young man had worked in the brewery, hatched a plan to revive beer making in the town; Skala bought the brewery building in 2003, took two years to clean and renovate it, and in 2006 brought in Bohuslav Hlavsa, a master-brewer in the former Pivovar Domazlice (which had been shut down by Pilsner Urquell), to create a new line of traditional Czech beers. It was a huge investment, and the company for years struggled to survive. But the undeniable integrity and quality of its products has gradually earned Kout followers, and awards, in its home country and abroad. Kout has won Best Beer medals four times in it’s native Czech Republic, and has also received honors in France and Italy.
Meanwhile, the beers have attained a cult following in the US, where aficionados have rated 3 of them as being among the top 10 from the Czech Republic.

Konrad:
In the 1990’s, scores of local Czech “Pivovaries” were shut down by mega international brewing corporations. Most were gone forever- dismantled or demolished. But In 2000, unemployed workers from the former Liberec Brewery in Northern Bohemia convinced investors to bring their once-proud factory back to life.
Under the new brand name Konrad (honoring a 19th century brewer) this reborn regional takes on the big boys by producing firmly traditional and well-crafted Czech lagers, made to the historical recipes with water from it’s own wells, classic Zatec hops, and local barley.

Contact

Greg Engert
[email protected]

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