Remember when Anthony Bourdain went to that ancient brewery in Kout na Sumave? Well, I just found out that my grandmother was born in a neighboring town called Kdyně. Now I have even more reason to visit and am so excited to see where my "Babi" was born.
Both towns are in the Plzeň region of the Czech Republic and Plzeň is the fourth most populous city in CZ. There's a lot of history associated with Plzeň and it really is a beautiful city with baroque style architecture, but I'm going to tell you about the beer. Plzeň has the largest brewery (Pilsner Urquell...since 1842) and the biggest distillery (Stock) in the Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell has given a name to an entire beer style, Pilsner, arguably the world's most popular style (and my absolute favorite!).
Plzeň is also home to the Gambrinus brewery (since 1869). Gambrinus has a fun background actually. Gambrinus is a legendary king of Flanders and the unofficial patron saint of beer or beer brewing. He is variously depicted as a European king, an English knight of the Middle Ages, or less commonly as a plump old man (I prefer the latter). Gambrinus' birthday is supposedly on April 11th (same day as my Babi that was born in Kdyně) so be sure to wish them both a very happy birthday with a cold brew.
Gambrinus himself is so popular that you may recognize him from various beer brands...
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