Here's a great article from The Prague Post that I want to share with you...
The beauty of beer is that it can be just as heartening in winter as it is refreshing in summer. And, to give people an even more seasonal excuse to quaff the cold away, many breweries produce special beers for Christmas, employing both a cunning age-old marketing strategy (limited time only!) and the chance to experiment with some flavors that are decidedly festive.
While long a popular tradition in places like the States, Czech brewers are now hopping onto the beer-wagon, and there are several that are available either in Prague or from farther afoot. Here are just a few:
In Prague, Pivovarský dům is featuring a Christmas Vanilla Special beer, which is also available at Pivovarský klub.
Also in Prague, the U Bansethů restaurant and brewery is cooking up a special batch of Christmas beer, flavored with cloves and vanilla. Their taps will start pouring the cheer on Monday, Dec. 20.
Jihoměstský pivovar in Haje, run by brewmaster František Richter, is hosting a Christmas Carnival at the microbrewery on Wednesday, Dec. 22., starting at 7 p.m. Free entry with masks.
Up near Prague Castle, Klaštěrní pivovar Strahov, monks and makers of the St. Norbert range of beers, has an unfiltered holiday brew. Available in half-liter and 1-liter bottles, the Xmas Beer Super Strong” and at 19°, is just that, and is flavored with caramel and Carapils malt.
Market leader Pilsner Urquell is releasing special 1-liter bottles, with a retro, vintage design that harks back to the first half of the 20th century, featuring a ceramic cap and label. Each bottle is packaged in a special Christmas gift box, and supplies are limited (only 15,000 were produced).
Another Plzeň brewery, Purkmistr, is producing three special brews for the holidays: California Advent Ale 12°, Vienna Special 16° and the Festive 15°. Approximately 950 liters of each type are being produced.
Jihlavský pivovar, the makers of Ježek beer, among others, has a 16° Čertovský Special out, which features a red hue enhanced by natural grape extracts and will be available at about 400 pubs across the country.
Velký Břežno pivovar prepared a special semi-dark Christmas version of its Brežnák beer that is being served at select pubs and shops nationwide. This is the fourth year of the annual brew, and this year the brewery has produced 2 million bottles of it.
According to iDnes.cz, Berounský medvěd should have its Christmas Bear 14°. “It is a semi-dark lager in a special, half-liter bottle with our Christmas Bear logo, for 55 Kč. And get ready for our special dark porter,” said brewery owner Hana Mayerová.
Kácov brewery, which makes the light Hubertus lager, is making a Special Dark beer, that, according to David Horejši, head of the brewery via iDnes.cz, has a “fruity flavor” and costs 18 Kč in shops. There is also rumored to be a Nicholas Wheat Special, or Mikulašský pšeničný special.
The small but award-winning brewery Matuška Broumy, near Beroun, releases its special ultra-strong Matuška vánoční beer, at a heady 19°.
And of course, any beer at all can be festive if consumed with the right spirit!
