The first thing you notice at Pivovar Cvikov isn’t the beer—it’s the aroma of beer. Warm malt, grassy hops and the faint sweetness of fermenting grain drift in the brewery air long before the first pint is poured. Behind heavy doors, gleaming steel tanks quietly transform four simple ingredients into what many Czechs consider the country’s true national drink.
In Czechia, beer is less a beverage than a way of life. In 2025, the average Czech drank 121 litres of beer—about 240 pints a year. While Prague’s pubs draw the crowds, the country’s brewing heart often beats strongest in small towns like Cvikov, nestled amid the forests and hills of Northern Bohemia. “You can experience the traditional brewing process that has been used for hundreds of years in the original brewery,” says Veronika Bártová, Hotel & Brewery Manager. Tradition begins with water. “Spring water is really important for beer quality and finally determines the beer’s taste,” she explains. Combined with quality malt, hops and yeast, it creates the clean, balanced lagers Czechia is famous for.
For Jan Brusch, Trade & Export Manager at Pivovar Cvikov, beer is woven into everyday life. “Pilsner lager originated in Bohemia and the price of beer has been kept low for many years, so it is affordable,” she says. “Beer is considered a traditional drink in the Czech Republic. We never socialise over a cup of tea or coffee, but beer.”
That culture has kept small breweries thriving. Rather than chasing stronger flavours or higher alcohol, they focus on balance and drinkability. “A good Czech lager should have a very good drinkability,” says Bártová. “Once you drink the first beer, you feel like continuing with the second one.”
Even the numbers on Czech beer labels—10°, 11° or 12°—refer not to alcohol but to the wort’s original gravity before fermentation. Most traditional lagers settle around four-five per cent alcohol, making them ideal companions to pub classics like fried cheese, pickled Hermelín and beef tartare.
The brewery tour ends where every good Czech beer story should—with a freshly poured lager crowned by a dense, creamy head. Sitting in the courtyard with a glass in hand, surrounded by forested hills and centuries of brewing tradition, it becomes clear that Czech beer isn’t defined by novelty or excess. It is rooted in craftsmanship, patience and the quiet confidence of getting the basics exactly right—one perfectly balanced pint at a time.