Svetly Lezak

Whether you want to brew a more convincing Czech-style lager, or you simply want to borrow a few tricks to shape the kind of beer that seems impossible to stop drinking, here are some elements to consider.

From the famously soft water to whole-cone hops and extraordinarily long maturation, the brewmaster at Budvar delights in all the details that shape one of Czechia’s most popular beers.

In Prague, Evan Rail visits the Břevnovský Klášterní Pivovar Sv. Vojtěcha—aka the Břevnov Monastery Brewery, home of Benedict—to learn the secrets of “pitelnost,” essential to a great Czech pale lager.

The world’s most influential beer style is also one of the most misunderstood outside its birth country. “Pilsner” took over the world, but the Czech source material is strikingly different and far more alluring.