Last week I spent a day shooting an episode of a new show that will air on the Argentine TV. The producers had seen my stellar appearance in Clase Turista and thought it would be great to have the Beer Philosopher in their own show. My job was to take two actors to several local hospody and have a (few) beer(s) at each (yeah, it was a job, I got paid for that. Isn't it great?). We had a great time, the producers were very happy with my acting and I'm already dying to see the end results.
But that's not what I wanted to tell you about.
Among the (many) beers that went down our gullets were Pilsner Urquell and Budvar Světlý Ležák in their tankové versions. Both blew the minds of the actors and the two blokes that were behind the cameras (their minds would be blown a few more times during the rest of the day).
Their reaction brought to my mind the comment that Josetxo left in the Spanish version of the post about Gambrinus XCLNT
I hope I'm not giving the impression that I feel I'm in a higher plane of existence than those Argentines whose eyes looked a bit like out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon after having their first sip of tanková, or than those Spaniards that rave about Gambáč and Kozel Černý. I just want to point out to how fortunate I feel as a beer lover to be living here in Prague.
We can bitch all we want about the quality and ubiquity of the Gambrinus-Pilsner Urquell combo, but we rarely realise what a luxury that is, because, if we compared those brands with their equivalents from other countries we would see them in a different way.
A bit of perspective can help you to better appreciate what you have.
Na Zdraví!
4 stars Hotels in Prague with 75% discount.
But that's not what I wanted to tell you about.
Among the (many) beers that went down our gullets were Pilsner Urquell and Budvar Světlý Ležák in their tankové versions. Both blew the minds of the actors and the two blokes that were behind the cameras (their minds would be blown a few more times during the rest of the day).
Their reaction brought to my mind the comment that Josetxo left in the Spanish version of the post about Gambrinus XCLNT
"That this (Gambrinus) is the most drunk beer in Prague is a DRAMA.I don't like Gambáč, I tolerate it when I'm visiting someone or if there's no better alternative and I'm thirsty, but I prefer to avoid it. Pilsner Urquell tanková I can still enjoy at the right place, but it isn't something that will make me go out of my way; and I could say the same about Budvar. In other words, they are just average.
That this is better than any caña in my town is a TRAGEDY
I hope I'm not giving the impression that I feel I'm in a higher plane of existence than those Argentines whose eyes looked a bit like out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon after having their first sip of tanková, or than those Spaniards that rave about Gambáč and Kozel Černý. I just want to point out to how fortunate I feel as a beer lover to be living here in Prague.
We can bitch all we want about the quality and ubiquity of the Gambrinus-Pilsner Urquell combo, but we rarely realise what a luxury that is, because, if we compared those brands with their equivalents from other countries we would see them in a different way.
A bit of perspective can help you to better appreciate what you have.
Na Zdraví!
4 stars Hotels in Prague with 75% discount.
As a native of the British Isles I feel I can relate to this; if you ignore the real ale scene, all you have in Britain is Carling, Foster's etc., which a depressing number of people actually drink (when I'm drinking back home, it's real ale all the way)
ReplyDeleteI'll also tolerate Gambac or Plzen if the occasion demands. In fact, the only Czech 'beer' I'll go out of my way to avoid is Staropramen...
My point exactly. There is a reason why Czech lager beers find their way into my trolley when I buy beers at the local supermarket, while the Norwegian macro beers stay in the shelves.
ReplyDeletei's easy, when you are in a country which has a strong culture and traidition regarding a certain product, the general standard will be high- take Bavaria or the czech repbulic for beer, france for cheese and many,many more.....
ReplyDeletefor me (i know it sounds sad), the easy acces to good beer everhwere is a huge part of my well being and so on....that's whaat i always realize when i spend more than a week in a country which hasn't good beers everywhere.