Pilsner Urquell: The Original Beer Experience — Attraction in Prague

(Five stars for the beer, because, well, it's excellent...) Can one city culturally appropriate the heritage of another? What if the "culprit" in the scenario is the owner/creator of the heritage item or institution? Will there be a Český Krumlov "experience" coming to Prague anytime soon? Walking along the pedestrian zone at the bottom of Wenceslas Square, I was initially quite pleased to see that the ridiculous "Tourist Museum of Metal Junk" (not its actual name) has finally disappeared, and now the facade of the building in which it was located is in full and unobstructed view. In the next moment, as I realized that the new tenant is none other than Plzeňský prazdroj (Pilsner Urquell), I was even more pleased. But then something else happened... I went inside and suddenly found myself in...Disneyland? Las Vegas? I mean, if the idea of the latter in some ways is that you can "experience" New York, Paris or Venice without having to actually go there, then that's the applicable geography. What you get for the price of admission is something along the lines of a reproduction of the experience of going to Plzeňský prazdroj's brewery in Plzeň, but in a glitzier and sleeker fashion. The idea, of course, is that tourists coming to Prague don't have time to make the trip out to Western Bohemia, so why not bring it to them? At the same time, there is a small and very sterile "pub" on the premises as well if you just want to grab a beer. But should you? I mean, yes, it's properly tapped and first quality, but there are several authentic, even historic pubs within walking distance serving equally good Plzeň beer. Somehow this seems like the trdelník syndrome in beer form, but with a twist: The product is, indeed, traditional and authentic, but it is being marketed in a way that has nothing whatsoever to do with its actual roots, nor with the context in which it is normally consumed by the culture in which it exists. It may be cultural appropriation, but the cultural component is, in...

It was really cool to see how Pilsner started. They give you headphones and it’s a self guided tour which is nice but doesn’t leave you room to ask questions to anyone around. They only give one tasting in the middle of the tour which was informative and fun but more tastings throughout the tour would benefit the experience. There was also no explanation of how the color of the beer is made (ie dark beers vs light) as a dark beer girlie, I would have been interested to know some history on that. They have a decent sized section about the pouring of beers and I think a station to practice pouring for the guests would elevate the experience, then we drink our own pour so as not to waste, or watch someone pour and talk us through the process. Coming from the US, too much foam on a beer means it’s a bad pour but here the foam is a significant part of the taste. At the end of the tour you end up in a beer hall and are given two tokens for free beer but everyone just goes for the Pilsner because it’s the only one we sampled. A variety of beers are offered but no one goes for anything different because they’re all going with what’s familiar. A flight taster with small amounts of different beers to try would give us more knowledge on different types of beers and help us chose the right beer for us. Overall it wasn’t the worst experience but it’s a one time thing. While we did learn about the history of Pilsner during the tour, we learned a lot more from Petr L. while talking to him after in the beer hall. He gave us an in depth explanation about the pours, types of beers, and even the types of glasses that enhance the flavors. I feel Petr added to our overall experience which is why I think they need to have someone available to ask questions either during the tour or after. It completely changes the experience. Lots of photo ops throughout the tour. Recommend doing this if you’re a...

We loved the Beer Experience!

We booked this tour last minute for 11 am on a Saturday. It was raining so this was a perfect way to spend a couple of hours.

We arrived early and walked around the gift shop a bit. They had an amazing amount of merchandise. Much of it very useful and some of it is also engravable and they have an engraver onsite. I bought a t-shirt.

At 11 am, we started our tour. It starts on the second floor (level 1). There are stair and there are lifts.

The experience is about a number of things: Perusing their extensive merchandise in there gift shop Learning about Pilsner Urquell, their history and the history of beer and beer making Beer tasting Hanging out on the third floor (level 2) for more beer, some food if you’d like (purchase) and games (foos ball)

Back to item 2, they told their beer and beer making story, by using an audio track with your language on comfortable wireless headphones and by the use of visuals projected on the walls.

As you walked through the halls, your headphones knew where you were and the audio guide was tailored to the presentation you were seeing on the walls.

It was super well done.

About half way through, there was a stop at a bar for your first of 3 included beer tastes. These were maybe .2L mugs.

At the end of this part of the experience, you’re given a 10% off coupon for the gift shop and 2 beer tokens, then you head up a level where you can use supplied tokens at the bar for what I feel were full .5L mugs of beer.

There were foos ball tables, plenty of seating and large WCs. Front one of the beertenders, we ordered a Pretzel. We paid for it at the bar and 10 minutes later, a fresh, hot pretzel and mustard was delivered to where we were sitting.

We toured a number of Beer Experiences around the world. This was a...