“Beer is proof God loves us,” Ben Franklin supposedly said. If so, God must have a special fondness for the people of the Czech Republic. At least that was my conclusion when I visited Prague. I went there to attend the annual Czech Beer Festival, the country’s answer to Munich’s Oktoberfest. Once inside the main tent, which holds 10,000 people, you develop an appreciation for what beer means to the Czechs. There are over 70 brands available.
Beer is the most heavily consumed alcoholic beverage in the world, and the Czechs are doing their part to keep it that way. They rank #1 in world beer consumption.
Though it’s their national beverage, the Czechs didn’t actually invent beer. People have been making it for centuries. The discovery of fermentation may go back as far as 10,000 years ago. Because some sort of grain is necessary to the process, some experts even contend that the brewing of beer triggered the beginning of agriculture.
All of this happened long before there was a Czech Republic, though the country was as quick as any in Europe to get on the beer bandwagon. Back in the 10th century King Wenceslas, the country’s patron saint, persuaded the Pope to revoke his prohibition against making beer. No wonder they call him Good King Wenceslas.
Then in 1842 the Czechs revolutionized the process of making beer, as I learned when I journeyed to the town of Pilsen outside of Prague to tour the plant where the first pale lager beer in the world originated. A light, clear, golden beer, it created a sensation when was it was introduced. Though Pilsen’s unique water, yeast, and hops make it difficult to truly duplicate the city’s signature brew anywhere else, it is nonetheless the prototype of almost all modern beers. So I suppose it is true that somebody up there really must like the Czech people.
+++++Drunken Sausage and Peppers+++++
(adapted from Yummly.com)
Besides using beer to wash down foods, you can also cook with it, as the Bellavista restaurant adjacent to the Strohav Monastery atop Castle Hill in Prague knows only too well. This dish is similar to the one I enjoyed on the restaurant’s terrace recently while drinking in the commanding view of the city below.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beer
½ cup barbecue sauce
Brown sausages in the olive oil over medium heat. Remove from pan and add peppers and onions, sautéing until golden brown. Add garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste, beer, and barbecue sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes, add sausages back to pan, reduce heat, and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
