Co-founders and owners Mike Macleod, left, and Cael Tucker, right, and head brewer Blake Enemark, centre, at Tailgunner Brewing Company in Calgary, on May 30.Gavin John/The Globe and Mail
Being home to famous international brands such as Pilsner Urquell, Staropramen and Budvar (the original Budweiser), you’ll find few places in the world where beer culture is as long-standing and distinct as it is in the Czech Republic. The variety of beers at restaurants and bars across the Central European country may not be as vast as we’ve become accustomed to in Canada (you’re hard-pressed to find brews such as sours and IPAs, for the most part), but that doesn’t mean their age-old processes and pouring techniques are boring.
In fact, many brewers hold Czech-style beers in high regard. As well, over the past year, Czech-style beers have notably increased in popularity with many North American brewers. Taking it one step further than simply brewing lagers the “Czech way” and canning or bottling, microbreweries also bring in specific glassware – dimple steins – and specialized side-pull taps to pour and present these beers in an authentic way.
Known for its distinctive 'side pour' tap, Czech Pilsner is a specialty of Tailgunner Brewing Company.Gavin John/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Enemark pours a beer.Gavin John/The Globe and Mail
The distinct-looking tap is moved from left to right as opposed to forward and back and how far it is pulled determines the amount of foam in the pint glass. The foam is finer than what you’d find from a regular beer tap, resulting in long-lasting microfoam.
Having at least 20-per-cent top foam in a mug of beer is the standard. This adds to the textural experience while sipping, of course, but it is largely done to keep the beer sealed so it stays fresh longer while leisurely drinking.
Calgary’s newest brewery, Tailgunner Brewing, is one of the places you’ll find a Czech Pilsner being made with imported Czech ingredients, poured from a side-pull tap and enjoyed out of a dimpled beer mug.
Head brewer Blake Enemark says he became enamoured with this style of beer after vacationing in the Czech Republic in 2019.
“At the end of the tour at Pilsner Urquell, they take you into the caves underneath the brewery and give you a glass of beer that is still brewed the traditional way in open wood fermenters and lagered in giant wooden barrels,” he says. “To this day, it is still the best beer I have ever had and it ignited a passion in me to try to replicate that quality of beer experience back home in Canada.”
Aside from using Czech-grown hops, Tailgunner also uses a process called decoction mashing. It’s a more labour-intensive mashing technique, in which portions of the grain mixture are removed and boiled, resulting in caramelization, and then added back. It’s something Mr. Enemark says is not typically achievable with standard North American brewing techniques.
“There is a lot of debate as to whether it is worth the bother – and it works out to about 28 hours of labour within a 36-hour period for us. Once I was able to identify the golden character that decoction mashing imparts on the beer, I was hooked and never looked back.”
Morgan Wielgosz is the co-owner and brewmaster at Winnipeg’s Good Neighbour Brewing and fell in love with Czech-style beers while working at Amsterdam Brewery in Toronto in the mid-2010s. Following a trade trip to the Czech Republic in 2018, her love of the country’s approach to brewing was cemented.
“It was during this trip that I began understanding the true depths of Czech beer and Czech beer culture that propelled my passion for brewing these styles. There is a significant amount of pride for their Czech-brewed beers, so much so that statistically, the Czech Republic brews nine million hectolitres each year, but only two million of that volume is exported.”
As with Tailgunner, Good Neighbour uses hops and yeast from the Saaz region of the Czech Republic to yield an authentic end product in its Premium Pale Lager.
“While it’s not essential to import these ingredients to brew a successful lager, I believe paying homage to such a classic style, by using ingredients from the root of the source, is necessary,” Ms. Wielgosz says. “It shows appreciation [for the beer and the terroir] and practices involved in harvesting the ingredients that make these styles so inspiring.”
The Establishment Brewing Company is a microbrewery that needs no introduction to people familiar with the Canadian craft beer scene. In 2021, the Calgary brewery was chosen Canadian brewery of the year at the Canadian Brewing Awards and Alberta brewery of the year at the Alberta Beer Awards.
Mr. Enemark, left, and assistant brewer Devin McRae work on a batch of beer.Gavin John/The Globe and Mail
More recently, its Czech dark lager (entitled “More Than Rain” at the brewery) was a bronze-medal-award winner. Co-owner and head brewer Mike Foniok says that although lagers have the reputation of being an everyday beer for the average person, they are technically difficult to perfect.
“There are delicate and nuanced styles [found in lagers] that leave very little to hide behind,” Mr. Foniok says. “Pulling off a technically perfect, well-balanced lager is the culmination of good brewing practice and recipe design, but the challenge is also why they are so fun to brew.”
One of his favourite things about offering Czech lagers at the Establishment taproom is using the side-pull tap for a classic presentation, and also to follow different styles of pours.
“A well-brewed Czech-style lager served in proper glassware with a traditional tap is a beautiful beer experience that we want to share with people,” he says happily. “There are many types of Czech pours available and they differ in the pouring method, amount of foam, carbonation. … The person ordering can specify how they would like to experience the beer, which is very cool.”
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