Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Bullets and tools

In a very short walking distance from both Wenceslas Square and the Opera house in Prague, you can find an interesting restaurants with much lower prices than the tourist traps in the city centre. I have not tasted the food, but the interior is nice and the beers are very good.

Ferdinanda specialises in beers from the Ferdinand brewery from Benešov. When I entered Ferdinanda a March afternoon, I went downstairs to find a long bar and some tables. There were few people there, but the room had a nice ambience. The minimalistic paintings and graffiti on the bar were a nice touch, but I really liked the use of tools on the tables. Forks and knives were placed in metallic buckets, and hammers were the main focus on the salt, pepper and oil trays.

The Ferdinand brewery has taken its name from the archduke Franz Ferdinand, who lived in Benešov. The killing of the archduke in Sarajevo ignited World War I. This is also hinted to in Ferdinand's most famous beer, Sedm kulí. Translated to English this means seven bullets, which is the same amount of bullets used to kill the archduke.

Sedm kulí is a coppery beer served in 0.4 litre glasses. There was nearly no carbonation in the beer, and it was served with a medium sized head. In the nose there are some burnt aromas, and they are also present in the mouth with some malts, spices and sweetness. The finish is nice and balanced with a hint of bitterness. A very good beer!

There were also other beers available at Ferdinanda, so I also tried the 10° pale lager from Ferdinand. This time I was given a pale beer with a large head and no carbonation. I could not feel any aromas from the beer, but in the mouth there was malts, some vanilla and a nice feeling of some bitterness in the finish. This was a nice pale lager, and it is one that I can recommend as a very good session beer.

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