392: Zichovec Nods to Czech Tradition While Exploring Modern Craft Beer

It’s easy for New World brewers to lump Czech beer into the “historical” category, but—while many prominent brewers there focus intently on the lagers we all love—a growing contingent are also tackling evolving styles such as hazy IPA, fruited sour, pastry stout, and more—and they’re often doing it in their own ways.

In Louny, a historic town about 40 miles northwest of Prague, Pivovar Zichovec is just such a brewery. Lager is their biggest category, but they’re not locked solely into traditional styles, and they’ve been exploring just how far they can go in making trendier styles such as hazy IPA, but using Czech ingredients and processes.

In this episode, Zichovec’s Martin Urban, Adam Huml, and Honzik Petru discuss:

• brewing with experimental Czech hops
• evaluating the impact of decoctions through triangle testing
• adding barley flakes to mitigate higher modification in lager grain bills
• favorite newer Saaz varieties for lager
• brewing fresh-hopped Czech pale lager
• why direct-fired kettles matter for decoction
• hazy IPA with modern Czech varieties such as Ceres and Saturn
• using enzymes to unlock thiols
• brewing with help

And more, including this take from Huml: “When you’re doing a triple decoction and you don’t have [a direct-fired kettle], you’re just burning gas.”

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