It's All About The Pour--And The Foam

At least it was on Saturday, when Vaclav Berka (Pilsner Urquell Master Brewer), Bryan Panzica (Pilsner Urquell Rep.), and Jen Lampert (General Factotum of the Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten) got together for a very special occasion.

The affable, avuncular Berka and the savvy, knowledgeable Panzica likely arrived in their official Pilsner Urquell Truck, which, I might add, had a premium parking space out in front of the hopping Festhalle. Seriously, I think the only times when there isn't a crowd at this place is when it's closed.

And those crowds make parking spaces on the lake as valuable as waterfront property (which, I suppose, it is), especially when the representatives of Joseph Groll pull into town. I did a story about their first visit here about a year ago, when Master Brewer Berka brought over an unfiltered, unpasteurized version of his beer that was fit to sit at God's right hand.

And the beer he brought in today was outstanding, also--especially the way the nearly 100 rooftop guests and I got to drink it. It was poured three different ways. And Jen Lampert arranged a knockout three-course pig-roast meal to accompany each one.

The first pour was called hladinka or smooth. And unusually smooth it was. Hladinka is a less carbonated pour, achieved by letting in the wet foam first and keeping the spout underneath it to achieve the effect. The Hladinka pour accompanied a combination cheese, mustard and onion salad that came with directions from Berka as to how it had to be consumed. Seems you had to pour some beer over your salad and mash the heck out of it to make a paste. Then you're supposed to apply the paste to some toast.

I've eaten in some amazing places, but I confess, I never had to mash my salad anywhere. Even at White Castle. But, hey, when in Prague, you know? And who am I to challenge a guy whose family probably knew Joseph Groll? So I followed orders. It was not just good; it was incredibly good, and it paired amazingly with the hladinka pour.

Next up was the Na Dvakråt pour, " a crispier, more carbonated experience, which is ideal for drinking more slowly with food." To effect this pour, "the golden beer is poured in first, and the foam added on top." The Czechs apparently take their foam quite seriously, unlike unthinking foreigners who scrape it or blow it off. But more about that later.

As promised, this beer came out with roasted pig--and not just any old pig. This bad boy was a free-range, red pig from Iowa, and he was slow cooked for fourteen hours before he graced the table. The pork fell apart at the mere touch of the fork, and was magically seasoned. Berka was 2-2 so far.

But the clincher came when he introduced the Mliko Pour, a sweet, all-foam special effect achieved by opening the tap just 10-20% and allowing the glass to fill with creamy, wet foam.

The picture nearby shows what mliko looks like in Berka's hand. The video below shows my tablemates Paula and Lexi drinking mliko like Berka did. That Lexi can put it down, folks; but Paula's no slouch, either. Kevin and Reno (their SO's) must have had a fun ride home with all that consumed carbonation.

But you can't have mliko with just any old dessert, and Jen Lampert's chef Ryan outdid himself with the Bavarian Cream, fresh berries and spiced cookie crumble atop fresh vanilla cream. If God could order a dessert, he'd order this. But don't fret. So can you, because it's a regular item on the house menu.

In all, it was a great afternoon, with Berka's informative, charming and humorous beer banter and the culinary mastery of the Asbury Festhalle's chef combining to make it work. And, if you paid the nominal pre-order fee of just $30, you even got to take home an original half-liter Pilsner Urquell mug.

Empty, of course. You''ll have to wait get home to fill it a la hladinka, na dvakarat or mliko.

You'll never look at foam the same way again.

Na Zdravi!

The PubScout (Look for more pictures on the Gallery Page!)