CheeseShop

CHEESEQUEST2026

Day 50 - Pilzen

The Day That Changed Beer

Heading on the train to Pilzen required sustenance so I pulled out possibly the most famous Czech cheese.

Olomoucke Tvaruzky - super weird. Like chewing on a gummi bear. Meaty? Starts too salty but eases off. Not sure what to think.

Then our visit to the Pilsner Urquell factory (but first lunch with some still too salty plain Jadel). This is the place that revolutionized beer brewing, and why most beers today are lagers.

Lager beer was accidentally invented in Bavaria in the middle-ages. Then for several centuries it continued to be crappy beer. In Pilzen, the city's water quality, simplified recipe, and new triple decoction process created the first decent lager. It's still made today in exactly the same way. It was so popular and more easy to mass produce than ales, so now the supermarkets are full of them.

The tour was fun, but not as good as the one at the distillery. And since this was just a stop on our way to Bamburg we had time for more train cheese.

Uzeny Taveny Syr Pikantni se Sunkou - highly processed red wax cheese with chunks of chili and ham. The ham bits were nice.

Dorfsennerei Sibratsgfall - incredible stench, just like fresh poo. Soft, with a camembert-like texture. Grows on you, almost sweet. Dispose of any remaining cheese with care.

Gouda Uralt - lovely aged crystally earthy orangy.

Schardinger osterkron - lovely blue, just as good as the fancier brand we had at the fancy restaurant.

Weinkase - cheese aged in wine. Still no gibbston valley pinot soaked cheddar. Fine.

Und jetzt sind wir in Deutschland.



Quest: 264/500

Steps: 785,300