The Czech Republic is known for its excellent beers (generally pilseners - taking
their name from the town of Plzen), and in our apartment in Prague V (Smichov), we lived only a few blocks from
the Staropramen brewery. Staropramen means "Old Prague", by the way.
Staropramen is majority owned by Bass Plc. these days, and is one of the main beers
exported from the Czech Republic (Pilsner Urquell is the other, although we've also seen Velke Popovice, Louny
and Budvar/Budweiser masked as Czechvar).
Beers in the Czech Republic are generally sold by the half-liter (.5 L), although
you can get the .33 L size in bottles at some grocery stores or in glasses at the local hospoda/pivovar. When
you buy it at the store, you pay a deposit on the bottle and it is still common to see people carrying a crate
full of empty bottles back to the store for a refund on the deposit.
Staropramen does do tours of its brewery- in Engish and Czech, I believe- explaining
their processes and offering you the standard half-liter at the end. They also have a gift shop with t-shirts
and glasses.
