HB&B Blog — Czech Republic

Wine & Food Killers: Salmon Sashimi with Strawberries, Jalapeños and Elderflower Vinaigrette and Sklep58 Muskat Moravsky Orange

Claire Bullen Czech Republic Natural wine Natural Wine Killers Orange Wine

Wine & Food Killers: Salmon Sashimi with Strawberries, Jalapeños and Elderflower Vinaigrette and Sklep58 Muskat Moravsky Orange

In his book Summer’s Lease, chef and writer Thom Eagle waxes lyrical about the food of summer, about gluts of peaches and raspberries giving way to cherries. This season is for “chunks of ripe and dripping tomatoes, eaten just with salt, leaves crisp from iced water... dishes that are more arrangements than recipes, of fish or meat or cheese or vegetables, which might be cured or pickled, sliced or whole, but are by and large cooked: that is to say, they have not been transformed by heat – but that is not to say they are untransformed.” I love this...

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Fundamentals #104 — Brevnovský Benedict 12º Czech Pale Lager

Brevnovsky Czech Republic Fundamentals Lager Matthew Curtis

Fundamentals #104 — Brevnovský Benedict 12º Czech Pale Lager

Something I struggle with is when people tell me they don’t like Czech lagers because they taste like diacetyl. For the uninitiated, diacetyl is a substance created by yeast during fermentation that, when a beer is conditioned correctly, the yeast will naturally “clean up”. When it’s present in beer it’s generally considered a fault and tastes a little like buttered popcorn. You may taste it in trace amounts in a cask beer that’s been on a little too long, or a beer that’s been contaminated during packaging. Around 3 in 10 people can’t actually taste it at all. Lucky sods....

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Fundamentals #78 – Vinohradský Pivovar 11 Czech Pilsner

Czech Republic Fundamentals Lager Matthew Curtis

Fundamentals #78 – Vinohradský Pivovar 11 Czech Pilsner

It is officially 'taps aff' weather. As I write this [in the August heatwave, but feel free to apply it to the current September one - Ed], London is experiencing the kind of damp, muggy heat that oppresses you into a state of near-helplessness. There is nothing you can do about it, and no reason, nor ability, to resist temptation. You must drink lager now, and hope and pray that a thunderstorm of biblical proportions will finally break this hot spell, allowing your brain and body to once again function within some semblance of their normal parameters. The good news...

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