The best way to describe this year’s Prague Beer Festival: a trashy, bizarre combination of Munich’s epic October festival with a few good Czech beers. Instead of being proud of Czech beer culture, this year’s festival organizers tried to duplicate Munich’s famous beer guzzling festival.

To avoid confusion, there are 2 tents. The largest one, which is more like something you’d find at October Fest, has the more normal beers. These beers can only be ordered from waitresses, who from our experience were rude, unhelpful, and extremely slow, and are only served in 1 liter glasses amid horrifically loud pop music. So, not our cup of tea.

The second smaller tent has better beers, and a more subdued atmosphere. Here you can buy a normal .5 liter glasses yourself- the line might look long, but we easily got a beer. The selection was disappointing- they had about 15-20 beers, and only about half of these were interesting. The staff seemed stressed, and not too happy….but who would be happy, dressed in some cheap German beer costumes? I’d be angry too.

The highlights were Antoš’s Fest Pale Ale, as well as Nomad’s Easy Rider. Both ales had a nice bitterness, and good solid body. The offer of beer changes, so you’ll have a chance to try something new. So, for curious beer drinkers, or if you want a good laugh, why not venture to Vystavyště Holešovice? But, the best pubs in Prague, like Zly Casy or Kulovy Blesk offer a better variety of beers and in a much more pleasant atmosphere.

Perhaps the most alarming part of this festival is the mascot- the busty woman that either looks as if she’s getting ready to fight vampires, or appear on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Either way, it’s sad to see such a country with amazing beer culture offer visitors something so non-genuine and not even close to the real deal.