Pivovar Kout - Traditional Czech Lager

Just in time for the spring drinking weather we've sent a limited amount of kegs to New York from Pivovar Kout na Sumave in Bohemia, Czech Republic. While written records date the brewery to 1736, it was probably founded in the 16th century. Like many small breweries, Kout was shut down during communism but was recently revived by Jan Skala who worked at the brewery as a young man.

Pivovar Kout brews classic, earthy lagers using local barley, noble hops, and water from their own well. The Kout beers (pronounced "coat") are made from 200 year old recipes and brewed using either double or triple decoction mash. They are also open-fermented and unpasteurized and are therefore meant to be drunk as fresh as possible.  No vintage beer here, please!

The pivo:

• Koutska 10º - a hoppy golden lager, 4%
• Koutska 12º - the flagship beer, a classic traditional Pilsner, 5%

The kegs are popping up at select places around the city. Look for them this weekend at Jimmy's No. 43 in Manhattan, and at Henry Street Ale House and Franny's in Brooklyn.

Meet the Brewer - Pivovar Kout

We've survived The Festival and thank those of you who made the trip up to Portland, Maine. We hoped you enjoyed meeting our brewers and drinking their beers as much as we did. Now it's time to bring a bit more of Festival love to New York.  Join us this week at several meet-the-brewer events. The first one kicks off at 5pm on Tuesday, June 25 at Spuyten Duyvil.

We'll be launching the beers of Pivovar Kout na Sumave, located the Bohemian Forest in the Czech Republic, and Jan Skala from the brewery will be in attendance. While written records date the brewery to 1736, the Kout Brewery was probably founded in the 16th century. Like many small breweries producing traditional earthy lagers, it got shut down during the Communist era. But Mr. Skala, who worked at the brewery as a young man, brought it back to life and hired a brewer who had lost his job because his own brewery was shut down by Pilsner Urquell during a period of massive consolidation of large breweries. The Czech beer scene has had a rough time. 

The Kout beers are open fermented and they brew only unfiltered and unpasteurized lagers from local barely and noble hops, using either a double or triple decoction method.

The pivo: 

• Koutska 10º - a hoppy golden lager beer, 4%  
• Koutska 12º - the flagship beer, a classic traditional Pilsner, 5%
• Koutska 14º  - a classic dark ("Tmavy") malty but balanced Bohemian-style lager, 6%
• Koutska 18º - the brewery’s rich, dark specialty lager, requiring over six months maturation, 8%

Spuyten Duvyil is located at 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn.