Although the workshop started at 11 a.m., participants were meeting in the brewery premises and in the formed groups discussing everything from the brewing and hop-growing fields over a glass of local beer.
The lectures, which were 4 in total this year, were interspersed with individual rounds of tastings, this time on the topic: “Tasting various types of beers hopped with different varieties”. The topic was chosen in this way due to the current trends of increasing consumption of beers with lower alcohol content and non-alcoholic beers. The beers were brewed and imported by the Hop Institute in Žatec.
The opening speech was delivered by Ing. Sekáč, Senior Director of the Ministry of Agriculture , and touched on the current situation in Czech agriculture and, to a large extent, the drought, which significantly threatens the cultivation of agricultural crops in the Czech Republic, including hops.
This was followed by lectures from Ing. Kastner, who gave an update on the situation in gastronomy since last October’s workshop, Vladimír Valeš, director of the Hop Museum in Žatec, introduced us to a brief history of hop cultivation in the Žatec region, Pavel Maurer prepared an entertaining presentation about Czech beer, and Petr Bažant from the Žatec Town Hall humorously recalled the inclusion of Žatec and the Žatec hop landscape on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
At the end of the workshop, Tereza Pospíšilová demonstrated her Beer Tapping School together with Lucie Janečková. All participants actively participated and the official part of the workshop ended with a truly great and informative show.
This was followed by an unofficial part of the workshop, during which those who stayed had a great time and got to know each other. They discussed topics that are very difficult to discuss at official meetings.
Everything was underlined by a delicious lunch and then an evening banquet from the kitchen of the Červený vlk brewery, which significantly helped to make this year’s workshop truly a success. succeeded.
