14 ways that Ambiente takes care of beer
We give beer a good name
Combine your love of beer with one of our courses, beer walks or business events. You'll learn how to spot a good pour, and how to do it yourself. Wherever you might be.
1. Taproom Training with credentials
We spend a lot of time on honest taproom training. It's only after three months that a bartender gets their apron and can take off their "I'm in training" badge. Then they have to pass an exam and only when passed gets a bartender's license. This is also one of the conditions of participation in the Golden Tap competition.
But for some, that's not enough, and they want to become to become a master bartender. And what do they have to do to get there? Pass sanitation and sensory tests, complete an internship in a non-Ambiente company and train a new bartender.
2. Meeting of the bartenders
Tappers meet regularly not only to talk, but also to share insights, information, advice and tips. At these meetings, they also hold a ceremony for handing over licence to new colleagues.
3. Who is a flying bartender?
This position was invented by Lukáš Svoboda, the co-founder of Lokál and a world champion beer tapper. "For the first four years, I took care of the beer at Lokál and Ambiente myself, but as Lokál grew, I became more and more focused on brewing, tasting and managerial tasks. I was afraid that I would lose control over the quality, so I invented the function of a flying bartender," explains Lukáš.
"It freed up my hands and my head, which led to activities such as the Prague Beer Zoo, beer teaming, sanitation and mobile taprooms," he calculates. The first flying tapper was Luboš Dupák, followed by Lucka Janečková. Today, Martin Novopacký holds this position. His task is to quality control, takes care of technical matters and is there when a new Lokál opens.
Tomáš Krčmář is the head bartender of Lokál, in charge of managing and training the bartenders. Lucka Janečková, on the other hand, leads public and internal courses at the School of Tapping and spreads awareness of the Czech tap school abroad.
4. Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender
Once a year Pilsner Urquell Prazdroj organises the prestigious Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender competition for the Czech Republic. At Ambiente, we have three winners: Lukáš Svoboda, Tomáš Krčmář and Tomáš Hrnčíř.
The world final was also won by František Št'astka, but for the USA. He competed for the United States because at that time he was working as a bartender in a Czech pub in New York.
Passing this competition (regardless of placement) is another condition for obtaining a master bartender license.
5. Craft Brewers Conference
We attended the World Beer Conference last year for inspiration, and now, in April, we're not only sealing our participation by spreading awareness about Czech beer, but also by teaching how to properly serve Czech beer. And for one evening we will turn the local brewery into a real Czech pub.
6. Excursions to breweries
Three to four times a year, Ambiente's brewmasters go on a brewery tour, to larger or smaller breweries, to see new and traditional pubs, but also to pick hops or attend maltings. Often, they experience something quite unique, "for example, the Pilsner Urquell experience: The Original Beer Experience on Wenceslas Square before the opening," says Lucie Janečková.
7. Sanitation
"All the taps are sanitised regularly every week, in accordance to the standards and approved procedures. In addition, we also added a major sanitation process to ensure the quality of our beer is as good as possible. As far as I know, nobody else does this," emphasises Lucie Janečková.
The same thing is done during the big sanitation as during the weekly sanitation, but in addition the quick couplings are changed where needed, and at the same time the all the taps are dismantled. "Just like regular sanitation, we clean the flow probes and the bumpers on the barrels and tanks. Add it all up, and it's a lot of parts, not including the quick couplers...about 80.," Lucie estimates.
8. Maximum on beer
The ten-month Maximum on Beer course is for anyone who is serious about beer. Thanks to the lecturers, participants will gain an insight that few people have. They will learn a lot about the history of beer, its production, storage, tapping and, of course, its taste.
They will pass sensory and sanitation tests, receive a professional certification and gain access to valuable experience and important contacts. In addition, the trainees will have a trip to the Nuremberg Beer Fair, a beer tour in Munich and brewing their own beer.
9. The Golden Tap
The Golden Tap is a competition between taprooms across Lokál and selected Ambiente restaurants. Ten competitors compete each year for the the traveling Golden Tap, from which the winner then taps at their home restaurant. In addition, they receive a prize of CZK 100,000. A jury of experts and regulars decides who wins. The competitors are judged continuously over a period of eight months, and on the basis of individual disciplines and fan voting.
10. Lukáš Svoboda's Tap School
This school teaches to tap a proper beer, as well as the classic Czech pours of hladinka, šnyt and mlíko. You can also go on a beer tour of famous Prague pubs, called the Prague Beer Zoo – a walk where you will eat and drink to your heart's content. You'll see Prague Castle, stroll through the Lesser Town, Charles Bridge, the Old and New Towns, and at the end you'll try your hand at beer tapping.
In addition, you can sign up for the Beer Teaming course (an unusual teambuilding with a master bartender), How to get a beer on tap (a crash course in tapping) and Where to go for beer (a behind-the-scenes tour of famous Prague venues and a demonstration of different styles of beer and tapping). There is also a voucher for Birthday tapping – the birthday boy will experience his five minutes of fame as a master tapper.
11. Mobile taproom
So that beer lovers can enjoy their favourite drink beer at home or anywhere else, we have a mobile tap for rent. It can be easily ordered online. The choice is several types, from the smallest, aptly named Baby, to the Circus, which can quench the thirst of up to a thousand people. The larger mobile taps are manned by Ambiente bartenders, the smaller ones you can handle yourself.
12. Tasting Board
There's one speciality at the Pult beer bar – six different lagers on tap each year, selected by a tasting board. Two Czech lagers remain on the permanent menu and the board adds four more, year after year. During the tasting, they tastes both existing and new lagers.
"We want to be objective, so we choose from all the beers blind. We look for the ones with the greatest drinkability, but we are not a tasting competition. It may happen that we change everything, but we also don't have to change anything," explains Tereza Pospíšilová, general manager of Pult.
13. Institut PIVO
Do you know the Tap School? Then remember the new name: Institut PIVO. It's a new brand which was born last year from the School of Tapping. Institut PIVO provides, for example, sanitation for the individual Lokál pubs and training for the taprooms, but its mission is also education, organising courses like the Tapping School, the Prague Beer Zoo and others. In short, the main mission is carefully treated beer!
14. Štamgast newspaper
When you go to Lokál, order a Štamgast with your beer. It's Lokal's guest newspaper, published six times a year, with four pages of pub reading, jokes and sudoku.
