Get the perfect pour!

Practice makes perfect, so let our expert tapsters put you behind the bar and show you the secrets of pouring the perfect pint. They'll explain what a cut beer really is, along with the story of beer's long and winding journey into the pint glass. At the end of the course, you'll walk away with a certificate and a gift.

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First things first – the people of Lokál put pours like “hladinka” (half foam, half beer) or “šnyt” (a small pour with extra foam) back on the menu, both of which had started disappearing from other pubs. Even back in 1936, Karel Čapek wrote a column for the Lidové noviny newspaper about the disappearance of šnyt from Czech pubs. With the opening of Lokál, both names returned – to the Prague beer scene, at least.

Beer-clean glass. This is a term and a rule that every honest bartender carries in their soul. A beer-clean glass indicates a perfectly washed, wet and cold pint. In order to be able to guarantee this, even in in a packed out pub, a chilled flow-through bath for pints was created in the first Lokál, a few weeks after opening, developed by then-tapster Lukáš Svoboda and Plzeňský Prazdroj. 

A short lead is good for beer! In order for good beer to flow into the glass, its path must be as short as possible. In newer generation taps, the beer is chilled throughout its journey, right up to the tap, which has built-in temperature sensors. 

Because pubs can get busy, Lokál dusted off the position of beer porter, who serves beer only, giving a helping hand to the waiters and waitresses. Originally, this was someone who walked around the pub, placing a beer on the table even before the guest had ordered another. This tradition is still around today, for example at the U Zlatého tygra pub. When you've had enough, just place a beer mat over your glass.

Without sanitation, beer can’t flow. At least, not as well as it does at Lokál, thanks to regularly cleaned pipes and taps – in fact, the main bartenders of each establishment have undergone special training and can sanitise the bar themselve. Sanitation refers to the mechanical cleaning of the piping, and has a precise technological procedure. Tank beer, i.e. unpasteurized beer, must be sanitised each week, whilst once every fortnight is sufficient for cask beer. Unfiltered or non-alcoholic beers also need weekly sanitation. And since Lokál offers all of these beers, this process is undertaken every seven days like clockwork.

Did we mention our brilliant tapsters? Dozens of them work across the premises – and anyone who wants to take their place behind the bar must complete three-month training, ending with an exam. If they aspire to higher goals, a master bartender's licence is on the cards – to get it, you have to train a colleague and go on an internship abroad. Lokál is the birthplace of legends such as František Šťástka – today the general manager of Lokál U Bílé Kuželky – who won the world championship in tapping, and Tomáš Krčmář, winner of the Czech branch of the Master Bartender competition.

To test the best skills across the entirety of Ambiente, the bartenders compete in our Golden Tap competition. In 2022 the victor was Tereza Pospíšilová,  the general manager of Pult, and last year, Pavel Láf from Zavadilů took the crown. We hope that one day, this competition will grow beyond our gastronomic group. 

"Even if hundreds to thousands of litres are tapped every day, it can be done correctly – one step at a time," Lucka Janečková motivates her colleagues. Clean glass, cold beer and one-shot drafts are among the principles she instils in her younger colleagues.

In addition to new generation taps, Lokál also gave birth to another novelty –  the Freedom faucet  which was developed by master tapster Lukáš Svoboda together with the company Lukr. At first glance (and a peek inside) the Freedom is similar to the classic Baroque, but handled from top to bottom. You can see it for yourself at the Dva kohouti brewery or at the Pult beer bar.

If it weren't for Lokál, these two businesses might not have been created. Dva kohouti and Pult focus on beer specials, as well as lagers. While the Dva kohouti brew some of their own specials, at Pult they help guests discover the world of beer and offer a wide range of flavours from all over Europe.

2013 saw the emergence of the Lukáš Svoboda Tapping School course, from which the PIVO Institute developed – and Lucka Janečková still accompanies it to this day. Lucka, Tomáš Krčmář and Pavel Bübel are masters of their field, taking care of the quality of beer in all Ambiente companies, training new colleagues and giving beer a good name in the Czech Republic and abroad.

"Beer should taste good to the last drop," Lucka Janečková likes to point out. And to make sure it does, the beers at Lokál have a maximum temperature of 3.5 °C – so even slow drinkers can finish it off before it warms. If they drink it within half an hour, that is. 

Beer tickets are part of pub culture! And that's why they belong on the table in all Lokál locations. Have you ever noticed that on this ticket there are always only nine beers drawn in a row, not ten? That's because nine pints placed next to each other make up a so-called metre of beer, which you can buy for your beer-loving companions. 

Humour belongs to beer, and there are certainly no limits to that at Lokál – from the beer mats to everything else.

Above all, the venue gave the beer world a new, comprehensive perspective of our national drink – now, tapsters everywhere show their beloved draft beer the same care baristas give to coffee and sommeliers to wine. Cheers, Lokál!