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The Cut Beer

The Cut Beer


There may be many people out there familiar with something called a “Black and Tan” which is a drink separated into Pale Ale at the bottom and Stout (usually Guinness) at the top. Some people say that it spoils both beers but it looks great and takes skill to create. In Prague we have our own version called a Řezané or what I will refer to as the Cut Beer because in English the word Řezané literally means “cut”.

man holding a glass of beer that has dark beer at the top and light beer at the bottom which in Prague is called a cut beer
The Cut Beer in a Kozel Glass

Is Polotmavy the Same as a Cut Beer?

In Czech we have different styles of beer. If a beer is listed as “Tmavy” then it’s a dark beer. So “Polotmavy” means that it’s half-dark and you would assume correctly that the other half is not dark. But the thing here is that both beers are thouroughly mixed together so really, polotmavy or amber is a mix of beers. The big difference with a Cut Beer is how it is presented in the glass i.e. separated.


What to Expect

a glass of beer with a lot of foam, dark beer at the top and light beer at the bottom of the glass
A Cut Beer served at Lokal Dlouha

When a Cut Beer is poured it’s usually the light part of the beer in the bottom and the darker part at the top. In my local brewery and in any pub that offers Pilsner Urquell you expect Pilsner 12 degree to be the light beer and the Kozel 10 degree to be the dark. It has to be poured very slowly to avoid mixing. When you drink it a strange thing happens because you assume that you will be drinking the dark beer first as it is on the top but in reality you end up drinking most of the light beer first and the head of the beer slowly goes down the glass. Well worth taking a picture and you’ll never look at a beer the same way ever again.


Tour Tips: Here are two options for learning about Czech Beer and drinking it. Both offer an educational look at how it’s made and different beers. My own favourite is the “8 Craft Beers” because this is the original Drunken Monkey tour which ends at Letna Park Beer Garden so you are doing some walking during your 3 hour tour. The Beer Tasting Experience is also going to teach you about beer but it’s only 90 minutes.


Something Related or a Few Minutes Away

Czech Beer

Riegrovy Sady Beer Garden

Den Kozel

Prague Bars


Tour Tips: Here are some food tour operators who have been here long enough to have earned a good reputation.