I greatly enjoy beer that is brewed in monasteries from my travels around Belgium. The local Trappist monastery breweries here produce top-notch beers and from the proceeds of their sales (which, according to the rules, must not be the main activity of the monastery), they finance their operations.
So, when on one of my trips around the Czech Republic, I came across a monastic beer called “Hejnická putovnice”, I could not resist. Hejnický Monastery has this beer brewed in the microbrewery Volt, which in 2021 and 2022 earned the title of “Microbrewery of the Year”. Volt produces a very interesting range of beer specials.
Hejnická putovnice is a bottom-fermented beer, a light lager, unfiltered and unpasteurized. The hop varieties used are Magnum and “Žatecký poloraný červeňák”. The alcohol content is 4.3%, one bottle of 0.75 l comes out to approximately 130 CZK (about 5.50 EUR). Representatives of the monastery humorously coined a new word “putovnice” for the name, which should denote “a lively grandma briskly marching to the Hejnice pilgrimage church”. Although it’s a ten-degree beer, the taste is incomparably better compared to mass-produced beers.
The Hejnice Monastery also runs a restaurant and patisserie, which are very popular in the Hejnice and Lázně Libverda area. In my opinion, running such an operation in this location is not exactly an easy task, as spa guests are mostly older people with specific requirements. You can also stay at the monastery.
If you visit Hejnice, try to stop at their patisserie where they sell this beer. You’ll be supporting the monastery and taking away a great beer.
More information can be obtained by clicking on the map link:
