In 1290, King Wenceslas II gave 260 families in Pilsen the right to brew beer. Using Bohemian hops the Czechs have since brewed some of the best beer in the world. The most popular being:
The Czechs separate their beer (pivo), into two categories; light beer, called svetle, and dark beer, called tmave. Tmave pivo is sweeter and is sometimes refered to as cerne (black) pivo. Beer is also distinguished by degrees in the Czech Republic. The degrees vary between 6-19%, but most beer is 10-12%. Some think that the degrees indicate the alcohol content of the beer, but it is actually the amount of malt abstract used during the brewing process. The alcohol content is typically about 1/3 of the abstract.
When ordering beer in a bar you can say, "Jedno pivo prosim", this means "one beer please". However, when ordering 2-4 beers you must use the word "piva" and five or more just "piv".