Who goes to a pub and orders milk? Beer lovers do, if they know their history.

Mlíko, which is the Czech word for ‘milk’, is one of the classic Pilsner Urquell pours. It’s probably unlike anything you’ve ever seen or tasted.

Each of the different Pilsner Urquell pours is a variation on the ratio of wet foam to golden lager. The Mlíko takes this to extremes, as it’s a glass filled with wet foam, with just a bit of beer at the bottom. This creamy pour looks like milk and tastes sweet and smooth. It’s meant to be drank all at once, like a shot. That way you can enjoy the hoppy aroma of the foam before it settles into beer.

The Mlíko is a special treat. It’s not the kind of beer you’d order again and again while you’re at the pub with friends. In traditional Czech pubs in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was served as a dessert, or as an elegant drink for women who weren’t big beer drinkers. Sometimes the bartender would give a Mlíko as a nightcap after the bill was paid.

These days, Tapsters at our Tankovna bars often give out a round of Mlíkos at the start or end of a shift. It’s something fun to change the mood, and it’s a different way to enjoy the Saaz hop aroma and the smooth, refreshing sweetness of Pilsner Urquell.

To pour a Mlíko, the Tapster opens the tap just slightly, letting the glass fill to the top with foam. Some of this foam settles, becoming beer – you get a full glass but you only pay for a half.

So the next time you stop by your local Tankovna, ask for a glass of ‘milk’ and let us know how it goes!