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For the fourth time this year, the Prague Beer Festival kicks off in the Czech capital. Starting Thursday, the city’s residents will be able to enjoy a tasting journey of their country’s beer variety without having to leave the capital. This year’s festival, which will last 17 days, is shaping up to be bigger than ever, with more than 70 Czech beers on offer and nearly 200,000 visitors expected to attend. Jan Hübner, the main organizer behind the Czech Beer Festival, explains what exactly thirsty beer fans can look forward to.

In recent years, beers from smaller breweries have grown in popularity in the Czech Republic – a trend that is finally being reflected in Prague’s pubs, where for a long time, the big brands enjoyed a virtual monopoly. Fortunately, it is becoming easier to find microbrews on offer in the capital. One pub that pours beers from all over the Czech Republic and is a bit of a living museum is the aptly named Prague Beer Museum, located right in the center of Prague.

The Czech Republic’s fragile economic recovery has, among other things, affected Czechs’ beer drinking habits. After an 8-percent drop in beer production last year, data by the Czech Beer and Malt Association released on Tuesday now show that in 2009, imports of low-quality, cheap beers reached a record level of around one million hectolitres, three times more than the previous year. RP spoke to the association’s head, Jan Veselý about the changing beer market in the country.

In this week’s Business News: pension reform wins political backing; biggest brewer sets up export subsidiary; female viewers targeted by broadcaster; private car fleet shows its age; and hard coal imports surge.

In this week’s Business News: government parties agree on pension reform formula; start-up bank lays out expansion plans; state brewery bucks export handover; ČEZ bundles into Slovakia; and bosses boosted over workplace computer abuse.

One man who probably more than anyone else can claim to represent one of the Czech Republic’s biggest success stories ― beer ― is Jan Veselý, general director of the Czech Beer and Malt Association. The association groups the biggest Czech breweries and hop producers. In today’s programme, Mr. Veselý talks about the massive changes he has witnessed in the industry which had moved from the planned economy to privatization and the take off of micro-breweries.

In this week’s Business News: Czech National Bank says inflation is on track; working pensioners make significant economic contribution; ČSOB share floatation drifts further away; tourist numbers and stays up in third quarter; and Czech brewing dominance comes in for unexpected challenges.

In this week’s Business News: Brewers look to price rises in spite of consumption slump; Prima to hike ad charges by 10 percent; Škoda Auto doubles profits on record car sales; banks step up home auctions for mortgage defaulters; and biomass highlighted as next renewable power problem.

This weekend the small but increasingly popular Kocour brewery, based in Varnsdorf, north Bohemia, will be hosting the first ever Ale festivale – a festival highlighting local and foreign specialty beers. Kocour (which means tomcat in English) itself produces 10 different styles based on differences in ingredients, production and history and want to let the average consumer know there’s more to beer than just their usual brand.

The first gluten-free Czech beer for people who suffer from coeliac disease is set to go on the domestic market. The beer was developed by specialists from the Research Institute of Brewing and Malting in Prague and will be licensed for production by the Žatecký brewery. Gluten-free has been available on the Czech market before, but was expensive and tasted differently than classic Czech beer. Estimates put the number of coeliac sufferers in the Czech Republic at one to two percent of the population, or at least 100,000 people.