I am in the Czech Republic now and noticed that beer seems to be a big deal here. They have the highest beer consumption per capita in the world, and you would see people enjoying them from early afternoon.
Beer itself has a long history going back to the 5th millennium BC, originating somewhere around Iran. It became so popular among grain-growing civilizations of Eurasian and North African antiquity that some people think that the manna from heaven that God gave to the Israelites was a type of beer. Greeks also seemed to be fond of it since Sophocles noted that the best diet consisted of bread, meat, vegetables and beer. By the middle ages, it was consumed daily by all social classes in northern and eastern Europe.
The history of beer in Czech dates back pretty far too. There seemed to have been a brewery founded in Prague at 993. They have a legend that Radegast, the Slavic god of hospitality, invented beer. Today, there is a beer brand named after this god which is the most popular one in Moravia.
Radio Praha notes that they are very proud of their beer, partly because it was one of the few industries that the whole nation could be proud of under socialism. At that time, it was one of the few legal leisure time activities allowed. As in many countries, there is a myth that drinking beer (or alcohol in general) is good for health. One funny proverb is that they often say "Beer makes beautiful bodies".
Majority of the beer brewed in the Czech Republic is pilsner lager (they made the first pilsner in the world, and it is also the original home of Budweiser). The biggest beer festival in the Czech Beer Festival which is held for 17 days every year in May in Prague. It features 120 type of beer from around the world and up to 10,000 seating provided.
You might be interested in joining in one day.