"Brewing beer has been a huge aspect of our culture, since the 10th century," Jilek said. "In fact, there is a joke we like to tell: if any government ever decided to ban drinking or brewing beer, the people would rise up immediately and overthrow the government!"

Indeed, the Czech Republic has a long history of brewing beer. The first Czech breweries were established in medieval monasteries, and grew so popular that King Vaclav in 1248 introduced a royal system of ‘brewing privileges’ to certain citizens – thereby controlling beer production, collecting extra taxes, and ensuring his own popularity. This system of brewing privileges evolved into specialized guilds. For centuries, brewing beer and ale remained in the hands of these small communities of brewing guilds, where only guild members were legally able to create beer. However, the advent of mechanical production during the Industrial Revolution soon eradicated the time-honored tradition of handcrafted beer.

Jilek himself is proud of his heritage. "I was born in Plzen, the birthplace of Pilsner beer [a classic bitter lager with sweet undertones]," he says. As the Czech Presidency has instructed embassies worldwide to create their own cultural program, Jilek has planned several more events over the next six months, including a Czech film festival, Dvorak classical concerts, and an exhibition of a famous Czech graphic artist.

But these global cultural events are just one small part of the Czech Republic’s agenda during its six-month presidency. Symbolically designating their program as ‘Europe Without Barriers’, the Czech Republic hopes to address the global economic and energy crises, as well as stabilizing the EU’s relationship with the United States and Russia.

"[We are striving towards] a Europe without internal economic, cultural and value barriers for individuals, entrepreneurs and economic entities; a Europe open to the world, but not defenseless against illegal activities and attacks," the Czech Presidency’s press release said.

Jilek echoes his government’s desire to eradicate barriers between countries. 2009 marks the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Iron Curtain. As former Soviet satellites, Mongolia and the Czech Republic share a common bond– and this celebration of Czech culture in Mongolia, Jilek hopes, will spark a future partnership.

"40 years ago, there were several hundred Czech nationals living in Mongolia," Jilek says. "The work was good, and it was easy to live here. Now there are only about two dozen Czechs in Mongolia. I hope these events will encourage both Mongolians and Czechs to realize how much they have in common."