Pilsner Urquell

Pilsner Urquell ( Plzeňský Prazdroj in Czech) is the principal brewery of the town of Plzeň, fourth city of the Czech Republic, in the area of Plzeň (German Lager). The city is known for its production of Bière.

Pilsner Urquell is property of the group SABMiller.

Urquell in German, Prazdroj in Czech means “old source”.

History

Historically, the Czech city of Lager was the first to brew a lager with low fermentation (still called “cold fermentation”). The Lager brewery dates, following the example that of Budweis, of XIIIe century, and is, at the time, which one calls a “brewery of citizens”. In 1295, Pilsen acquires the same rights of mixing that has the capital of Moravie, Brno, since 1243 (by decree of Wenceslas Ier).

Until 1842, the Lager beer does not present any exceptional character, in spite of the reputation of quality of the barley for malt and that of hop of Moravie. Indeed, like the majority of the Czech breweries of the time, the brewery “Lager Burgher” brewed primarily only wheat beers. But in 1842, it called upon a German brewer, Josef Groll, because of its knowledge of the method of cold fermentation, lately invented by the Jecmen brothers, to brew a lager having to compete with Bavarian beers of the time.

Thus was invented the gilded and transparent Lager lager, which created sensation and which saw its reputation growing at a vertiginous speed. All this so much so that in 1874, in Paris, Pilsner (baptized thus according to the German tradition) became a true object of worship.

Following this success, one can note two facts of importance: the opening in 1869 of the second brewery with Pilsen, the Gambrinus brewery (founded, inter alia, by Škoda) as well as the name change, in 1898, of Burgher for Pilsner Urquell which means “authenticates source of German Pilsner”.

The success of Pilsner involved many attempts at copy all over the world, so much so that the abundance of Pilsner German had induced in error good number of consumers who believed then in the Germanic origin of this type of beer. Belief which was also reinforced by the cold war, but which fell in disuse at the time of spring of Prague in 1968, when Western visitors returned while comparing Czech beer with the one of the wonders of the world.

The influence of the Communist regime did not have only one bad aspect on Pilsner: indeed, the Czech breweries, all state-owned properties, were too poor to be modernized and continued to brew their beer according to antiquated methods while following to the letter the German decree of “Reinheitsgebot” (law on the purity of beers, imposed when Tchèquie was under German domination).

Today, Pilsner names and Pils are very widespread, but it indicate very often only light lagers not having anything comparable with Lager beer.

Products

Pilsner Urquell

It is a beer rather strongly hopped (in particular by the aromatic variety of hop Saaz) and rather bitter (35 units IBU).

Gambrinus

Radegast

Birell

Velkopopovicky Kozel

Klasik

Frisco

Miller Genuine Draft

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