When you hear the word Pilsen, the first thing that comes to mind is the Pilsensky Prazdroy brewery. And even if you have never been to the Czech Republic, this name is unlikely to be unfamiliar to you.
For the generation of the 70s, to which I belong, the Pilsen Festival is associated with life abroad, with a distant civilization, where there is everything - Coca-Cola, chewing gum, delicious beer - everything that was not then in the Soviet Union.
As children, we played with beer caps, among which the cork of the Pilsen Feast, with its characteristic barrel and arch, was especially appreciated. The word "gambrinus" was not an empty phrase for us, since a cork with a bearded old man who looked like Santa Claus with a glass of beer was also quite rare. Winning this was considered a great success.
After graduating from the institute, I became a brewer and learned much more about Pilsen Prazdroj, but I managed to visit the legendary brewery only in 2011, when we traveled by car around the Czech Republic.
All tourists are first offered to visit the Brewery Museum, which is located right in the city center. We decided to start with him.
The museum is nothing special, although perhaps someone might like it for its atmosphere and antiques. Right next to the entrance you are invited to drink another cup of delicious Czech beer.
As usual, in any brewing museum you will first be told about the ancient Sumerians and how they "invented" beer. In fact, no one can reliably say what exactly they did. But the fact that the Sumerians made a drink based on cereals is indeed proven by archaeologists.
This is how Czech brewers dressed more than a hundred years ago. Sounds a lot like a German burgher, doesn't it? All right. After all, it was the Germans who stood at the beginning of the glorious path of the Pilsensky Prazdroj brewery, but more on that later.
Scary equipment that looks like a torture machine. This is what an ordinary beer filter press looks like to the uninitiated.
But this mobile installation is just a water filter.
The museum has several rooms in which various artifacts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are randomly displayed. No signatures and explanations, of course. True, there is an audio guide that can be taken at the entrance for a moderate fee.
Scale model of the brewery.
Beautiful old books, with stories about the founders and owners of the plant. You won't be able to flip through, just enjoy the cover.
At the time of the founding of the plant, brewing began to acquire a scientific basis and therefore the plant had its own chemical laboratory.
Glasses and bottles with different labels of "Gambrinus"
The famous coat of arms of the Pilsen Feast
Immediately, it is not clear why, smoking accessories of that time.
Just a beautiful faucet
We finished with the museum and stomped to the brewery itself, but it is not close. The entrance to the plant is the same arch from the emblem.
Already at the entrance to the territory it is clear that the brewery has preserved historical buildings and, in particular, the water tower.
Despite this, the facade of the building looks modern and stylish.
Excursions here take place regularly throughout the day, but are clearly tied to the time. The closest one was in English and I decided to go for it. You can buy tickets here. While I was waiting for the start, I took a picture of the model of an old brewery, which perfectly decorated the room.
Right next to it is a beautiful branded motorcycle, with which everyone is photographed.
Then our guide came and the tour began. From the beginning, he told us that the Plzeňský Prazdroj plant, or Pilsner Urquell as it is also called, is now owned by SABMiller, a global British company. In terms of production, it ranks second in the world after the American Anheuser-Busch InBev. In Russia, she is known for the brands "Golden Barrel" and "Three Bogatyrs".
In the era of globalization, almost all historically significant breweries belong to one or another beer conglomerate, so there is nothing surprising in this. Someone will say that this negatively affects the taste of the legendary beers (such as the same Pilsner Urquell), but I probably disagree. You can read more about this on my website about brewing, if anyone is interested.
Pilsner Urquell Brewery, or literally "Pilner Spring". It was founded in 1839 by German and Czech comrades, but brewing traditions existed in Pilsen for a very long time, the first mention of a brewery operating in Pilsen dates back to 1307. Pilsen Prazdroj just legalized the origin famous beer Pilsner, which had unique taste characteristics and bitterness unusual for the German taste. And although the first beer that came out of the walls of the newly built plant was a German light lager, after 15 years the Pilsner beer brand was registered in the Czech Chamber of Commerce and since then it has been considered the face of the Czech Republic, which everyone is proud of.
After a short introduction about the history of the plant, we went to the brewery itself. Pleasant decorative barrels are placed everywhere, which create a feeling of antiquity. In my opinion, a very good idea.
There is a real train in the depot, which was used earlier for the delivery of raw materials - malt and hops.
A tour bus pulled up behind us and we drove on.
We started our inspection from the bottling lines, as it was closer to them to go. Nothing interesting for me, but for the curious, a detailed diagram was drawn, with explanations in several languages.
The production is well organized, at first glance it is quite clean, although there are many self made which is not at all efficient.
This immediately catches your eye when you see the boxes and the person putting the containers in them. At modern factories - this is wild archaism.
We were told a tale about a special, secret strain of yeast that is stored in a refrigerated safe and is only opened with security and is unknown to anyone else. But we are not fools, we are well aware that there are only two strains of brewer's yeast that are known to everyone and can be used in any brewery in the world.
Based on my experience of conducting such excursions, I can say that the most impressive impression on visitors is cone hops. It has a very special and strong smell. In practice, it is rarely used in brewing, except perhaps in small, private breweries.
A brewhouse with copper cauldrons, which is not currently in use, but has been preserved for display. For some reason, it is believed that beer tastes better on such boilers. But this is not the case, which is why most large companies refuse to use them.
Open taps to filter the wort, another symbol of traditional brewing.
Then we were taken to the holy of holies - the cellars of the Pilsen Festival. As I already wrote about Pilsen, under the city there is a huge labyrinth of underground passages and cellars, which locals have used for centuries to prepare and store beer. But the labyrinth under the brewery is absolutely stunning, unfortunately access to most of the passages is closed to visitors to avoid the situation as in the old joke about those lost at the distillery :)
This ancient diagram shows very well the extensive network of underground storage facilities.
You have to give credit to the management of the brewery, but they kept the main attraction for tourists, which is expected by default when you come on a tour of the Pilsen Festival. Here, beer is still produced according to the old technology - in open wooden vats, without cooling. This is wonderful.
On each barrel, the extract of the initial wort and the daily temperature are marked with chalk. As you can see here it is quite low at the start and rises very slowly. The duration of fermentation in this way can reach 12 days.
In another room there are lying barrels in which the beer is fermented.
At the end of the corridor of lying barrels, we saw the long-awaited butler, who treated us to life-giving mash. I am not a fan of unfiltered beer at the stage of fermentation, but all visitors have a feeling of belonging to an old tradition, and this is worth a lot.
On this joyful note, I will end my story, I advise everyone to visit this factory if fate brings you to Pilsen. Yes, you will come here without me, but how else?
Pilsen Feast… Sounds like music for connoisseurs! And if you indifferently perceive this phrase, or if it generally hurts your ears, then we will eliminate such misunderstandings right now. It is especially important to enlighten fans of the Czech Republic in this matter, because, when going on a trip to this wonderful country and tasting Czech beer, it will not be superfluous to know that Plzensky Prazdroj has taken care of you in many ways ...
Friends! Together with me, the author of several articles of my blog, already well known to you, welcomes you. This is Oleg, who introduced us to the sights of Pilsen, and even to Christmas in Prague. And now he is ready to dispel the main intrigue of this unpronounceable Prazdroy))
Oleg again generously responded to my request and agreed, in addition to the story about the city (I hope you have already familiarized yourself with the sights of the historical center), to give blog readers a virtual tour of the main enterprise - the Pilsen brewery, which is most directly related to Plzensky Prazdroj.
Our inquisitive traveler visited this largest Czech brewery this autumn and gives us his review.
Excursion to Pilsen Prazdroj
It's no secret that people go to the Czech Republic not only to enjoy the beautiful Prague, to relax and heal in, but also to try the famous Czech beer. And, being in the city of Pilsen, you simply cannot pass by the Pilsner Urquell brewery, which produces one of the most popular light beers in the world.
Moreover, the enterprise is located not far from the historical center, excursions are held daily, including every day at 13.15 in Russian. The ticket price is 200 kroons.
The Pilsner Urquell brewery is the main division of the Plzensky Prazdroj concern, which now unites the following brands: Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus and Master from Pilsen, as well as Velkopopovicky Kozel (which was news to me) and beer from the eastern Czech Republic Radegast and Birell.
To visit the Pilsen Factory, you need to enter the triumphal arch and approach the information center at the indicated time, from where the tour begins.
It is difficult to put a rich 100-minute excursion and modern production technology into the format of a small article, I will try to tell it briefly.
But, first of all, I want to say that the Pilsensky Prazdroj concern produces a product that has the legal right to be called Czech beer. The named geographical trademark is not assigned to all brewing products produced in the Czech Republic. And even more so, it is unattainable for drinks made outside the country.
Pilsner, Velkopopovitsky goat, Gambrinus and a few other brands have been awarded the title of Czech beer.
A small dive into the history of the brewery
The Czech Republic has gone to the heights of brewing for centuries. Back in the XIII century, the first official workshops of brewers were formed, and how many artisanal methods there were before that time! The approval for permanent production of the national drink in Pilsen was given by Charles IV.
Beer in those days was brewed only dark, opaque, and its quality over time became very mediocre, and preparation technologies (the so-called top fermentation) were considered outdated.
There is a legend that in ancient times, to check the quality of beer, a brewer in leather pants was called to the local government, where he poured his beer on an oak bench and sat down. If the pants stuck to the bench, the beer was considered good, if not, the beer was poured out, and the brewer was branded with shame and could be chained in the central square, where the townspeople showed him their contempt. They say that there is a similar bench of quality in.
Wars, civil strife, outbreaks of plague - all this did not contribute to the quality of beer, it deteriorated and reached a crisis by the 18th century ... And in 1838 the patience of the inhabitants of Pilsen snapped, and an epoch-making historical decision was made to build a "Municipal brewery", equipped with the latest "then" science and technology. They invited the German technologist Josef Groll (where without the Germans)), who from light malt according to Bavarian technology, but with his own "know-how", brewed beer, the so-called bottom-fermentation at low temperature. The know-how consisted in triple evaporation.
Groll himself did not expect that this beer would surpass the Bavarian one thanks to local malt and artesian water. And the product turned out to be transparent, golden, with a juicy taste of hops and a specific aroma ... The advantages of local artesian water were provided by the depth of extraction.
Now artesian water comes from a depth of 100 m. For visitors to the plant to thoroughly understand and appreciate this, a photo is placed on the stand comparing the well with St. Bartholomew's Cathedral:
Consumers liked the new type of beer very much and quickly spread throughout the Czech Republic, then throughout Europe, reached America - this is how it became popular all over the world and now has a large army of fans (including me))
Excursion with tasting
After a short instruction and an excursion into history, the group gets on a bus and drives through a large area of the plant, periodically stopping at significant points. For example, take a look at the vehicles that used to deliver beer:
The highlight is a visit to the new brewery - just a huge bottling plant, almost the size of five football fields! This is one of the most modern production halls in Europe - a fully automated production facility that produces 120,000 bottles per hour!
Looking at this whole brewing empire, I also remember my long-forgotten school trips to industrial enterprises ...
After visiting the bottling shop, we go by bus to the old brewery, where the largest elevator in the Czech Republic for 70 people. we go up to the revolving cinema hall and watch a film about brewing. And again, parallels arise in my thoughts: at the time when Soviet students went to pick potatoes, Czech students went to pick hops))
Further, the sightseers are shown samples of malt and hops, which can be tasted. Under a microscope, you can look at the fermentation process. Then the group is taken to the old brewhouse, now there are just museum exhibits (copper boilers, etc.):
The beer is brewed next door in new cauldrons, but according to old methods and brewing patterns. Here is that unique case when, according to the classic old recipe, but on the most modern equipment, with strict observance of the entire technological cycle, high-quality ingredients are produced from first-class ingredients. natural product, while the entire food industry is now more like a chemical industry ...
Whole technological process from brew to bottling is 5 weeks. The Pilsner Urquell brewery, while improving production conditions, still retains the unique technology of triple boiling the wort over an open fire at a temperature of 600 degrees (which is more difficult and demanding than other breweries - they have 1 boil, maximum 2).
All this complex way of converting raw materials into high-quality beer fits into such a clear and complete scheme:
And the climax! We descend into the dungeons, where the beer used to “lie”, mature and be stored in oak barrels. Dungeon with a total length of about 9 km. Now they make a limited amount of beer according to old technologies, which you can’t buy anywhere else, and is intended only for visitors to the plant.
Time has stopped, the coolness of the cellar and the beer... And finally, we taste fresh, unfiltered, unpasteurized Pilsner straight from the barrel...
The taste is just fabulous! For this alone, it’s already worth visiting the Pilsensky Prazdroj brewery)) My friend and I asked for a second glass, and they didn’t refuse us!
There is an opinion that beer supposedly makes you fat, but it is not true. Beer is low-calorie, it has much fewer calories than wine, vodka, cognac ... And in its composition it is closer to dietary products, it contains many valuable trace elements and vitamins. It's just that beer causes appetite and you can absorb a large amount of food with it.
Well, after the tour, you can already go and eat in the largest in the Czech Republic - naturally, like everything else in Pilsen - the restaurant "Na Spilce" for 560 people, located on the territory of the factory:
Can you imagine what was going on in this restaurant a couple of days ago, in early October, at the Pilsnerfest?! There is also a branded gift shop. But this is not a souvenir, this is a real Pilsner:
In conclusion, I will say that we were lucky with both the tour and the guide. The guide was very cool, friendly, she spoke so interestingly and enthusiastically with a wonderful Czech accent. The ability to tell interesting stories is a talent. I am convinced that a good guide can save the most boring tour, and vice versa, a bad one can "kill" the most interesting one.
For comparison: after joining a Chinese group for a bit, where they were told the same thing in English (I sometimes like to join some English-speaking excursion for a short time. So, to practice the language. It is quite interesting, especially when in the topic or heard - read about it in Russian). Of course, my English is not perfect, but there the language was quite simple and understandable - bare facts and dry statistics. And it is not comparable with our excursion!
And we are all in color! Emotions, expression, a subtle sense of humor ... In general, I recommend a tour in Russian, even if you have to wait a bit for the start. The duration of the tour is 1 hour 40 minutes. After that, we still “tortured” our guide with our questions, chatted, laughed ...
In general, the tour is quite atmospheric, informative and not as technologically advanced as, I would even say, sincere (thanks to the guide Alla, such people make our life better!). It seems to me that even people who are far from beer will like the tour ... I assumed that such brutal men with beer bellies would gather on the tour, but more than half of the group were quite slender women of different ages, there was even a couple with a baby in a stroller! The plant's official website states "that the Pilsner Urquell sightseeing route is one of the most highly rated tourist routes in the world."
Well, friends, how did you feel the desire to visit the best enterprise Plzensky Prazdroj? It’s already easier to pronounce))) Of course, for such a sincere story, Oleg simply had to be treated to a third glass of exclusive beer!
Friends, keep the article bookmarked. And when you get to Pilsen, be sure to show this page to the guide and promise to tell you about the tour just as cool. Surely, a treat will follow)) Do not forget to thank Oleg at the same time!
Your euro guide Tatiana
September 13th, 2013
On the last day of August, we stopped for a day in Pilsen to visit the legendary Czech brewery "Pilsen Prazdroj", where 170 years ago, on October 5, 1842, a Bavarian brewer first brewed a light lager at the Měšťanský pivovar brewery. This beer has since been called a pilsner or pilsner-style lounger. This is the most popular beer in our time.
At the famous gate leading to the legendary "Pilsen Festival". Here it is the birthplace of pilsner - the most popular beer in the world.
The old brewery in Pilsen has been turned into a real attraction for tourists. Tours are held here different languages. In wooden barrels, beer is stored at a depth of 13 meters in cold cellars dug in the sandstone under the brewery back in the 19th century, but this beer matures exclusively to treat tourists. And the real modern beer production takes place in another place on the territory of the plant, which is not shown to tourists.
In 1999, the plant was acquired by the South African company South African Breweries. Today the plant is owned by the same multinational company, renamed SABMiller. She brews Pilsner Urquell beer here. Headquartered in London, this beer giant now owns hundreds of beer brands around the world. In the Czech Republic, she also owns breweries that produce beer under such popular brands as Gambrinus, Radegast and Velkopopovicky Kozel.
SAB Miller has four breweries in the Czech Republic, which brew beer under the brands Pilsner Urkvel and Gambrinus (in Plzeň), Velkopopovický Kozel and Radegast. I prefer the weaker beers that are brewed with 10 and 11 degree wort.
The entrance to the workshop, where tourists are shown the operating lines for bottling beer into cans and bottles.
These are the main trademarks of SAB Miller in the Czech Republic. But she has others.
In addition to the mentioned brands, SABMiller is trying to promote the premium brand of Master beer in two types - with an initial wort gravity of 13 and 18 degrees.
This is a brand of non-alcoholic beer.
Automatic beer bottling lines look very similar everywhere - an interweaving of pipes and mechanisms.
Pilsensky Prazdroje uses its own unique yeast strains.
Live yeast in the museum can be admired through microscopes.
The hops here, of course, are used by Žatetsky, grown near Pilsen.
Here it is - Zhatetsky hop.
Old brewhouses, no longer in use. These are museum pieces.
And this is a modern brewery of the brewery. On the occasion of Saturday, no one was visible here, but this is working equipment.
A holiday for consumption in the Czech Republic is brewed here today. This is the most common brand of beer in the Czech Republic. For example, this particular beer is served in the "At the Golden Tiger" pub in Prague.
And this is the most valuable exhibit of the museum - it was in this copper vat that the first pilsner was brewed in October 1842.
The bottom of the vat is strewn with coins of tourists from all over the world.
Underground cellars of the Pilsen Feast, where the sun lounger was kept in the cold until fully ripe. This beer is called a sunbed (in German Lager) because it must lie down for several weeks to several months in a barrel in a cold cellar. Icy water flows through the grooves in the floor. The air is quite cold - tourists were advised to dress warmly. And the air is very humid, saturated with water vapor. Water is constantly dripping from the ceiling.
Once in these cellars there were more than nine thousand huge barrels, each containing 3-4 tons of beer. Now there are only about three hundred left - for clarity and to treat tourists with fresh beer.
The cellars are dug in sandstone at a depth of 13 meters. The length of all passages reaches 9 km.
Scheme of the cellars where the Plzeň sunbed ripened in the past.
Here museum staff brew some beer for tourists for educational purposes. In these vats, open fermentation takes place.
Fermenting beer wort. The sugar in the wort is gradually converted by the yeast into carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Every day the temperature in the vat is measured and recorded on the wall.
Now you can taste the beer.
A typical wooden beer barrel has a capacity of 41 hectoliters, i.e. 4.1 cubic meters.
From the barrel poured to taste the young beer.
Until the end of the 1920s, the cellars of the Pilsen Prazdroj were cooled with ice, which was stored on the river in winter and dumped into this ice chamber. The river flows directly over the cellars. So much ice was prepared that it gradually melted for a whole year, until the next winter, cooling the beer ripening in the cellars.
Ice harvesting was a special seasonal profession of local peasants. They stored thousands of tons of ice on the river, brought it in carts and dumped it into the cellars of the brewery. For peasant boys, this was a good income.
After visiting the museum, tourists can fill out a questionnaire and note their impressions. For this, a gift is due - a can of beer.
And three weeks later, this video appeared on the network, introducing the brewery.
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From Wikipedia: Pilsner Urquell (pronounced Pilsner Urquell) is a brand of light beer produced by the Czech company Plzensky Prazdroj, a. s. since 1842 in the city of Pilsen. Traditionally, in the Czech Republic, it is unofficially referred to as "Plzeński Prazdroj" (Czech. Plzensky prazdroj, which translates as "Pilsen (ancient) source", or simply "Pilsen" (Czech. Plzen). In Russia, it appeared on mass sale in 2004. There is a bar in Paris on Boulevard Montparnasse with 140 brands of beer on the drink list, and only one says “The best beer in the world” against 12 percent “Prazdroy”, that is, Pilsner Urquell.
Story. XIX century. Czech. Pilsen
The history of Czech beer production is inextricably linked with the Pilsensky Prazdroj brewery, which today is one of the most titled beer producers in the world, and its 12% Pilsner Urquell is a recognized world standard for light beers.
Brewing in Pilsen, founded in 1295, began with the light hand of King Wenceslas II of Bohemia, who granted its inhabitants numerous privileges, the main one being the right to brew beer.
True, this was preceded by several important historical events. Firstly, for a long time Pilsen did not have its own brewery (according to other sources, there were several small scattered breweries unable to meet demand), beer was brought to this city from Prague. It is clear that while it reached its destination, its quality deteriorated noticeably. The Pilsners, dissatisfied with the quality of the supplied beer, raised an uprising, which resulted in the permission of the mayor of the city to build their own brewery.
A crucial moment in the history of Pilsen beer is the speech of the innkeeper Vaclav Mirwald, who called on the brewers to unite and build a brewery on shares. The foundation stone of the "City Brewery" was laid in 1839, and in 1842 a control batch of intoxicating drink was already brewed on it. The plant was destined to become one of the largest and richest brewing concerns in the Czech Republic. The first name that the future giant received was Mestansky pivovar Plzen.
At that time, the plant had no equal in Europe in terms of the technical equipment of the enterprise. However, there was a problem with the production technology. Therefore, in order to work it out, they invited the German brewer Josef Groll, whose fame thundered throughout Bavaria. The German was an unsurpassed specialist in the field of making dark beers, and was also known as a very conflicted and obstinate person. Therefore, when he arrived in Pilsen, he immediately set his condition that he would not brew dark beer, and would try to help only with the technology for the production of light beer. For the production of the first batch, raw materials were brought from Bavaria, and the new beer was brewed in accordance with Bavarian traditions and recipes. However, a year later, barley and hops for Pilsen beer began to be grown in the vicinity of the city, and the excellent taste of the resulting beer was explained not only by the talent of the brewer, but also by the natural quality of local raw materials.
The second necessary historical digression. Until that time, all beers were cloudy and dark, most often they were sold in earthenware mugs. But then came October 5, 1842, when Josef Grohl brewed the world's first golden, transparent beer. The name Pilsner was given to the new variety by the city where it was brewed - Pilsen. Experts say that the transparent beer turned out as a result of applying the then new method of bottom fermentation, but there is also an opinion that Grohl simply made a gross technological mistake. One way or another, it created a sensation in Europe, and the result of the "mistake" turned the whole beer world upside down in the future.
Very quickly, the new beer became popular, many breweries around the world sought to create something similar. The name Pilsner has become a household name for a golden, clear beer.
As a result, many other industries began to use not only the same technology, but also the same name for their drinks - Pilsner or Pils. However, you can not argue with the facts, the first was Pilsner from Pilsen. Only 56 years later, in 1898, the Plzeň brewers, sacredly guarding the reference recipe for golden beer, registered trademark Pilsner Urquell almost immediately became the symbol of the brewing house and its main product. The most accurate translation into Russian: "pra" - ancient, "healthy" - source, or primary source, ancestor.
Almost immediately, Pilsen beer appeared in Prague, including in the U Pinkasu restaurant. Within the first decade, the products of the brewery won a strong position in Prague and began to conquer Vienna. In 1862 the factory celebrates its success in Paris. America is one step away.
In 1857, steam engines were installed at the plant, electric lighting appeared in 1878, and in 1880, the Pilsen brewery was the first in the world to receive its own railway line. Throughout its history, the plant has remained true to the principle of increasing productivity without any compromise in relation to the quality of its golden beer.
The 20th century was a century of rapid progress for the company, which even wars could not stop. In 1945, when Pilsen was bombed by the Germans, the plant was almost completely destroyed. Over the following years, however, the brewery was rebuilt with the latest technology and increased production to unprecedented levels.
In 1992-1994 As a result of the privatization of the Pilsen breweries and the national enterprise Plzensky Prazdroj, Plzensky Prazdroj, a.s. Now she owns the following trade beer brands: Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Radegast, Velkopopovicky Kozel.
Today's state-of-the-art brewery, equipped with the latest technological advances, remains true to the ideas of its first architect, Martin Stelzer, and the visionary talent of master brewer Josef Groll, who changed the world's understanding of beer. Pilsner Urquell is brewed according to the same technology as in 1842 - the beer has survived to this day with almost its original taste. In the same form and using the same technology in February 2004, it began to be produced in Kaluga.
Brand production features
In the production of beer, Bohemian and Moravian barley is used, which has only two rows of grains per ear and a thin grain film. The malt for Pilsner Urquell is produced in the brewery using traditional malting methods.
Hops are grown in the Bohemian region of Zatec, near Pilsen. The combination of red soils and a favorable climate makes it possible to grow a variety of hops known as "zaatz" (the German name for Žatetsa). Hops give Pilsner Urquell a sharp, floral yet pleasant bitter taste that balances out the sweetness of the malt.
The water has an exceptionally low content of ions and natural salts. Thus, as a drinking water, it is nothing special, but it is ideal for brewing and provides the unique taste of Pilsner Urquell. And although the brewery no longer uses the 47-meter water tower, in all other respects the water has the same characteristics as in 1842.
In the manufacture of Pilsner Urquell beer, a single strain of brewer's yeast is used, called Pilsner H. The genealogy of this strain can be traced back to the time of Josef Groll. According to legend, this yeast was sold to Groll by a runaway monk who stole it from the monastery to pay off a debt. If this is true, then the monk paid off his debt a hundredfold. Yeast (by the way, they are not considered an ingredient, as they are removed from the mixture after they have done their job), this is a microscopic fungus that turns sugar into alcohol. They are added to the process at the fermentation stage and bred at the brewery every month. The Pilsner H strain does not form a very high concentration of alcohol, but rather a high concentration of residual extract.
There are three interesting differences in the production of Pilsner Urquell. The first is triple decoction, or triple digestion. A method where the beer is actually brewed in copper kettles to a temperature of 70°C three times. Second, beer is brewed over an open fire. Third - it is aged longer than other well-known mass varieties. industrial production. All this provides the beer with original, unique flavors. taste qualities: its famous noble bitterness and pleasant aroma.
Triple digestion is a hallmark of Pilsner Urquell production. This process is based on principles developed as far back as the 19th century and is an important step in the second stage of brewing called mashing. Malted barley grains are ground to form a "mash" of malt and soft water. Part of the mash is separated from the total mass, heated in copper vats and mixed back into the main mash. While at other breweries the mash is heated once, maximum twice, at Pilsner Urquell the mash is heated three times. Invented by Josef Groll in 1842, it requires a lot of time and money.
Heating on an open fire
While other breweries use electric or steam heating, Pilsner Urquell uses the principle of open fire (“fire brewing”) in the production. An open flame allows you to get a golden color, a fragrant bouquet of roasted grains and a smooth caramel taste.
Fermentation
Bottom fermentation at the bottom of the cauldron was one of the main secrets that Josef Groll brought with him to Pilsen. At home, he observed how Bavarian brewers stored their vats in Alpine caves, where the yeast sank to the bottom due to the cool temperature. So the beer became lighter. While bottom fermentation is no longer done in large open vats today, the process nonetheless requires great skill and patience. Young beer (sometimes called "green") must ferment at +9°C for 8-9 days so that the yeast can process the sugar and sink to the bottom of the vessel. At the end of this period, the yeast is removed from the vessel, and they can again be used to ferment the next batch of beer.
Maturation
Maturation or “lagering” (a German term for storage) of the beer takes place at a temperature of + 1°C until the beer acquires the desired taste and optimal aroma. The once low temperature was maintained through the use of natural ice in tunnels dug into the sandstone under the brewery. Beer was stored in huge wooden barrels. The tunnels were cut by hand, and their total length was more than 9 kilometers. Today maturation takes place in 56 large stainless steel tanks, and the temperature is maintained by the latest refrigeration system. The process of fermenting a certain part of the beer is still done in the old way in the cellars.
The plant employs 8 coopers who have preserved the rare craft of making large barrels for storing beer. These barrels are handcrafted from oak or poplar and are ideal for the brewing process. Barrels are covered with pine resin, which preserves the aroma of beer. Once upon a time, during the most intense work of the brewery, according to the old technology, up to 6300 barrels could be stored in the cellars at the same time. In 1842, Josef Groll noticed that his beer retains its exceptional velvety bitter taste best if kept in the cellars of the Pilsen brewery on the seventh level. Therefore, he insisted that each barrel be gradually moved up until it reached the seventh level. Only then could the barrel leave the brewery. We can say that these were a kind of steps to paradise.
Parallel Brewing
Today, production methods have become more modern, but the recipe and taste of Pilsner Urquell beer have remained unchanged. To be sure of the same quality, every year a certain part of the beer is always produced in exactly the same way and on the same equipment as in the days of Josef Groll, respecting traditions and carefully passing on the accumulated knowledge and experience from generation to generation. To do this, the hop wort undergoes a fermentation process in wooden vats, and traditional barrels are placed for maturation in old cellars cut into sandstone with granite floors. A specially selected group of brewers conducts a blind comparative tasting of beer brewed using old and new technologies. So far, none of them has been able to distinguish beer brewed in the traditional way from beer brewed with modern equipment. If someone wants to make such a comparison himself, then this can be done in the Na Spilke bar, which is located next to the brewery museum. This is the only place that serves unfiltered and unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell beer.
Brewery Museum in Pilsen
Of course, the brewery and the famous golden beer have become a real pride of the townspeople. In 1892, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the creation of Pilsner Urquell, the city council built a huge gate for the brewery, which became a symbol of the brand. This gate still towers above the entrance to the brewery. 8 years later, in 1900, Pilsen allowed its coat of arms to be used on beer labels. And today on the labels of Pilsner Urquell we see the image of those famous gates and the city coat of arms. Not surprisingly, Pilsen, located an hour from Prague, has become a place of pilgrimage for beer connoisseurs from all over the world. Like the Czech capital, Pilsen has amazing architecture, a rich cultural heritage and great bars serving Pilsner Urquell beer straight from the brewery.
Every year, thousands of beer connoisseurs make a pilgrimage to the Pilsen Brewery to learn how Pilsner Urquell is brewed. During the tour, guests of the brewery will learn how the very first Pilsner was brewed in 1842, how generations of master brewers and factory workers were able to maintain the quality of Pilsner Urquell up to the present day.
You can visit the banks of the Radbuza River, enter through the double triumphal arch that serves as the entrance gate to the brewery, admire the huge copper cauldrons, the high water tower in the form of a Dutch lighthouse and 9 kilometers of sandstone tunnels.
The World of Beer exposition at the Pilsen Brewery is open daily from April to September and on weekdays from October to March.
The Brewery Museum in Pilsen is the only one of its kind in the Czech Republic. It is located in the historic center of the city in an old house, written mention of which dates back to the end of the 15th century. The museum is located in this house for a reason. Its owners in past centuries enjoyed the privilege of brewing beer. There used to be about 260 such houses in Pilsen. Visitors here can get acquainted with the original view of all the premises suitable for brewing, the exhibition is called "The History of Beer", and this history begins in ancient times and ends at the present time.
Visitors will learn that beer has been brewed as early as 4,000 BC in Mesopotamia and how it has been produced over the centuries. They will receive general information about beer, not only about the famous Pilsen beer, which, nevertheless, is devoted to a significant part of the exhibition. As the guides explain, beer was most likely invented by mistake - people used to store grain in vessels, which, most likely, accidentally got water. They forgot about the vessel, and when it was later found, they found in it a fermented product with a pleasant intoxicating taste. The drink gained great popularity in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Beer came to the Czech lands in the Middle Ages. The first mention of its production in the Czech Republic dates back to 993, and it is associated with the Břevnov Monastery in Prague. There it, in addition to wine, was made by the Benedictines. Later, beer began to be brewed by the townspeople, but today it is produced mainly only by large breweries. Czechs literally fell in love with beer, today one Czech drinks an average of 162 liters of amber drink per year, which is a world championship. Until the 19th century, due to the large number of small breweries and houses with the right to brew beer, the quality of Czech beer was very variable. Representatives of the cities, however, officially checked it, but taste was not always the main criterion.
The beer was poured onto a bench, and then the shinkar or brewery owner sat on it. He had to dress in a special brewing suit, part of which were leather pants. If the pants were glued to the bench, the beer was declared to be of good quality, and the brewer received permission to sell it in the city.
However, the brewers did not have the necessary education, each beer was brewed according to its own taste. But if the taste of the beer was very disgusting, the city fathers punished the brewer. They were punished in different ways. The culprit had to wear an insulting iron tie or have his head shaved. Shinkars, in whose taverns they poured low-quality beer, could even break all the dishes.
The turning point in the city of Pilsen was in 1838, when 36 barrels of local beer were poured in front of the town hall, which was declared unfit for consumption. This event, in all likelihood, was among the owners of small breweries who wanted to contribute to the improvement of the quality of Pilsen beer, the main impetus for the construction of a new modern brewery.
"From Bavaria, they invited brewer Josef Groll here, who began to brew beer with a new bottom-fermentation method at the new plant. On October 5, 1842, he brewed the first bottom-fermented light lager beer - "Pilsner Urquell". "Meshchansky brewery", later " Plzeński Prazdroj", made the city of Pilsen famous all over the world, and its light aged beer became the prototype for all other types of light beer, which are everywhere marked in honor of Pilsen with the names "Pils", "Pilsner" and "Pilsener".
In the building of the Plzeň Museum there is a malthouse with original equipment, a drying kiln for wet malt, in the basement there is a former glacier in which the ice needed to cool the beer was stored. Ice was cut down on rivers and ponds, and in the basement it had to be preserved until the next winter. Visitors will also get to know what Czech taverns looked like in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
In the so-called beer laboratory, one of the many exhibits placed in showcases attracts attention. This is a polarograph invented by the Czech scientist Jaroslav Geyrovsky, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for this device in 1959. This is an original from 1948. In "Pilsensky Prazdroj" the device was used to determine the content of tincture of sugar solutions. This technique was new in the brewing of that time.
The collection of the Brewery Museum also contains almost 30,000 beer labels from all over the world. Among the exhibits is a large wooden mug almost one meter high, made of roots and a stump. This is a gift from Siberian workers to the Pilsen brewery. And on the wall in the room next to it is a photograph of Yuri Gagarin with a package of beer bottles. The first astronaut visited the brewery in Pilsen in 1966.
There are also a number of records related to beer. For example, drinking beer underwater. Its owner is the Czech actor Jiří Bartoška, who drank half a liter of beer from a bottle while submerged under water in 12.66 seconds. Or, another record - Fero Vidlichka drank half a liter of beer while standing on his hands in 4.8 seconds.
The tour of the Brewery Museum ends in the small courtyard of the historic brewery. There is a baroque bell from the 18th century. When the next batch of beer was ready, each owner of the house with the right to brew beer invited his neighbors to try a new batch by ringing this bell.
Plzeński Prazdroj has won high awards more than once in the modern period. In 1970, an elegant figurine of the "Golden Mercury" was added to the collection of awards from several dozen medals, in 1975 a gold medal from an international exhibition in Brussels, in 1978 - "Golden Salima" from Brno. JSC "Pilsensky Prazdroj" unites five factories. Nine-kilometer cellars have recently been expanded by a few hundred meters. The processes of fermentation and settling now take place in huge cylindrical tanks. A small part of the beer, as in the old days, is prepared in wooden barrels and old cellars for tourists.
The expected increase in foreign demand for Pilsner Urquell forced the city's brewery Plzensky Prazdroj in Pilsen to install another ten cylindrical-conical beer fermentation tanks. Thanks to an investment of 120 million crowns, there are already 114 such tanks in the brewery. From October, the brewery will be able to produce 140,000 hectoliters of beer per week, or 6 million hectoliters per year. The export of products of Plzensky Prazdroj, which has its own factories in Pilsen, Nošovice and Velkie Popovice, is growing significantly. First of all, this concerns the Pilsner Urquell brand.
The total production of SABMiller's leading brands, which include Pilsner Urquell, Miller Genuine Draft and Peroni Nastro Azzurro, is more than 50 million liters per year. In addition to being the second largest beer producer in the world and the largest beer producer in China, SABMiller is looking to buy at least three more breweries in the country. In 2006, SABMiller bought Indian beer maker Fosters for about $115 million.
