One thousand five hundred hectolitres of unfiltered Pilsner Urquell lager heading to beer lovers in 150 pubs

„The celebration of Pilsner Urquell lager’s birthday with its unfiltered variety is welcomed by fans of Pilsen beers, and it is gaining more and more favour. Unfiltered beer is brewed the same way as the other ordinary marketed beer, only without the last stage of the brewing process that includes filtration and pasteurisation. Therefore, there is a small amount of brewer’s yeast left in it, so the beer has a  somewhat more robust taste and must be consumed within a very short time after being drawn,“ explained Václav Berka, senior brewmaster of Plzeňský Prazdroj brewery.

Thanks to the presence of fresh yeast, unfiltered beer requires much more sophisticated care and storage. That puts higher demands on drawing it to kegs and also on pub and restaurant operators whose facilities must comply with the highest standards of beer storage, beer drawing and beer pipe maintenance.

The celebration of the 169th anniversary of Pilsner Urquell beer will symbolically commence in the legendary pub U  Pinkasů, where they have had Pilsner Urquell lager on tap since 1843. Then, a carter, Martin Salzmann, delivered the first two kegs of bottom–fermented Pilsen beer, and the fame of Pilsen beer followed shortly after. This year, for the second time, U Pinkasů will celebrate the birthday of the lager with the so–called Pinkas’ Nightmare: on October 11, Prague’s waiters will compete in a race for the best time from the cellar to the third floor with 10 filled half–litre beer glasses. The run is to salute the many waiters who have served Pilsner Urquell lager to their guests this way in the past.

A list of restaurants where the unfiltered lager will be served from October 5 to October 20 can be found on the website http://www.pilsner-urquell.cz/cz/nefiltrovany.
 
The anniversary of the first batch of Pilsner Urquell beer relates to the year of 1842, when on October 5, in Burghers’ Brewery, brewmaster Josef Groll combined the usual way of bottom fermentation with purely Czech ingredients: their own malt made from Czech varieties of barley, Žatec hops and local soft water. The result was a beverage of exceptional taste, purity and golden hue, which were not known in beers of that time. Today, Pilsner Urquell is brewed according to the original formula, and the same brewing process of three mashes with direct heating of the mash pan is used. Pilsen lager gave its origin to the whole category of „pils“ beers, which makes up 70 percent of all beer consumed around the world.

For more information contact:
Vladimír Jurina, Plzeňský Prazdroj, Phone: +420 724 617 886

Notes to editors:

• With total sales of 9.9 million of hectolitres during the calendar year of 2010 (including licensed production abroad) and export to more than 50 countries worldwide, Plzeňský Prazdroj Inc. is the prominent beer producer in the region and the biggest exporter of Czech beer.
• Plzeňský Prazdroj Inc. is a  member of SABMiller plc group. Pilsner Urquell is the international flagship brand of the SABMiller brand portfolio.
• SABMiller plc is one of the world’s biggest beer brewing companies, with brewing activities or distribution in more than 60 countries across six continents. SABMiller’s brand group include such important brands as Pilsner Urquell, Miller Genuine Draft, Grolsch, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and many other successful regional brands.

Praha