Pilsner Urquell

Lore & Background

By 1839, most beer in Bohemia was dark and top fermented, though bottom-fermented lagers were gaining popularity. The people of Plzeň preferred imported cheaper bottom-fermented beers to local top fermented ales. The burghers of Plzeň invested in a new, state-of-the-art brewery, the Měšťanský pivovar (Burghers' Brewery), and hired Josef Groll, a Bavarian brewer, to brew a bottom-fermented beer. On 5 October 1842, Groll had a new mash ready, and on 11 November 1842, the new beer was first served at the feast of St. Martin markets.

The brewery registered the name Pilsner Bier B. B. in 1859. In 1898, it also registered the names Original Pilsner Bier 1842, Plzeňský pramen, Prapramen, Měšťanské Plzeňské, Plzeňský pravý zdroj, and finally Pilsner Urquell and Plzeňský Prazdroj, which are in use today. The German name means 'original source'. Pilsner Urquell is today brewed solely in the Plzeň brewery, though it was brewed between 2002 and 2011 in Tychy, Poland, and between 2004 and 2017 in Kaluga, Russia.

Reader's Guide

Pilsner Urquell is significant as the world's first pale lager, a style that became immensely successful: nine out of ten beers produced and consumed in the world are pale lagers based on Pilsner Urquell. Its golden colour and clarity set it apart from the dark, top-fermented beers that dominated Bohemia before 1842. The beer is characterized by its use of Saaz hops and soft water, and almost all draught Pilsner Urquell is sold filtered, though small quantities of unfiltered beer are available in limited amounts. In recent years, the unpasteurized 'tank' version has become increasingly available. The majority of the beer is sold in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, and South Korea, and it is also sold in China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Sweden, Hungary, Romania, Austria, and Croatia. The canned version is available in 330 ml, 355 ml, and 500 ml aluminium cans and green or brown bottles. The brewery was part of SABMiller from 1999 to 2017, then sold to Asahi Breweries in 2017 as part of regulatory agreements before Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired SABMiller.

Did You Know?

• Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, first served on 11 November 1842.
• The German name 'Urquell' means 'original source' and was adopted as a trademark in 1898.
• The brewery was sold to Asahi Breweries in 2017 as part of Anheuser-Busch InBev's acquisition of SABMiller.