This is an interesting piece of breweriana I stumbled upon. It’s from around 1900 and apparently is “an instruction manual how to efficiently drink Pilsner Urquell.” Although Google Translates it as “A glass of Pilsner Urquell in one fell swoop,” so I’m not entirely certain. It looks like a postcard to me.
Today in 1918, the Czech Republic, then Czechoslovakia, gained their Independence from Austria-Hungary.
Czech Republic
Czech Republic Breweries
Czech Republic Brewery Guides
Other Guides
Guild: Research Institute Of Brewing; Czech Beer & Malt Association
National Regulatory Agency: Ministry of Agriculture,
Food Production Department
Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: EU Regulations
Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.00%
Alcohol Consumption By Type:
Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):
WHO Alcohol Data:
Patterns of Drinking Score: 3
Prohibition: On September 14, 2012, the government of the Czech Republic banned all sales of liquor with more than 20% alcohol. From this date on it is illegal to sell (and/or offer for sale) such alcoholic beverages in shops, supermarkets, bars, restaurants, gas stations, e-shops etc. This measure was taken in response to the wave of methanol poisoning cases resulting in the deaths of 18 people in the Czech Republic. Since the beginning of the “methanol affair” the total number of deaths has increased to 25. The ban remains until further notice, though restrictions were eased towards the end of September.
Tuesday’s ad is also for Pilsner Urquell, which was run in France, based on the language. The ad copy, “La seule véritable bière importée de pilsen” translates as “The only true pilsner beer imported from” Pilsen. I love the excited look on the two gentlemen as they examine the bottle.
Monday’s ad is for Pilsner Urquell, from what looks like the 1940s or 50s. I certainly don’t recall Pilsner Urquell using that “P” logo with the barrel and gate symbol. But I love the classy pin-up art.
Friday’s ad is for the Czech Budweiser, Budejovice, cheekily advertsing themselves as the “Imported Original Budweiser Beer.” I don’t know exactly when this ad is from, but it’s a safe bet it’s before A-B’s legal muscle was finely honed as it later became. But I do so love these old illustrations of industrial grandness.
Monday’s ad is for Pilsner Urquell. While I don’t know the true age of the ad, it definitely has a turn of the century look to it. Many beer ads from the late 1800s depict beautiful women of the day with beers in their hands, though I love the added touch of the hops around the barrel of beer.
Friday’s holiday ads are for Pilsner Urquell, in honor of it being National Lager Day. And one of the best is without a doubt is the original pilsner, Pilsner Urquell. I don’t believe the ads are more than a few years old, but I love the faux stained glass look of them. Who wouldn’t love those in their beer room, with the light streaming through into your own private church of beer?
The first two words mean “Inspiring taste” in Czech, but I don’t know what the third word means. Anybody know?
I think the iconic bottle ad is my favorite, but they’re all pretty cool.
Tuesday’s ad is for Pilsner Urquel, because today is “Pilsner Day.” That’s because it was today in 1842 that the Citizen Brewery in Plzen, Bohemia — in what today is the Czech Republic — first brewed Pilsner Urquell, the world’s first pilsner. The ad is fairly recent, but plays on the beer’s heritage as a noble beer, Pilsner I, or Pilsner the First. And it’s just beautiful.
Monday’s ad is another modern series by Budějovický Budvar — one of two original Budweisers — known in the U.S. as Czechvar. The ad campaign features four simple ads, one for each of the primary ingredients of beer: barley, hops, water and yeast. I don’t know what any of the text says, but I love the simplicity of them.
Thursday’s ads are for Budějovický Budvar — one of two original Budweisers — known in the U.S. as Czechvar for reasons I’m sure you understand. The town of České Budějovice or Budweis inspired Anheuser-Busch to name their beer Budweiser, which essentially means beer from Budweis. It was today in 1895 that Budějovický Budvar was founded, which is why I decided to highlight one of their ad campaigns today.
In 2004, Budvar launched an ad campaign called the Ten Commandments, in which ten ads detailed what they considered good brewing practices, in part to distance themselves from larger European lager breweries that had made ingredient and process decisions that saved money but deviated from traditional brewing. The ads are meant to look intentionally old from the look of the paper, the text and the artwork. Each illustration shows the brewing practice and a possible punishment for breaking it. While I couldn’t find a full translation of them, I guessed as best I could.
Below is Commandment #2: Use Only Whole Hops.
You can see the rest of the Commandments below is a slideshow of Budvar’s Ten Beer Commandments. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.
