The celebrations on the occasion of the 115th anniversary of Budweiser Budvar’s founding were attended by approximately 12,000 people

On Saturday 11th September, the premises of Budweiser Budvar N.C. were home to the celebrations marking the 115th anniversary of the brewery’s founding. The whole-day event “An Open Day in Budvar” saw approximately 12,000 people touring the brewery’s premises, therefore 2000 more than last year. During the Open Day, guests consumed a total of 216 kegs of beer (108 hectolitres). Traditionally, tours of the brewery’s production premises enjoyed great interest along with expert commentary. The visitors could learn about the breweries’ history as well as the brewing technologies of Budweiser Budvar beer. The production premises were viewed by 1,980 visitors during 40 tours and a further 1,032 people saw the multimedia exposition “The Story of the Beer from Budweis”.

The entertainment programme accompanying the Open Day in Budvar was completed by concerts on three stages with performers of all genres taking turns.  “Shortly after 10 a.m., brass music fans filled nearly 800 sitting places in the main Budvar stage area. The music genres changed gradually throughout the day, from brass music, through swing to rock,” says Budweiser Budvar’s PR manager Petr Samec. The whole-day programme climaxed with fireworks.

“The general public’s interest was a pleasant surprise to us, as the brewery’s premises were literally filled the whole day long and visitors had a very good time. Our thanks go out to all the people who came on Saturday as well as to all of our employees, who took part in the organization of the whole event,” adds Petr Samec.    

The term “Budějovické pivo” or “Budweiser Beer” became the synonym for a tradition and long-term top quality. For as many as 115 years, Budweiser Budvar Brewery has managed to carry on this tradition and spread the fame of its beer worldwide. As Budweiser Budvar’s’ direct predecessor, the Czech Joint-Stock Brewery brewed its first batch of a mere 200 hectolitres on 7th October 1895. These days, the annual production is reaching about 1.3 million hectolitres, with nearly half of that being exported to almost 60 countries worldwide. Despite a massive rise in the production volume, the traditional quality and typical flavour of Budweiser Budvar beer still remains.

Budweiser Budvar’s origination.
The town of České Budějovice was of mixed nationalities in the 19th century; nonetheless the economy was controlled by German-owned companies. Since the voting code at that time distinguished voters in accordance with their property and amount of tax paid, local Czechs had no representation at the Budějovice town hall, despite their numerical advantage. In order to break into the politics the Czechs had to strengthen their economic position, therefore some “Czech” companies originated in the last third of the 19th century, one of them being Budweiser Budvar’s’ direct predecessor, the Czech Joint-Stock Brewery. Its founding was mainly initiated by Czech brewers (e.g. August Zátka and many others). The day of the Czech Joint-Stock Brewery’s origination, thus the origination of Budweiser Budvar, is considered to be the 15th April 1895, when the Czech Joint-Stock Brewery’s shareholders general meeting took place, voting the first board of directors. The 7th October 1895 is seen as the next important date, as the first official batch of beer was brewed. By the end of 1896, the sale amounted to 51,100 hectolitres of beer.

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