The quality of beer from Budweiser Budvar Brewery is ensured in summer as well

The summer hot weather resulted in a substantial increase in sales of Budweiser Budvar beer. The brewery has been operating fully for as many as 10 weeks. Its filling rooms in particular have had to have extra night shifts introduced. Monthly beer sales in summer reach as many as 140,000 hectolitres, which is nearly double the January and February sales. The increased sales of beer however have no effect on the beer’s quality, as the brewery had gotten ready in time for the summer season. From March, both brewing rooms operated non-stop and during April and May, all lager tanks with the capacity of 263,000 hectolitres were filled with wort. If we add up the beer fermenting in the fermentation room and the beer prepared in kegs and bottles to be despatched, such an amount would inundate the famous hectare-large square in České Budějovice to the height of 3 metres and each citizen in the South Bohemian capital would get six 50-litre KEG barrels. If all this beer got drawn into 0.5 litre barrels, 2,484 trucks would be needed to transport it.

“As Budweiser Budvar Premium Lager matures for 90 days, our brewing room was the busiest from March to May,” says Budweiser Budvar’s brewmaster Adam Brož. The lager which will be seen on Christmas tables is being brewed these days. “The long maturing period is very important for the final flavour experience. During the final fermentation, the unwanted volatile substances are changed along with other compounds negatively affecting the flavour profile. The beer flavour thus gains harmony, equilibrium and mildness during the maturing period,” adds Adam Brož.

Keeping the quality of brewing in Budweiser Budvar Brewery is a complex and continuous process. The beer remains under constant laboratory supervision for several months. “Before the beer leaves our brewery, we take a total of 20 samples from each part and do 10 tastings during the brewing process. Our laboratory measures overall 35 parameters,” says Budweiser Budvar’s research manager Jan Šavel, CSc. The base of a good beer remains nonetheless good quality ingredients – Moravian barley, whole heads of Žatec (Saaz) hops and water from artesian wells. The beer from Budweiser Budvar contains no hop extracts or additives, such as tetrahop.