Českobudějovické pivo

Appearance & taste

The pale beer is light golden and has an aroma that comes from the pale malt and the Saaz hops, a fine to moderate bitterness, a malty aftertaste and a liveliness from carbon dioxide produced by natural fermentation. The dark beer is deep dark with a dominant roasted aroma and a medium to higher, slightly rough bitterness; its full taste without a sweetish aftertaste comes from the residual extract that is not fully fermented. Both have a smooth, creamy head.

The specification distinguishes six varieties: pale lager and pale yeast lager (4.6–5.3 % vol. each), pale draught beer (3.5–4.5 % vol.), special beer (7.4–8.2 % vol.), alcohol-free beer (0.2–0.5 % vol.) and dark lager (4.0–5.3 % vol.) with a roasted aroma and dry aftertaste. All have a pronounced scent of Saaz hops in common.

Production

The brewing water comes exclusively from artesian wells more than 300 m deep that draw from an underground lake beneath the Budweis basin. According to the specification it is about 7,000 to 8,000 years old, very soft (at most 1 mmol/l), has less than 3 mg/l nitrate and a pH of 6 to 7, and is used without treatment. The pale malt comes from two-row spring barley grown in Moravia; for dark beer, caramel, Bavarian and colouring malt are added. The semi-early Saaz red hop from the area around Žatec is used only as pressed cones, not as pellets or extract. The bottom-fermenting yeast strain is deposited in a Prague collection of the Research Institute of Brewing and Malting.

All production steps take place in the area. The wort is made by the decoction method with two mashes, open lautering and boiling at atmospheric pressure. Fermentation takes place in upright cylindro-conical tanks at 6 to 11 °C, and maturation separately in horizontal tanks in a long, cold secondary fermentation at no more than 3 °C. The beer is then filtered and bottled.

Origin & history

The area is defined by the underground lake of the Budweis basin from which the water can be drawn. The hops grow in cadastral areas around Žatec, the malting barley in Moravia.

According to the specification, beer has been brewed in České Budějovice since the town was founded in 1265, and it has always been named after its place of origin. At first brewing was a privilege of individuals; later manufactories emerged, from which the Budweis brewing industry developed. In 1967 the name was entered in the WIPO register of appellations of origin on the basis of the national registration as “Českobudějovické pivo/Budweiser Bier/Bière de České Budějovice/Budweis Beer” and at the same time protected in an agreement with Portugal. According to the specification, the beer is sold in more than 50 countries.