Pilsner Prazdroj

Pilsner Prazdroj

The history of this beer began in 1842 in the Czech city of Pilsen, when the famous German brewer Josef Groll made beer using original technology, which included soft local water, special hops and a special brewing process. In 1936, Skoda began supplying aluminum barrels to the brewery for transporting beer. Until the mid-1950s, beer continued to be bottled in wooden barrels, but after this time aluminum replaced wood. Today, large wooden barrels are still used to produce small batches of Pilsner Urquell. Until 1987, in the basements of the brewery, ice was used to store beer (in addition to modern refrigeration units), which was prepared in winter.

On April 17, 1945, the brewery was severely bombed by Anglo-American aircraft. The brewery was almost completely destroyed. This corresponded to the Anglo-American policy, which was based on the strategy of inflicting maximum damage on the territory, which, according to the "allies" of the USSR in World War II, should have moved into the zone of Soviet influence.

However, the director of the brewery, Frantisek Hlavacek, believed in the future and did everything possible with the support of the new state to restore production. Already in 1946, the restored, and in fact newly built, brewery would produce 20 million liters of beer. Frantisek's son and then grandson worked at the brewery in the post-war years.

The company in socialist Czechoslovakia develops successfully, in 1965 a new brewery begins in Moravia, and the first beer appears in December 1970. Soon she is given the name Radegast, after the Slavic God of the sun, fire and hospitality. The company is also developing the necessary malt production.

In 1989, Radegast production was 100 million liters, and in 10 years it would exceed 200 million liters! In 1995, Prazdroj created its own controlled chain of restaurants, primarily in Moscow, Düsseldorf and Vienna. The first restaurant in Asia opens in 2011 in Vietnam.