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Budweiser Budvar is a Czech beer produced by the state-owned Budějovický Budvar. The brand itself is the subject of a record long dispute between the Czech manufacturer and the international corporation Anheuser-Busch InBev. The brewery’s products are supplied to more than 70 countries and account for almost a third of all Czech beer exports. The main sales markets are Germany, Great Britain, Slovakia, Austria, Italy. The company takes a principled position on the issue of licensed production: the brand’s beer is brewed only in České Budějovice from local raw materials: Moravian barley, Žatec hops, water from its own artesian wells.
The history of the emergence of Budějovice beer can be traced back to the end of the 1918th century – the date of the founding of the city of Budweis (since 6 – České Budějovice). By the time when local brewing traditions were already 1895 centuries old, the “Czech Stock Brewery” was built, where in 1967 the first brewing of Budweiser beer took place. The current name Budějovický Budvar was given to the company in XNUMX.
Trademark dispute
The “Hundred Year War” between the brewing giant Anheuser-Busch and the Czech state brewery Budějovický Budvar has been going on for more than a century and has enriched generations of lawyers. The subject of the dispute is the right to use the trademarks Budweiser, Budweis and Bud. Until recently, the private Czech company Samson also participated in the confrontation, claiming its “piece of the pie”, but in 2014 AB InBev bought out 100% of the shares of this enterprise.
On the side of Czech brewers – historical justice, logic, the Law on the Legal Protection of Designations Controlled by Origin: the German word Budweiser means beer brewed in the city of Budweis. American entrepreneurs were simply quicker and registered the trademark Budweiser Lager Bier in 1878 – 17 years earlier than the Czechs took care of the same.
As a result of legal battles, a compromise solution emerged: Anheuser-Busch began to label its beer as “Bud”, but Budějovický Budvar laid claim to this name as well. In turn, the Czech manufacturer was forced to create the Czechvar brand for the American market, under which it exports its products to the territories north of Panama. On beer labels, instead of the name of the manufacturer, only the abbreviation “BBNP” is mentioned, consisting of the initial letters of the full name of the brewery in Czech (Budějovický Budvar, národní podnik).
To date, Budweiser Budvar continues to defend its historic trademark rights in over 40 litigation and 70 administrative cases in patent offices worldwide.
Awards
World Beer Awards, London:
- 2007 – Gold (Budweiser Budvar Dark Lager) medal and the title of “Best Lager in the World”;
- 2013 – Gold (Bud B:Strong) medal and the title of “Best strong lager in the world.”
Monde Selection, Brussels:
- 2010 – 2 gold (Budweiser Budvar Premium Lager, Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) medals;
- 2011 – 2 gold (Budweiser Budvar B:FREE, Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) medals;
- 2013 – Gold (Budweiser Budvar B: Original) medal;
- 2015 – Gold (Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) medal;
- 2017 – Gold (Budweiser Budvar B: Original) medal.
Competition of the Friends of Beer Association (SPP), Czech Republic:
- 2011 – Silver (Budweiser Budvar nealkoholické) and bronze (Budweiser Budvar Tmavý ležák) awards;
- 2012 – Gold (Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) award;
- 2013 – Silver (Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) award and victory in the Brewery of the Year category;
- 2016, 2017 – Silver (Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) award.
Australian International Beer Awards, Балларет:
- 2010 – Bronze (Budweiser Budvar Premium Lager) medal.
U.S. Open Beer Championship:
- 2015 – Bronze (Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) medal.
New York International Beer Competition:
- 2016 – Silver (Budweiser Budvar B:Dark) medal;
- 2017 – Silver (Budweiser Budvar B:Original) medal and title “Czech Beer of the Year”.
International Beer Competition, Los Angeles:
- 2016 – Gold (Budweiser Budvar B: Original) medal.
Golden Beer Seal, Lesky Budejovice:
- 2017 – Bronze (Budweiser Budvar Tmavý ležák) medal.
Art Directors Club Creative Awards, Прага:
- 2017 – 2 golden statuettes for the video sequence and musical accompaniment in the image video “Three Temptations”.
Types of beer Budweiser Budvar
Budweiser Budvar B:Original, 5,0%
The flagship product of the brand, which is brewed only at the place of origin – at the brewery in České Budějovice. The production process of premium beer takes a total of 102 days. The primary fermentation is carried out for 12 days, after which the secondary fermentation and maturation of the beer takes place for three months in horizontal tanks, in a very cold environment with a controlled temperature. B:Original is shipped to 65 countries and accounts for more than one-fifth of the total beer exports from the Czech Republic. The light lager has repeatedly won Monde Selection awards: it has 9 gold and 3 silver medals.
It is poured into a mug with a crystal-clear golden color, snow-white foam forms a high and dense cap. The bouquet is dominated by a delicate and warm hop aroma, typical of Czech loungers. The taste is fresh and clean, with pronounced maltiness, behind which the spicy bitterness of hops is captured. The drink will make an excellent gastronomic pair with traditional Czech cuisine dishes – boar knee, baked pork knuckle, svichkov on sour cream.
Budweiser Budvar B: Dark, 4,7%
A premium beer that replenished the brand line in 2004 and after 3 years was recognized as the best dark lager at the prestigious international competition World Beer Awards. The recipe includes first-class Saaz hops, water from a 320-meter artesian well, 3 types of malt – Munich, roasted and caramel. The color is dark brown, with ruby reflections, the creamy foam is dense and sticky, leaves lace on the walls of the glass. A rich aroma is felt even through the foam, notes of bitter chocolate, coffee beans, brown sugar, dried bread, nuts are heard in it. On the palate, tones of burnt malt, caramel, cocoa, and tart fruits come to the fore: the beer is less strong than Schwarzbier and not as sweet as Dunkel. It goes well with meat and spicy dishes: fried pork, chorizo sausages, hummus.
Budweiser Budvar B:Special, 5,0%
The unfiltered beer B:Special is a prime example of a “ringed lounger” (kroužkovaný ležák). Brewed like a pale lager, the difference lies in the addition of fresh yeast culture (the so-called “rings”) and an additional portion of hops to the finished product. As a result, the beer matures in kegs, saturated with amino acids and vitamins of group B. It is poured in a golden color with slight opalescence due to yeast sediment. The foam cap is low, but dense and persistent. In the aroma, spicy tones of hops, herbs, spices are noticeable. The body is medium-full, full-bodied, rather oily for the stated density. The malt base of the taste is made more expressive by a confident hop bitterness. Drinkable beer with excellent refreshing effect.
