A history question... YAY!

yerayeah

This is just something that's been bugging me and I reckon you're the people to ask. I'm interrailing around Europe at the moment and when I was in Prague guide books and indeed tour guides said that the Czechs invented lager in 18 something in Plzen, which today goes by the name Pilsner Urquell (and, I might add, I found to be bloody lovely:)). Anyway the thing I don't get is that nearly every beer I've drank since is dated before the 18th century and I'm talking about beers I would consider to be lager...


So, am I missing something here?!

BeerNut

The breweries do pre-date lager, but the beers they made when they started wouldn't have any way resembled the yellow fizz they mostly produce today.

The marketing people behind big breweries like people to believe that what they do now is how they've always done it, and love using nonsense terms like "authentic" and "traditional". You won't find much reference in the Guinness 250 hoo-hah about what the brewery was actually making in 1759, and for many years after, before it began brewing stout. In the Czech Republic, SABMiller's Pilsner Urquell has advertising stating that Urquell is matured for five weeks and always has been, and this is despite a TV show being filmed in the brewery as recently as 1989 -- when it was still Czech-owned -- showing how the beer got a full three months of maturation then. Today, Budvar is the only one of the mainstream Czech lagers to be matured for three months.

Red Sleeping Beauty

BeerNut wrote: »

The breweries do pre-date lager, but the beers they made when they started wouldn't have any way resembled the yellow fizz they mostly produce today.

The marketing people behind big breweries like people to believe that what they do now is how they've always done it, and love using nonsense terms like "authentic" and "tradiional". You won't find much reference in the Guinness 250 hoo-hah about what the brewery was actually making in 1759, and for many years after, before it began brewing stout. In the Czech Republic, SABMiller's Pilsner Urquell has advertising stating that Urquell is matured for five weeks and always has been, and this is despite a TV show being filmed in the brewery as recently as 1989 -- when it was still Czech-owned -- showing how the beer got a full three months of maturation then. Today, Budvar is the only one of the mainstream Czech lagers to be matured for three months.

"tradiional" is indeed a nonsense term
Do you work for diageo ?:D


I can see it now... Guinness "tradiional" brew, now with extra bollocks!

BeerNut

Thank you, Mr Rouge. Post is fixed.

pa990

BeerNut wrote: »

... a full three months of maturation .....

i had to read that twice.. my brain added an 's' and a 'b' ,

BeerNut

They used to allow time for the yeast to really masticate the sugars. These days it's all over in one quick spurt.

Arcto

These days it's all over in one quick spurt.

Must.....resist......urge....to......comment........yargh......

oblivious

Alan Rouge wrote: »

now with extra bollocks!

In the pc world we now all inhabit can you refer to this as marketing :P

Red Sleeping Beauty

BeerNut wrote: »

Thank you, Mr Rouge. Post is fixed.

I was only messin'

oblivious wrote: »

In the pc world we now all inhabit can you refer to this as marketing :P

Sure anything will do. Mythical gaelic hurling giants who also like a tipple ? Jazz dancing crazy man ? The list goes on :pac:

gucci

In PU brewery they still age some of the lager in their underground tunnels (which are something crazy like 50 miles long) and you can taste it on the tour. Its nice and cold from being underground and tastes good.

I think they were also the first pilsner to serve their product in clear glass as opposed to ceramic jugs or whatever, because of the golden colour, that could be marketing spin that i was gulping down as quickly as the free beer they were handing out on the tour.

yerayeah

BeerNut wrote: »

The breweries do pre-date lager, but the beers they made when they started wouldn't have any way resembled the yellow fizz they mostly produce today.

The marketing people behind big breweries like people to believe that what they do now is how they've always done it, and love using nonsense terms like "authentic" and "traditional". You won't find much reference in the Guinness 250 hoo-hah about what the brewery was actually making in 1759, and for many years after, before it began brewing stout. In the Czech Republic, SABMiller's Pilsner Urquell has advertising stating that Urquell is matured for five weeks and always has been, and this is despite a TV show being filmed in the brewery as recently as 1989 -- when it was still Czech-owned -- showing how the beer got a full three months of maturation then. Today, Budvar is the only one of the mainstream Czech lagers to be matured for three months.

Thanks for that, been busy with getting home and college the last few days only saw your reply now. I got a pint of Budvar when I was there and then later saw it advertised as Budweiser Budvar I was thinking bud is a lot nicer over here!! I read bout the story behind the name then though in my Lonely Planet and things made a lot more sense:)