Pilsner Urquell Brewery

Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s. (pronounced [ˈpl̩zɛɲskiː ˈprazdroj a ˈɛs]; Pilsner Urquell Brewery) is a Czech brewery which opened in 1842 in Plzeň, Bohemia. It was the first brewery to produce a pale lager, branded as Pilsner Urquell, which became so popular and was so much copied that more than two-thirds of the beer produced in the world today is pale lager, sometimes named pils, pilsner and pilsener after Pilsner Urquell. The brewery name, Pilsner Urquell, which can be roughly translated into English as "the original source at Pilsen", was adopted as a trademark in 1898. Pilsner Urquell is the largest producer and exporter of beer in the Czech Republic.
The brewery was part of the SABMiller group of companies from 1999 to 2017. As part of agreements with regulators before Anheuser-Busch InBev was allowed to acquire SABMiller in 2016, Pilsner Urquell was sold to Japan-based Asahi Breweries in 2017.
The brewery was founded in 1839 by both local Czech-speaking and German-speaking citizens in Bohemian city of Plzeň as Bürgerbrauerei (citizens' brewery, later translated to Měšťanský pivovar in Czech). The first beer was brewed here in 1842 by Bavarian brewer Josef Groll. In 1859, “Pilsner Bier” was registered as a brand name at the local Chamber of Commerce and Trade. In 1869, a competitor was founded as a joint stock company, later known as Gambrinus. In 1898 the German trademark Urquell and Czech trademark Prazdroj were created, to underline the claim of being the older, original source of Pilsner beer. In 1932 Měšťanský pivovar merged with Plzeňské akciové pivovary. In 1946, the brewery was nationalized under the name Plzeňské pivovary (Plzeň breweries).
After the fall of communism in late 1989, the brewery was turned into a public share company, then renamed in 1994 after the Czech name of their famous beer, Plzeňský Prazdroj. In 1999, they started to merge with Pivovar Radegast a.s. and Pivovar Velké Popovice a. s..
The brewery has been the largest exporter of beer produced in the Czech Republic since 2000 when production surpassed that of Budějovický Budvar. Pilsner was chosen to take part in the Expo 2025 that will be in Osaka, Japan. The company will showcase its brewing heritage and authentic taste of Czech brewing tradition.
Pilsner Urquell has been brewed in the same brewery using the same recipe and traditional methods, like triple decoction and parallel brewing in wooden lagering barrels for over 175 years.
A brewery museum ("Pivovarské muzeum") has been set up near the brewery in the authentic medieval brewing house with malt house, which has been declared a cultural monument. It includes the late Gothic malt house, kiln, original drying shed and two-level laying-down cellars with ice-cellar, which are hewn from the Plzeň substrata. The exhibition covers Plzeň's most ancient history, the development of crafts, the emergence and growth of the guilds, the beginnings and development of brewing, malting, the craft of cooper, haulage and catering.
The tour includes a replica of a pub from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and a laboratory from the second half of the 19th century. The city walls have been opened with an example of the cultivation of barley and hops.
The museum has become an anchor for the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
Pilsner Fest is a two-day beer festival held each year by the brewery, with music by local bands on four stages in the town.