Staropramen Brewery (Pivovary Staropramen s.r.o.) in the Smíchov district of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

is the second largest

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It was founded in 1869 and the brand name Staropramen, literally meaning “old spring”, was registered in 1911. It is owned by Molson Coors and its products are exported to 37 different countries, mostly in Europe and North America.

History

Staropramen Brewery's history begins in 1869 when shares for a "Joint Stock Brewery in Smíchov" were offered for sale. The brewery building was completed and beer first brewed in 1871. The

Ostravar Brewery Ostravar Brewery ( cs, Pivovar Ostravar) is a Czech brewery located in the city of Ostrava. Ostravar was founded in 1897 as a joint stock company in Moravská Ostrava, and the first beer here was brewed in 1898. In 1997 the brewery was acquired ...

opened in 1898 followed a year later by the

Braník Braník (sometimes inaccurately called Bráník) is a district in Prague located in the south of the city, on the east bank of the Vltava. It used to be known for its brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells bee ...

brewery; these two breweries would later merge with Staropramen. Due to competition from other Prague breweries, the brand name Staropramen, which translates as “old spring" (water source), was registered in 1911. After the First World War, all three breweries saw a period of sustained growth, and by the 1930s Staropramen was the largest brewery in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Under communist rule after the Second World War, all Czechoslovakian breweries were

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

, including Staropramen. After communism ended in 1989, the brewery, along with the Braník and Měšťan breweries, became in 1992 part of the Prague Breweries group (Pražské Pivovary), which by 1996 came under control of the Bass company. Bass brought Ostravar into the group in 1997, then in 2000 sold its brewing operations to

Interbrew Interbrew is subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is based in Breda, Netherlands. It has one subsidiary, Ambev S.A. of São Paulo, Brazil. Brands Interbrew brands have historically included Budweiser, Stella Artois, Boddingtons, Beck's, Star ...

, which merged with AmBev in 2004 to form Inbev. Staropramen has seen steady growth and is currently the Czech Republic's second largest beer producer with a 15.3% share of the domestic market. In mid October 2009, private equity fund

CVC Capital Partners CVC Capital Partners is a Luxembourg-based French private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately US$133 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, E ...

bought all of

Anheuser–Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters in ...

's holdings in Central Europe (including Staropramen) for €2.23 billion. They renamed the operations StarBev. In April 2012, Molson Coors bought StarBev.Molson Coors to buy Staropramen maker StarBev for $3.5bn
/ref>

Products

* Staropramen Smíchov – a pale draught beer with 4.0% ABV (in Czech: 10° or ''Výčepní''). * Staropramen Jedenáctka –

pale lager Pale lager is a very pale-to-golden-colored lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid-19th century, when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing ...

, contains 4.7% ABV (in Czech: 11° or ''Ležák''). * Staropramen Ležák (Premium) –

and flagship of the brand, contains 5.0% ABV (in Czech: 12° or ''Ležák''). * Staropramen Černý – a dark beer with 4.4% ABV (in Czech: ''Tmavé''). * Staropramen Nefiltr Pšeničný – an unfiltered

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

pale lager with 5.0% ABV (in Czech: ''Nefiltrované''). * Staropramen Nealko – a low-alcohol beer with max. 0.5% ABV (in Czech: ''Nealkoholické''). * Staropramen Extra Chmelená – an extra bitter pale lager, contains 5.2% ABV. * Staropramen Déčko – pale beer with reduced sugar content (dia), and 4.0% ABV. * Staropramen Granát – a semi-dark lager with 4,8% ABV. The company also produces beers under the Ostravar,

and

Velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

brands. Staropramen beers are also produced under licence in several other European countries, including Serbia (

Apatin Brewery Apatin Brewery ( sr-Latn, Apatinska pivara), a member of the Molson Coors Europe, is a Serbian brewery based in Apatin. It is majority owned by the American company Molson Coors. The brewery's products are exported worldwide. Outside of Serbia, th ...

), Croatia ( Zagreb Brewery), Romania ( Bergenbier), and Georgia (JSC Lomisi).

References

{{Reflist

External links

Czech site

International site
Breweries in the Czech Republic Food and drink companies based in Prague Companies established in 1869 InBev brands Manufacturing companies based in Prague Beer brands of the Czech Republic Molson Coors brands Molson Coors Beverage Company Companies of Czechoslovakia 1869 establishments in Austria-Hungary Food and drink companies established in 1869

History

Products

See also

References

External links