{"id":834,"date":"2019-09-20T11:06:12","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T11:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/budweiserbudvar.com\/uk\/?post_type=story&p=834"},"modified":"2020-03-09T15:00:35","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T15:00:35","slug":"time","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/budweiserbudvar.com\/uk\/blog\/story\/time\/","title":{"rendered":"TIME"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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EXPLORING THE FIFTH ELEMENT OF BREWING GREAT LAGER.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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T<\/span>here\u2019s an old saying you sometimes hear in the Czech Republic: in South Bohemia, time moves a little slower.<\/em> \u00a0<\/strong>And while no one\u2019s suggesting the region\u2019s residents have discovered the secret of dark matter, or found the keys to a time machine, here\u2019s the strange thing: spend even a little time here, and you\u2019ll begin to understand exactly what they mean.<\/p>\n

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Just look around. From the dark, fairy-tale depths of the \u0160umava national forest, the gentle curves of the ancient Vltava river, or the Baroque beauty of Cesky Krumlov\u2019s painted spires and hilltop castle \u2013 South Bohemia is the place Czech people come to break out of routines, to slow down and relax. Case in point is the annual tradition of rafting or \u2018river roving\u2019 down the mother river, the Vltava. In summer, families flock to the wild and beautiful stretch of river upstream of \u010cesk\u00fd Krumlov, rent canoes, stack them with food and beer and spend a week travelling at the river\u2019s speed downstream, making camp in lively bankside spots where campfire circles share songs until the early hours. If you think that sounds impossibly idyllic, like something that doesn\u2019t really happen anymore in the instant gratification Instagram-era, then usually you\u2019d be right, but it does happen here, and it\u2019s a glorious spectacle of slow living.<\/p>\n

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O<\/span>f course, there is another reason people come to South Bohemia. The beer. And time is just as important in that story too. Brewing is woven into the history of this corner of the Czech Republic like almost nowhere else on earth. In fact, records of brewing in the town of \u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice or \u2018Budweis\u2019, date back over 800 years to a time when king P\u0159emysl Otakar II \u2013 that king of beers himself \u2013 gifted its citizens the right to brew with royal decree. The reason? The unique access to pristine water, skilled brewmasters and the perfect location for bringing together the finest hops and malt from fields and farms to the north and east of the country. It\u2019s a time-honoured privilege that Budweiser Budvar continues to fulfil to this day.<\/p>\n

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The depth and weight of carrying three-quarters of a millennium of brewing tradition and craft falls to Budweiser Budvar\u2019s brewmaster, Adam Bro\u017e. And it\u2019s one he takes seriously. Although when we meet in the morning, before the day\u2019s production really ramps up, he seems relaxed about the prospect. A confidence born of experience. \u201cThis is a great daily ritual for me.\u201d He says, smiling, and holding a glass of hazy pale lager up to the light to check it. \u201cAnd while it might be a bit unusual for some people, I\u2019m certainly not going to complain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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T<\/span>his is beer testing time. Around 10 o\u2019clock on most mornings, the latest batch of beer that has finished cold-conditioning in Budvar\u2019s cellars is brought to Adam to be personally tested. At a time when so much of what we eat and drink is created at the touch of button, there is something refreshingly analogue to this process. Despite selling this iconic Czech lager in 80 countries around the world, it\u2019s good to see that no batch of Budweiser Budvar leaves the brewery before this make-or-break human moment in Adam\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

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Happily, this batch passes the test, which means it\u2019s ready to be packaged and shipped out to taps both locally and around the world. But it would be rude not to finish the glasses Adam has poured out for us first, or the plates of late breakfast \u2013 blueberry kol\u00e1\u010de, a delicious round speciality pastry from these parts, every bit as traditional as the beer. Looking down at us is a portrait of Anton\u00edn Hole\u010dek, the very first brewmaster at Budweiser Budvar, appointed a few months before the brewery was founded, in October 1894.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI feel responsible to the brewery and the team, but also to everyone in our country, because this is our national brewery.\u201d
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Adam Bro\u017e, Brewmaster, Budweiser Budvar.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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B<\/span>ack then, at the turn of the century, Hole\u010dek\u2019s first batch of beer was around 200 hectolitres, or 20,000 litres. Now, 120-years later, the brewery is being expanded again to meet global demand; 2020 will see Adam responsible for up to 2 million hectolitres of beer per year. That\u2019s 200 million litres, all brewed right here in \u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice with the same dedication to process, ingredients and maturation as in Hole\u010dek\u2019s day. It\u2019s a staggering thought, and I wonder how it feels to be at the helm during such a transition. \u201cIt\u2019s a great responsibility of course, but it\u2019s also a great honour.\u201d Says Adam, with a wry glance at the portrait on the wall. \u201cI feel responsible to the brewery and the team, but also to everyone in our country, because this is our national brewery.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Time clearly moves slowly for brewmasters in South Bohemia too. Adam explains that he is only the tenth brewmaster to hold the position since Budweiser Budvar began in 1895. It\u2019s the kind of job that people tend to hold on to. \u201cYes. You retire or die in this job.\u201d He says, smiling. \u201cI\u2019m the tenth of ten brewmasters, and this is also my tenth year, so it is an extra special one for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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B<\/span>ut to really understand the importance of time when it comes to creating great lager, we need to take a walk across the brewery and down a set of stairs into Budvar\u2019s hallowed cellars. \u201cYou\u2019ll need one of these.\u201d Adam says, handing me a fetching hi-vis yellow jacket. \u201cAnd one of these. Much more important…\u201d He presents a small tankard with Budweiser Budvar etched onto the side. He grabs one for himself and a small, strange-looking coil of copper pipe, and we\u2019re opening the big metal doors that lead into the cellars. Its only 2\u00b0 down here and the wave of cold air hits us immediately from the labyrinth of vast, vaulted rooms, each housing row after row of stacked horizontal tanks, all painted in Budvar\u2019s signature cream livery.<\/p>\n

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As we pass by, I notice on the side of each, is a mysterious chalk board listing the \u2018degree\u2019 of the liquid contained within on the Plato scale \u2013 the ancient Bohemian measurement for the ratio of water to fermentable sugar in the beer. We stop by one simply marked 11\u00b0. \u201cThis is our original lager,\u201d says Adam. \u201cAnd, lucky for us, this one is at the final stages of the process.\u201d He pulls that copper coil out of his pocket and uses it to convert an outlet on the side of the tank into a little tap, quickly filling our glasses. Then he holds them up to the light to check. Old habits die hard.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s now, down here in the cellars, surrounded by this colossal volume of beer quietly, slowly maturing, that I\u2019m reminded of something. Surprisingly few people, even among beer devotees, really know what lager is. While it\u2019s the most popular type of beer in the world, for many drinkers it\u2019s just a go-to fizzy, golden liquid. Mentioning no names, let\u2019s just say that taste isn\u2019t always a priority. Yet real lager completely defies this categorisation. It is one of the finest and most painstakingly crafted beer styles in the world, with a wealth of incredibly complex flavours.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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