Beer has been brewed in the city of Pilsen for centuries, dating back to 1295 when King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia founded the city and granted the initial 260 households the right to brew beer.
In 1842, the world’s first golden beer was brewed in Pilsen. Today, Pilsner Urquell is still brewed in the same brewery in Pilsen, using the same Czech ingredients and maintaining the traditional taste.
The Pilsen brewery was designed as a modern facility, incorporating new brewing practices. Techniques such as using soft water, drying malt in kilns away from smoke, and lagering became innovations that established themselves throughout Central Europe. The brewery even dug a network of ice tunnels beneath it for the lagering process, where beer “ages” during fermentation.
On November 11, 1842, the first golden, clear, and crisp light beer was launched, marking the beginning of a new era in the world of brewing.