Pilsner Lager – brewery tour

Dissatisfaction with the quality of beer at the time led to the founding of the Municipal Brewery and the brewing of the first batch of bottom-fermented beer with an unmistakable taste and golden color. This breakthrough in 1842 gave rise to the legendary Pilsner Urquell, whose name became synonymous with quality and originality. With this technological improvement, the brewery achieved a completely new quality of „Pilsner“-type beer. In 1867, the brewery was significantly expanded for the first time. Gradual development and modernization continue to this day.

The Water Tower is a well-known architectural feature and one of the dominant features of the former Burgher Brewery in Pilsen. The tower was built at the highest point of the brewery complex to allow the operations to be supplied with water by gravity. In 2008, the Water Tower, together with the Jubilee Gate of the Pilsen Brewery, was entered into the list of immovable cultural monuments.

Right behind the Jubilee Gate, there is a memorial plaque on the wall commemorating Jan Sladký Kozin (1652–1695), a fighter for the freedom and rights of the Chody people, who rested for the last time before his execution on this spot on November 28, 1695. Interes­tingly, the former Pilsen execution ground was located on the site where the brewery's water tower stands today.

The entrance to the brewery complex is inextricably linked to the listed Neo-Renaissance Jubilee Gate, which has become the symbol of the brewery. Since 1926, the gate has been part of the Pilsner Urquell beer trademark, which is still used today, so it is known to Pilsner beer lovers all over the world.

The freely accessible brewery courtyard is a popular meeting place.

The starting point for beer tours and experiences is the modern visitor center, where you can view historical artifacts, period photographs, and engaging videos.

The Prazdroj brewery tour has been rated as the best brewery tour in Europe for 2024. During the almost two-hour tour of the brewery, visitors will learn about the history of this beer, how beer is brewed and what it tastes like when it is still maturing. You will visit the brewery's pro­duction facilities, learn how to properly care for beer and, of course, taste unfiltered beer.

During the tour, it is possible to visit a modern hall where more than 10 types of beer are bottled and canned on two lines.

From the visitor balcony, it is possible to look into the modern bottling plant with a capacity of up to 120,000 bottles per hour. Two lines are installed here, each approximately 100 meters long.

Right next door is a bottling plant for the increasingly popular cans. One line has a capacity of 60,000 cans per hour, the other 40,000 cans per hour.

The brewhouse complex is located where the first building of the Municipal Brewery in Pilsen stood in 1842. The brewhouse has been rebuilt several times. The current appearance of the historical brewhouse dates back to 1930.

The newest high-capacity brewhouse was completed in 2004.

One of the highlights of the tour is the descent into the vast historic cellars that stretch for miles beneath the brewery. In these cool, damp spaces, the beer has matured for centuries, acquiring its unique flavor.

When brewing beer, it is essential to ensure proper cooling of the beer. In the past, this was ensured by cellar refrigerators, large underground spaces carved into sandstone in which ice was stored year-round.

At the end of the tour, it is possible to taste unfiltered and unpasteurized beer tapped directly from an oak lager barrel.