How long, exactly, have the Czechs been drinking beer?
The Czechs have been drinking beer since time immemorial. The secret of Czech beer is that agricultural conditions are ideal for growing hops, and chronicles establish their cultivation in Bohemia as early as 859 AD., while the first evidence of their export dates back to 903. Bohemian hops were so prized that King Wenceslas ordered the death penalty for anyone caught exporting the cuttings, from which new plants could be grown. The first mention of brewing in
the Czech territories is in the foundation charter for the Vysehrad church, dating from 1088. In this document, the first Czech king, Vratislav II., decreed that his estates should pay a hop tithe to the church. The U Fleku brewery in Prague has been in operation since 1499 and is still going strong.
How did the famous Czech beer industry get started?
The first Czech brewery was built at Cerhenice in 1118. In earlier days, only citizens in the Czech lands had the right to brew beer - and that for their own consumption - so most citizens had a brewery in their home. It wasn't long before some of these citizens banded together to form a co-operative central brewery, from which they would take beer extract home and finish the brewing process there, in a medieval equivalent to the 'home brew' kits which are so popular today. In the 13
th century, King Wenceslas convinced the Pope to revoke an order banning the brewing of beer, which may explain why he's called Good King Wenceslas. It was a small step up from there for breweries to start hawking their wares to the general public as well, and so the Czech beer industry was spawned.
And when did the Czech beer industry become great?
The art of brewing beer came along gradually, with help along the way. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV., for instance, was a friend of the beer industry even though he ordered that Burgundy grape vines be cultivated in Bohemia. Emperor Rudolf II. personal physician held that beer was an incredibly healthy beverage and wrote a treatise to that effect.
The Czech beer industry's world-wide fame dates from the Renaissance, as does the Bohemian tavern which is famous throughout Europe. A popular rhyme of the time goes 'Unus papa Romae, una cerevesia Raconae ("one pope in Rome, one beer in Rakovnik". Beer is still brewed in Rakovnik today. In the early 16
th century, the Czech beer industry contributed as much as 87% of total municipal income to city coffers. Czech hops were being shipped up the Elbe to the special Hamburg hops market from 1101, and the Germans still prize Bohemian Saaz hops from Zatec today. The Czechs
were even exporting their beer at this time, most notably the beer they brewed in the town of Ceske Budejovice in South Bohemia. The Bavarians, who were importing this beer understandably had a hard time pronouncing the name of the town, and so they referred to it as
"Budweis", a place name that is still associated with great beer today - as is Pilsner, which is derived from the place name of the west Bohemian town of Plzen.
And I guess it's just been getting better ever since?
Actually no. This 16
th century beer heaven was not to last. Feudal lords discovered that forcing their labourers to drink the manor brew was a clever way to line their pockets. The Thirty Years' War, which devastated much of northern Europe, devastated the Czech beer industry as well. At one point, beer was used to pay off a Swedish army to prevent the plunder of Kutna Hora. After that, what fame the Czech beer industry managed to attain was under the auspices of the Emperor in Vienna. He even sent a
Czech brewery masters to Mexico to teach the Mexicans how to brew beer. Bohemia beer from Mexico was named for the Czech contribution. The Czech nation - and its beer - did not begin to recover until the "national awakening" movement of the 19
th century, when the Czech language, Czech culture, and Czech beer were reinvented after centuries of Germanization and decline.
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