Pilsner Urquell is increasing its sales in Great Britain. Olympic Games and the company’s new marketing activities may strengthen them even more

During the Olympics, the company plans to serve 170 barrels of Pilsen lager in the Czech Olympic House,* which will be open to public this year for the first time ever. This year, on October 5th, Pilsen premium lager, Pilsner Urquell will celebrate its 170th anniversary of brewing of its historically first batch. Plzeň lager will be available in the Olympic house from twelve taps and served by a sufficient number of personnel to fully satisfy its maximum capacity of 2,500 visitors during the celebrations of Czech successes.

Pilsner Urquell is presenting its history to Londoners as well. There has been a unique tasting of unfiltered beer drafted from 25 oak barrels made by Pilsen brewery’s master-coopers going on since March. The barrels are being sent to Britain in a special cooling vehicle that delivers them directly to selected London restaurants. There, the barrels are bumped by specially trained personnel. Pilsen beer ambassadors then enlighten guests with stories about the history, recipe, brewing technology (including triple mashing in copper brewing pans), and also about irreplaceable Czech raw material ingredients. „These tastings are very popular since the unfiltered beer from oak barrels is truly exceptional, and it is uniquely delivered. Every month, we send only a  couple of dozen barrels across the Chanel,“ said Dalibor Vainer, Marketing Manager of Plzeňský Prazdroj.

Pilsner Urquell has introduced a similar event in June as well, at the festival of gastronomy, Taste of London. There, in the beautiful surroundings of Regent’s Park, tens of thousands of fine cuisine fans spoil their taste buds by the tents of companies engaged in creating foods and drinks of the highest quality, including Michelin Star awarded restaurants. In addition to beer in stainless steel kegs, Prazdroj also delivered a big oak barrel (27 hl) full of unfiltered Pilsen lager that was placed inside a giant cooled glass cube.

Together with the above mentioned ambassadors of Pilsen beer, renowned British actor and traveller Charley Boorman is sharing stories of Pilsen beer around Britain. Thanks to a partnership with The Times magazine, more than a  million consumers in GB have been able to read his articles about Pilsen brewery and see six impressive short films that Charley Boorman made about it.

*Czech Olympic House will ceremonially open on July 27. The opening hours will be MON – SAT, from 10 am to 11 pm. The interior of the Czech Olympic House is dynamic and sportive with an overall space size of 2,000 m² and a capacity of 2,500 guests. State of the art audio-visual technology – twenty supersize screens, projection on more than 280 m2, surround sound, digital tablets and atmospheric lighting of the entire space – will offer the visitors a maximum comfort while watching the Olympic program. Czech successes will be celebrated on the large main stage. The trip to Olympic Park from nearby Kings Cross station takes seven minutes by the high–speed train.

Czech Olympic House address:
Business Design Centre
52 Upper Street, Islington,
London, N1 0QH

For more information contact:
Vladimír Jurina
Plzeňský Prazdroj
e-mail: p.: +420 724 617 886

Notes for editors:

• With total sales of nearly 9.9 million hectolitres during the calendar year of 2011 (including licensed production abroad) and with exports to more than 50 countries worldwide, Plzeňský Prazdroj Inc. is the preeminent beer producer in the region and the biggest exporter of the Czech beer.
• Plzeňský Prazdroj Inc. is a member of SABMiller plc. group. Pilsner Urquell is the international flagship brand of the SABMiller brand portfolio.
• SABMiller plc. is one of the world’s  biggest beer brewing companies with beer brewing activities or distribution in more than 60 countries across six continents. SABMiller portfolio includes important international Brands such as Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, and Pilsner Urquell, as well as almost 200 successful regional and national brands.

Plzeň