Region & History

Drive out of Prague in any direction, and you'll pass through Central Bohemia, where almost every main road leads to a brewery that has supplied the capital with beer for centuries. Three houses define the area: Kozel in Velké Popovice, the Royal Brewery in Krušovice, and Herold in Březnice. Then there's the silver town of Kutná Hora, home to a brewery that had to start over twice.

The brewhouse at Krušovice traces its roots back to 1517. What's certain is the year 1581: that's when owner Jiří Bírka z Násile offered the operation for sale to Emperor Rudolf II, and in 1583 it passed to the crown. Rudolf attached it to the Křivoklát estate, and the beer went to Prague Castle—which is why the word "royal" remains in the brewery's name to this day. Since 2007, the brand has belonged to the Heineken Group.

Velké Popovice lies a good 25 kilometers southeast of Prague. Industrialist František Ringhoffer II founded the brewery there, but he died a year before the first brew ran on December 15, 1874. The brand's heraldic animal is the billy goat, kozel in Czech. SABMiller bought the operation in 2002, and since 2016 it has belonged to Asahi.

Březnice, on the edge of the Brdy hills, traces the first record of its brewery to 1506. That's when Václav Zmrzlík sold his estate "along with the brewery" to a royal official. Later the house passed through several noble families, and it was nationalized in 1945. Since 2008, the investment company Ballena has owned it. Reports suggest production has stood still since June 2025, with the owners searching for partners.

What does geographical protection mean here? Březnický ležák has been registered as a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) under EU law since October 15, 2009. The name ties this lager to Březnice—beer brewed elsewhere isn't allowed to carry it.

In Kutná Hora, Václav Dačický z Heslova had a brewhouse built in 1573 at the Lorec fortress. The pale, twelve-degree lager Dačický emerged in 1899. The owners closed the operation at the end of 2010, but since April 2017 a new Měšťanský pivovar has been brewing in the old premises.