Havlíčkův Brod Brewery Explained

Havlíčkův Brod Brewery
Logo Alt:Rebel beer
Image Alt:Havlíčkův Brod Brewery
Location Country:Czech Republic
Coordinates:49.6102°N 15.5766°W
Mapframe-Zoom:5
Opened:24 January 1995

The town brewery of Havlíčkův Brod (Havlíčkobrodský pivovar) produces Rebel brand beer.

History

Originally named Smilův Brod in honor of the town's owner, Smil (present-day Havlíčkův Brod) was changed to Německý Brod due to the settlement of German people.[1] That's important because Německý Brod's German settlers won the right to brew beer in the 14th century when King Jan of Luxembourg gave contractual rights to Německý Brod's owner, Jindřich of Lipé.

What followed King Jan's ruling was typical throughout central Europe during the Middle Ages where townspeople brewed beer in many local breweries. But the microbrews produced in such primitive conditions of the era were usually of dangerously poor quality. So, brewers banded together to form larger, better-equipped breweries. As a result, by the end of the 18th century, the town of Havlíčkův Brod (or Německý Brod) had only two large breweries. And then, sadly, one brewery closed due to high costs while the other burned to the ground, leaving the people of Havlíčkův Brod bereft of beer.

In response to the loss of that duo of breweries, the people of Havlíčkův Brod pooled their resources and—on October 18, 1834—purchased the house of Bukovský in order to build a new brewery for themselves (which would ultimately become the modern Rebel brand of beer.)

That Havlíčkův Brod town brewery became so successful that, by the late 19th century, production could not meet with demand. And so the facility underwent a much needed expansion at the time, which was completed on October 12, 1880. Naturally, refurbishments ensued following each of the World Wars of the 20th century.

The brewery was nationalized in 1948 and Havlíčkobrodský pivovar became part of Horácký Breweries Jihlava and later part of East-bohemian Breweries Hradec Králové. In 1990, the brewery became an independent company and then, in 1995, descendants of the original owners reacquired the brewery. Since then, the brewery has remained part of the stock company Měšťanský pivovar Havlíčkův Brod, a.s., with annual beer production of 8.4 million liters.[2]

Beers produced

The brewery of Havlíčkův Brod produces light, bottom-fermented pilsner beers and dark, bottom-fermented beers.[3]

Awards

The beers of the Havlíčkobrodský pivovar have won several awards and placed in competitions nearly every year of the last decade.[3]

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External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Historie a současnost Měšťanského pivovaru Havlíčkův Brod . 2024-03-18 . České pivo - České zlato . cs-CZ.
  2. Web site: History of the Brewery . 8 August 2013 . 11 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130811092601/http://www.hbrebel.cz/en/brewery/history-of-the-brewery . dead .
  3. Web site: Our Beers . 8 August 2013 . 26 July 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130726042518/http://www.hbrebel.cz/en/our-beers . dead .