Brewery Krušovice

The Královský Pivovar Krušovice (the Royal Brewery of Krušovice) is one of the oldest breweries in the Czech Republic. The brewery was established in 1517 when the Svatováclavská Contract enabled the aristocracy to brew beer on their own farms. Jiří Birka from Násile inherited such a farm in Krušovice. He also owned a house with a brewery in the square nearby Rakovnik. He brewed good beer and, according to the legend, people drank and ate in his house all day and all night. But some inhabitants of Rakovnik did not take too kindly to this wild lifestyle, so Jiří Birka from Násile began to brew his beer one mile away from the town walls Krušovice.

Carts loaded with Krušovice beer have been passing through this gate for centuries

A copy of the first written document concerning the establishment of the brewery decorates one of the staterooms in the original Malt House. The document dates back to 1581. Jiří Birka from Násile offered to sell the brewery to Emperor Rudolf II in 1581. We can read in the Property List that in Krušovice "17 reside in the town, the town fort and plough court are well built, nearby lies the brewery, the brewing kettle is made from stone so it may be cooked upon immediately." Two years later, the Emperor bought the brewery and it became part of the Křivoklát Estate. He grew fond of the Krušovice beer, taking a personal interest to ensure that the brewery had a sufficient supply of quality raw materials and that production continually increased. Even though the brewery was devastated by mercenaries during the Thirty Year War and partially burnt, the production of the beer was always quickly re-established.

A.J.Valdštejn bought the Krušovice Farm from the Czech Crown in 1685 and conducted a thorough maintenance on the property. After he died in 1731, his daughter Marie brought the entire property as a part of her dowry when she married into the Furstenberk Family. The brewery underwent major reconstruction during the time when it belonged to this family. For the next 200 years, the Furnstenberk Family equipped the brewery with the most modern facilities available. The brewery belonged to the family until 1945. After 1945, the Krušovice Brewery was part of many state-owned companies until 1991. Production reached a quarter of million hectolitres a year. But most of this beer was consumed in the areas nearby Rakovnik, Kladno and Slaný so other customers were not familiar with the beer. The Krušovice Brewery became a privatised company in 1991 when it broke its alliance with Central Bohemia Breweries, State Company Velké Popovice.

The Fustenberk Brewery in Krušovice prospered in 1925, a modern industrial company. Apart from other beer varieties, the brewery produced the dark beer Grand 14°.

The brewery was fully privatised in 1993, part of an alliance with the multinational financial and industrial company Dr. Oetker. From 1993 major reconstruction commenced. The construction of large dimensioned CK tanks, new filling lines for bottles, barrels and cans, highly efficient waste water cleaners and new brewing facilities have helped to lift the brewery from its origins as a regional brewery to part of the group of the most modern producers of brandname beers in the Czech Republic. 1997 saw the brewery sell for the first time over 1 million hectoliters of beer. Natural spring water is drawn from the protected Křivoklát area and Moravian malt and hops are gathered from the Žatec area to become the founding ingredients of our beer. The age old recipes have improved over the passage of time through the work of generations of Krušovice Brewing Masters and with the most modern technology available today the way is wide open for the high quality product. The Královský Krušovice Brewery is presently placed 5th amongst producers of beer in the Czech Republic. Krušovice beer is available on tap in thousands of pubs and prestigious restaurants alike throughout Bohemia and Moravia. Several significant sites have been that chosen to serve our beer have helped to achieve success in the brand beer domestic market. These sites combine high standards with a pleasant environment in which to sit and enjoy a glass of beer. Quality service and aesthetic decorations help to create the image of 'a Czech beer fit for Kings'.