Plze? and two thirds of the beer world are poised to celebrate one big anniversary. On October 5, 1842, the very first batch of the original Pilsner Urquell lager, which inspired the creation of an entire beer category, the pilsner, came to be. The majestic celebrations will start on the Square of the Republic in Pilsen on the day of the 170th anniversary. The rich cultural programme will include the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra with Michal Pavl??ek, an audiovisual show of video-mapping, and a non-traditional artistic dance show of D?calages. A symbolic 1,700 servings of unfiltered Pilsner Urquell beer will also be served from five oak barrels.
Plze?sk? lager, created on October 5, 1842 in Pilsen, will play a key role during the celebrations. It will be made available to the public as an unfiltered lager in high-capacity tents, from booths, but mostly from five original 170-litre oak barrels that will be transported to the square by an original delivery wagon, as was done during the time of this original lager’s creation.
General Manager of Plze?sk? Prazdroj Doug Brodman, together with Pilsen Mayor Martin Baxa, will open the celebrations. ?I am convinced that many lovers of the Pilsner Urquell brand will come to Pilsen square on October 5, so we all can celebrate the birthday of this exceptional beer, which now accounts for two thirds of the world?s beer production today,? Doug Brodman, General Manager of Pilsner Urquell said, inviting everybody.
The evening programme will open with the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra’s interpretation of ?Moldau? from Smetana’s cycle of symphonic poems, My Country, which was composed at the time of the Pilsen lager’s creation. Smetana studied in Pilsen at the time. The other compositions will take us to other times when Pilsner Urquell beer was building its fame. Pavel And?l, the MC for the evening, will bring our attention to the important milestones of Plze?sk? Prazdroj. The programme will also include short appearances by important personalities whose lives and work are connected with Pilsen or Pilsen beer. All guests may look forward to world renowned Slovak tenor Peter Dvorsky, the unique pairing of the Plze? Philharmonic Orchestra and rocker Michal Pavl??ek, B?ra Basikova, and David Koller. The most anticipated part of the programme is a unique audiovisual show called video-mapping. It is a projection of Pilsner Urquell beer symbols, the history of the brewery and of the town of Pilsen on the wall of the church of St. Bartholomeo. The programme will start after 6:00 pm and will go on until 10:00 pm.
Participants of the celebration will have the chance to learn more about the history of the original Pilsen lager, not only from speakers on the stage, but also in the special tents of the ?Through the History? project that was very popular during the last Pilsner Fest. These unique exhibitions will provide visitors with the opportunity to experience an authentic Pilsen pub from different times of Pilsner Urquell’s history. In the exhibition based on the year 1842, they will get beer served in Viennese m?z, a beer glass that can hold 1.45 litres. The atmosphere of the pub spanning the years 1918-1939, during the First Republic, will be accompanied by the performances of an accordion player. The next tent will remind us of the Socialist era, and the last tent will present the current restaurant serving the Pilsen beer. In the draught booths, beer will be served to visitors by the best domestic and foreign bartenders, finalists from the ?Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender? beer drafting competition, that will take place on the eve of the celebrations in the Pilsen brewery this year.
You can find more information at http://www.prazdrojvisit.cz/cz/kalendar-akci-v-pivovaru/