Budweiser Budvar

1265–1895

The history of brewing in České Budějovice (German: Budweis) dates back to 1265, when Ottokar II, King of Bohemia, granted the city brewing rights. At one point, the city was the imperial brewery of the Holy Roman Empire. To promote the quality of the drink, nearby towns were forbidden from brewing. To distinguish Budweis beer from that coming from other regions, it was called Budweiser Bier ("beer from Budweis" in German). By the early 16th century, the Czech brewing industry was providing up to 87% of the total revenue for municipalities. The Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648, however, devastated much of Central Europe and with it, the Czech beer industry. Concurrently, the Kingdom of Bohemia became a part of the Habsburg monarchy after the war.

A separate brewery, Budweiser Bürgerbräu (Czech: Budějovický měšťanský pivovar) was founded in 1795 by the city's German-speaking citizens and started brewing Budweiser Bier in 1802. The company began shipping its beer to the United States in 1875. A year later, Adolphus Busch, a German immigrant to the United States and a businessman, encountered the brewery's Budweiser often during his visit to Europe. Thus, he decided to name his own beer Budweiser and brew it according to the Bohemian process. Budweiser Bürgerbräu was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2014 to aid its claim on the Budweiser trademark.

1895–present

Budweiser Budvar Brewery was incorporated in 1895 as the Czech Joint Stock Brewery when local Czech breweries in České Budějovice, then part of Austria-Hungary, merged and started brewing Budweiser with new technology. The name Budvar is a portmanteau of Budějovice Pivovar 'Budweis Brewery'. With the German occupation of Czechoslovakia during World War II and its communist-rule during the Cold War, the brewery was unable to compete with the American Anheuser-Busch as production faltered. By 1948, all Czech breweries had been nationalized by the communist government.

The brewery reported in 2015 that it had grown by 226% since 1991 and that its total sales volume had increased by 39% in the last ten years.

Budweiser Budvar beer is produced in the brewery at České Budějovice, drawing artesian water from wells beneath it, with Moravian barley and Saaz hops, known as a noble hop variety, from the Žatec region. It is matured for a minimum of 90 days, contrasted with 72 hours of lagering (maturation) for mass-market beers. In 2004, the European Union awarded Budweiser Budvar Protected Geographical Indication status. Budweiser is the brewery's "signature product" and a "symbol of national pride". The drinks reviewer Michael Jackson said the following of the company's lager in 2002:Budweiser Budvar is a great beer because it has great raw materials and great brewers. They produce it in a slow and painstaking way. Its integrity is best served by its being produced in its town of origin, in a region with pride in its beer. In 1990, the company brewed 450,000 hectolitres (59,000 cu. yd.) of beer a year and exported to 18 countries; in 2013, 1.42 million hectolitres (185,000 cu. yd.) and 66 countries; and in 2015, 1.6 million hectolitres (210,000 cu. yd.) and 76 countries, respectively. Budvar has brewed the most beer to date in 2025, for a total of nearly two million hectoliters—1.946 million hectoliters, to be exact. This represents a 1% increase over 2024, which was also a record year. It is the most bought foreign beer in Germany, selling approximately 290,000 hectolitres (38,000 cu. yd.) in 2016, and the best selling Czech beer in the United Kingdom.