Pivovar Herold Breznice & Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Team up for an International Offensive Against Fake Pilsner Imperialism
Creating an Imperial Pilsener at Herold - Frantisek (Herold Brewmaster), David (Herold Director) and Sam (Dogfish Head) perfecting the recipe.
On May 2, 2006 Pivovar Herold Bfieznice brewed the first ever Imperial Pilsner beer in the Czech Republic. The beer is the result of the seemingly unlikely pairing of a very traditional 500 year old Eastern European brewery and one of the United States’ most extremely successful craft breweries. Working in tandem with Sam Calagione and his crack team of brewers at the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, brewmaster Frantisek Pinkava and the Pivovar Herold team adapted Dogfish Head’s Golden Shower Imperial Pilsner to be brewed in the Czech Republic for European and Asian distribution under the Herold name.
Desirous of creating the first “extreme” beer from the land that brought the world the now ubiquitous pilsner style, Pivovar Herold sought out Sam Calagione’s input via their mutual connection as brewers for Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club. When asked who might think would be interested in collaborating on this project, Mr. Calagione offered up one name: his own. After a flurry of emails and phone calls were exchanged, the brewers from both sides of the pond met face to face in Seattle during the Craft Brewer’s Conference held in Seattle, WA on April 13th of this year. Pivovar Herold and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery thus entered into a “no marketing” marketing agreement.
The “no marketing” marketing strategy, another Sam Calagione brainchild, comes in reaction to the outrageous marketing budgets of major brewers that have watered down the once hearty Pilsner style lager. Pivovar Herold & Dogfish Head Craft brewery both focus on quality in the bottle as the primary source of success for their products. In their own inimitable fashion, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has rolled out its Golden Shower Imperial Pilsner across the United States. Seeking not to imitate, but rather to create a global splash, Pivovar Herold’s take on the Dogfish recipe uses traditional Czech brewing techniques, local ingredients, and spring water from its castle grounds to create what is quite possibly the first high alcohol, dry-hopped monster beer from Eastern Europe.
The breweries held a press conference in Prague on May 4th to announce the inaugural batch of Imperial Pilsner brewed at Pivovar Herold. The press conference featured beers from both breweries in an effort to educate the Czech beer press on the state of American craft brewing and the changing taste and marketplace of the beer consumer. Bringing together elements of a small old world brewery and an American upstart highlights the similar obstacles that small, proud breweries face in the increasingly mega-corporate beer business. This first-of-its kind collaboration will hopefully serve as the first in a new wave of international craft brewery exchanges.
Pivovar Herold’s Golden Revolution is available in the United States exclusively through Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club as the November 2006 featured selection. Dogfish Head’s Golden Shower Imperial Pilsner is currently available throughout the U.S. where Dogfish Head beers are in distribution. |
