36/38.- Ceske Budejovice, Budweiser Beer

You can see here a sign with the local beer: Budvar. One of the most interesting visits in Budejovice is the Budweiser Brewery. Tours of this factory can be arranged at the local tourist office.

The name of the local beer (Budvar or Budweisser) can be confusing. Budvar is the name in Czech of the local beer, and Budweiser is the name of the same beer in German. The confusion begins in 1876, when the Anheuser-Bush brewery in St. Louis (US) presented its Budweiser beer. After many years of copyright conflicts, the local and the American breweries signed an agreement in 1911: Anheuser-Bush kept the American market and Budejovice’s Brewery the European. Recently there have been new name conflicts. I can only tell you that I have tasted both, and my opinion is clear: the Czech beer is much better. If you live in the US you can now find the original Budvar under the name Czechvar.

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