Plzensky Prazdroj AS — theCzech brewer that created modern beer as we know it in 1842 when it first brewed a bottom-fermented, golden beer called Pilsner Urquell — this autumn has introducedBirell polotmavy, or semi-dark, non-alcoholic beer.
The introduction of Birell semi-dark follows Plzensky Prazdroj’s smaller Czech competitor Rodinny PivovarBernard, which produces versions of non-alcoholic beer not limited to the typical pseudo-lager format, but also including a semi-dark version and a unique non-alcoholic brew with extract and aroma from plums.
Plzensky Prazdroj’s new semi-dark Birell builds on the success of the original light-colored version that took first place in the 2008 World Beer Cup in the non-alcoholic category, among other awards.
Demand for Birell is rising quickly and at present accounts for 4% of Plzensky Prazdroj’s total revenue, up from less than 1% just a few years ago.
For comparison, international export of Plzensky Prazdroj’s flagship Pilsner Urquell brand account for 10% to 15% of total revenue.
The brewery, owned by SABMiller PLC, also distributes its non-alcoholic beer in kegs to over 1,000 locations, so Czech and Slovak bars and restaurants can offer the drink on tap, a rarity in the global non-alcoholic beer market.
Douglas Brodman, Plzensky Prazdroj chairman and chief executive officer, told The Wall Street Journal in a recent interview that in the first 60 days of semi-dark Birell’s sales, demand more than doubled the brewer’s forecasts.
Birell differs from most other non-alcoholic beers globally because it uses unique yeast that doesn’t produce alcohol when fermenting. Typically brewers make non-alcoholic versions of beer by brewing in the standard fashion and later extracting alcohol after fermentation, pulling out flavor and body as well.
But unfortunately for the growing ranks of non-alcoholic beer aficionados globally, Plzensky Prazdroj produces the unique drink on license from Danish brewer Carlsberg, and the licensing agreements only allow Birell sales in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Czech brewer is limited in yet another of its key marketing strategies: tank beer.
Around the world draft beer is distributed in kegs, and typically such beer is pasteurized, meaning it is heated to near but below the boiling point to kill microbial growth and extend shelf life, but also killing friendly, alcohol- and flavor-developing yeast.
But some enterprising Czech companies are reducing production, packaging and distribution costs by distributing their beer in tanker-trucks directly to pubs where the beer is pumped into large, vacuum sealed storage tanks for immediate consumption.
Several Czech brewers besides Plzensky Prazdroj are selling beer in tanks in restaurants, including the Krusovice brewery, owned by Heineken, and Czech state-owned Budejovicky Budvar NP, the brewer which for centuries has been producing beer called Budweiser, named after the city Ceske Budejovice, or Budweis in German, where the brewery is located.
Draft beer sold from tanks is a hit with beer enthusiasts, in part because the brew is unpasteurized, served fresh while the yeast is still alive and developing a richer taste in the tanks that hold the equivalent of either 1,000 pints or 2,000 pints.
Restaurant owners are especially keen to have the tanks visible to beer drinkers, Brodman said. The tanks are often enclosed in refrigerated spaces cut off from customer seating areas not by brick or steel, but by thick glass partitions.
Brodman said Plzensky Prazdroj only delivers tank beer to pubs that serve up large-enough volumes to deplete an entire tank in three days.
Currently about 600 pubs and restaurants offer Plzensky Prazdroj’s beers in tanks. But for logistics reasons, only pubs located within a perimeter of roughly 300 kilometers from the brewery can offer tank beer.
Internationally, Prazdroj sells tank beer only in Slovakia, with six locations in Bratislava, and Austria, with one in Vienna.
