Velkopopovický Kozel is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

beer produced since 1874.History
- Velkopopovický Kozel The brewery was founded in Velké Popovice, a town 25 km (15 mi) southeast of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Their symbol is a goat (''kozel'' means "male goat" in Czech). The company was bought by

SABMiller SABMiller plc was an Anglo–South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by AB InBev for US$107-billion. It was the world's sec ...

in 2002 and sold to

Asahi Breweries The is a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: Alcoholic drink, alcoholic beverage business (40.5%), over ...

in 2016.

History

The first historical mention of Velkopopovicky Kozel dates back to the 14th century. The brewery in Velké Popovice, as we know it today, has its origins in the 19th century. After years of disagreements and a gradual decline, the brewery was bought by a rich industrial tycoon, František Ringhoffer, who was the mayor of

Smíchov Smíchov () is, since 1922, a district and cadastral area of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the Vltava river. History It was only on 22 February 1903, that Smíchov was elevated to ...

and one of the most successful entrepreneurs at the time. The brewery was built in 1875, though the first batch of Kozel beer had been brewed the previous year. It survived the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, operating in a restricted mode and without much innovation, and it grew again in the interwar period. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

brought new production restrictions for all breweries, and Kozel faced obstacles in acquiring the raw materials it needed. After the war, the brewery was nationalized and experienced a lack of workers. In 1951, the company management solved this problem by employing women. The ratio of women to men remained almost 1:1 until 1962 and bottling was exclusively in female hands. In 1965, Kozel delivered the world's first beer in

tank truck A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also desi ...

s and gave rise to the tradition of tank pubs. After thirty years of socialism, the brewery achieved independence in 1991 and in 1992 became a public limited company. In 2002, Kozel and Radegast were acquired by

Pilsner Urquell Pilsner Urquell (; ) is a lager beer brewed at Asahi Breweries' Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (German name: Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, and its popularity meant it was much copied, and ...

, part of the brewing conglomerate

. In 2016, it was one of the brands sold by

Asahi Asahi (Japanese 朝日, 旭, or あさひ 'morning sun') may refer to: Places in Japan Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi ...

, the divestment being a result of the acquisition of the former by ABInBev, to meet with global antitrust regulation. In 2012, Kozel canned beer was the subject of viral advertising in Russia: launched into

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, beer was dropped by parachute, and the event was filmed and transmitted online.

Goat mascot

The name Kozel and its emblem have their origins in the period after the First World War. ''Kozel'' means "male goat" in Czech, and a dark beer was at that time called ''

bock Bock () is a strong German beer, usually a dark lager. History The style now known as ''Bock'' was first brewed in the 14th century in the Hanseatic town of Einbeck in Lower Saxony. The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers ...

'', which means "goat" in German. During that period, there was a lot of competition in brewing. Kozel founder Emanuel Ringhoffer realized that it was necessary to distinguish his brewery from its competitors and started to produce a strong,

dark beer Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin. The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...

in Velké Popovice, locally known as ''kozel''. At that time a French painter passed through the town and was moved by the hospitality of the local people, and out of gratitude decided to create an emblem for the brewery, based on the figure of a goat. It was first introduced in 1922, and the mascot has decorated the label for close to a hundred years since. In the 1930s, the owners tried to consolidate the position of the company, and to give it a more attractive image, they brought a live goat to the brewery as an attraction. The Kozel brewery has a live goat and other attractions for visitors to this day. From the 1970s, all the goats have been named after the original caregiver, Olda, and this name has been passed down from goat to goat for over forty years.

Production

The company brews several different types of beer: * Kozel 10 – a 10° pale draught beer, with 4.2%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

. * Kozel 11 – an 11° pale

lager Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...

, with 4.6% ABV. It has been on the market since 2005. * Kozel Černý – a dark draught beer with 3.8% ABV * Kozel Řezaný – a mixture of light and dark lagers, with 4.6% ABV * Kozel Mistrův Ležák – a 12° pale lager, with 4.8% ABV * Kozel Mistrův Tmavý – a dark lager, with 4.4% ABV * Kozel Nealko – a non-alcoholic beer, with max. 0.5% ABV Velkopopovický Kozel, Světlý ležák.jpg, Kozel 10° Velkopopovicky Kozel Medium 11°.JPG, Kozel 11° KozelMistruvLezak.jpg, Kozel Mistrův Ležák Velkopopovický kozel černý (Beer- czech republic).jpg, Kozel Černý

Export and licensed production

Kozel is sold in about thirty countries worldwide, with licensed production in Slovakia, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Turkey, among others.

References

External links