Budweiser Budvar, the national brewery of the Czech Republic, has announced its first ever collaboration lager to be brewed outside its home country.
The lager is called Czech Mates and is brewed with Thornbridge. It will be available to purchase from 16th May from Thornbridge Brewery’s website and selected retailers. There are discussions under way with major UK retailers regarding a launch in early autumn.
Bringing together centuries of Czech brewing expertise, the finest British ingredients, and cutting-edge technology, Czech Mates is a Czech-style lager that aims to fuel a growing appreciation for quality, traditionally brewed lager across the UK.
Czech Mates is an aromatic, crisp, and beautifully balanced 4.8% ABV beer, say the brewers, brewed to the same high
standards as all Budweiser Budvar and Thornbridge products, and made at Thornbridge Brewery, Bakewell.
The traditional Czech brewing method of decoction and long, slow maturing complement the British-grown Maris Otter malt and East Kent Goldings hops, while Budvar’s decades-old yeast strain makes the journey from Budweis to Bakewell to bring it all to life.
In addition, the famously soft water of the Peak District, just like that found in České Budějovice (Budweis), is ideal for brewing lager.
Thornbridge brewmaster, Rob Lovatt, said: “Budvar have a similar ethos to Thornbridge. They’re brewers of integrity. They don’t compromise, they use the very best ingredients.”
Czech Mates will be lagered for six weeks, far longer than most other UK lagers. As Adam Brož, Budvar’s brewmaster, puts it: “Time is a very important feature of the lager. The long maturation brings the smoothness, crisp taste, and very high drinkability.”
The collaboration will be supported by a bold social media campaign based around the slogan ‘Mates Don’t Let Mates Drink Bad Lager’. The message, the brewers say, is: with a new collaboration bringing together the 800-plus years of lager-making experience of the Czechs and the creativity of a UK craft beer titan, there is no excuse for drinking substandard lager anymore.
