Industry Beverages Owner Anheuser-Busch InBev Headquarters České Budějovice Parent organization Anheuser-Busch | Products Beers and lagers Website www.samson.cz Founded 1795 | |
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Native name Budějovický měšťanský pivovar a.s. | ||
Budweiser Bier or Budweiser Bürgerbräu was (since 1802 and as trademark officially since 1899) the name for the beer and the administration of the "Bürgerliches Brauhaus Budweis" (German for "Civic Brewhouse Budweis"), which in 1795 was founded by the German-speaking burghers of the Bohemian city of Budweis in the Kingdom of Bohemia). In 1894, the official company name was "Die Budweiser Bräuberechtigten - Bürgerliches Bräuhaus-Gegründet 1795 - Budweis".
As early as 1875, beer was being exported to the United States where Budweiser (like Pilsner) was already being copied by local brewers like Anheuser-Busch. In 1895, when Budweiser Bürgerbräu became official court supplier to the King of Württemberg, the growing Czech population founded local competition as a joint stock company, today called Budějovický Budvar. In the Budweiser trademark dispute, the three companies divided the rights to use the name, with the Europe-based companies giving up the Northern American rights to Budweiser.
Bohemia constituted part of the new Republic of Czechoslovakia founded following the breakup of the Habsburg Empire at the end of World War I in 1918. In 1945, all Germans were expelled and both breweries expropriated. The German-sounding names of the Bürgerbräu company and its products were not welcome, and all rights had to be dropped or were otherwise lost, with beer being sold as "Crystal" or "Samson". Accordingly in 1960 and 1989 the company was renamed "První budějovický pivovar Samson" (First Budweiser brewery Samson).
After the fall of communism, the company owned rights to "Crystal", "Czech Beer Crystal", "Biere Tcheque Crystal" and "Samson", but soon reacquired national naming rights and international Protected Geographical Indication, in 1991 to "Budějovický měšťanský pivovar" and "Budweiser Bürgerbräu", and in 1993 to "Budějovické pivo", "Budweiser Bier", "Biere de Budweis" and "Budweis Beer".
Since July 2001, the company is called Budějovický měšťanský pivovar a.s. (Budweiser citizens brewery), which corresponds to the original German name. The company uses German naming like "Budweiser Bier" also in Czech and English context, also stating that the hops comes from the "Czech city of Saaz (Žatec)" despite this city also has an old Czech name (Žatec).
Since 2005, due to the legal situation, the brewery offers its beer in the USA as "B.B. Burgerbräu", described as "Budweis City Bier" rather than "Budweiser beer".
Brands
Except for the USA, where it has to be sold as "B. B. Bürgerbräu", the company marks its beers with "Budweiser Bier" (in German). Since 2007, they have sold 1795 Budweiser under the name Boheme 1795 in the UK through Tesco supermarkets.