The Czechs' thirst for beer is world famous.

For years they have been the undisputed leaders in the world rankings of beer-drinking nations - well ahead of Austria, Germany and Poland, for example.

However, the tradition of the brewing industry is also losing importance in the Czech Republic under the influence of the corona pandemic and as a result of changed lifestyles.

Andreas Mihm

Business correspondent for Austria, Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey based in Vienna.

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“We are going through difficult times as entrepreneurs,” says František Šámal, CEO of the Czech Association of Breweries and Malthouses, which provide 60,000 jobs.

The Covid pandemic has not yet subsided, "and we are already facing other, unprecedented challenges: inflation, the war in Ukraine, rising input costs and scarcity of raw materials." stop the downtrend?

Because beer consumption is also going down with the neighbors in the south-east.

In 2009, it had reached its all-time high of 153 liters per person.

In 2020 it was still 135 liters, last year consumption fell to 129 liters according to the latest information from the Breweries and Malthouses Association.

Although that is still 40 liters more than the average German consumes with 95 liters, it is the lowest level since 1989, according to the Czech Statistical Office.

Market even better

Output fell by almost 3 percent last year alone – from 20.2 to 19.6 million hectoliters.

A good two-thirds of this, 14.3 million hectoliters, was sold domestically.

"In two years of Covid, each inhabitant has already drunk 30 pints less, and with 129 liters we have reached the fifth lowest amount ever," sums up association chairman František Šámal.

One reason for this is the slump in tourism during the pandemic, when pubs, traditional pubs and restaurants were not only closed to locals.

But that alone is not the reason why demand for Pilsner Urquell, Budweiser, Gambrinus or Staropramen in Bohemia and Moravia has been falling for years.

"We are following the trend that prevailed in Western Europe 30 years ago," beer market expert Tomáš Maier from the Czech University of Agriculture tells the news site idnes.cz.

While the older generation of heavy drinkers is dying out, younger generations are also turning to craft beers and other beverages.

Maier is counting on the fact that the decline in domestic consumption can be stopped once the pandemic is over.

"Craft Brewing"

The head of the farming association, Šámal, also sees some grounds for optimism.

Despite the decline in production, Czech beer exports achieved the second-best result in history.

A good quarter of the beer was exported, the bulk of 2.7 million hectolitres to Poland, Germany, Austria and Slovakia.

Part of the deficit from the lean travel year 2021 was compensated by selling the beer to the drinkers at home.

Bottled beer remains the most popular with a share of 45 percent, while the share of canned beers is increasing.

Interest in beer specialties is also growing.

Accordingly, "a lot of new beers have been prepared" for this year as well.

They ranged from specialties "for different occasions and anniversaries or new flavors of non-alcoholic beers," it says.

Czech beer brewers are also following the fashion here, but at the same time want to preserve the tradition of their art of brewing, which dates back to the 13th century - and market it even better.

That is why they are striving for the inclusion of Czech beer culture in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.

First of all, "Beer culture as a phenomenon of Czech folk culture" should appear in the list of intangible assets of traditional folk culture in the Pilsen region.

“But there is still a long way to go before 2026,” says Šámal.

He firmly believes that Czech beer culture will be included in the renowned UNESCO protection list.

Belgian beer and beer culture would have made it in 2016 too.

In Germany, "craft beer brewing" is only on the national list of intangible cultural heritage.

The Czech Republic, on the other hand, has already proven that it knows how to protect its folk art internationally: falconry, puppet theater and hand-blown Christmas decorations, for example, are already on the UNESCO list.