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Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179680 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Article
Beer Industry in the Czech Republic: Reasons for Founding a
Craft Brewery
Monika Březinová
Department of Landscape Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia in České
Budějovice, Na Zlaté stoce 3, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; brezina@zf.jcu.cz
Abstract: The goal of this article is to evaluate the evolution of the brewing industry in the Czech
Republic with an emphasis on the phenomenon of craft-brewery development. It deals with the
influence of globalization on the structure of the Czech beer market and the rise of craft-breweries
between 2000 and 2019. The main outputs come from research where a representative sample of 48
craft breweries was questioned from the Czech Republic. The result is the identification of the main
factors influencing the increase of craft-breweries (legislation changes enabling entrepreneurship,
increase of purchasing power of consumers, increase in demand for different beer styles, craft beers
and specials, change of consumer behavior) but also the challenges that prevent their further expan-
sion (lack of qualified brewers, complicated administration). The main motive for founding a craft
brewery is an effort to improve beer culture in the Czech Republic and the ever-increasing demand
for diversified beer (as opposed to the demand for the so-called euro-beers) and a good business
opportunity stemming from this, which has been attracting more and more investors into this field.
Keywords: craft brewery; brewing industry; Czech Republic
1. Introduction
The brewing industry in Europe, as well as in the world, underwent significant
changes recently. Until the end of the 19th century, most of the breweries were local and
privately owned. National, let alone international brands, did not exist [1]. Until the sec-
ond half of the 20th century, beer was mostly a local product. With the expansion of the
biggest breweries into new regions and industrial consolidation, the brewing industry is
becoming a global one after this period. On the one side, there is a process of gradual
consolidation with numerous fusions and acquisitions of large commercial breweries and
brewery groups, whose main goal is to achieve economies of scale. This process is re-
flected in the ever-increasing share of large brewery groups on the market. Other changes
that took place in the last decades in Eastern Europe (mainly a wave of revolutions leading
to democratic systems) led to the loosening of barriers to entry of specific beer markets by
international companies and chains and to further gradual consolidation, which resulted
in a lower number of active breweries around the world [2]. This trend had a significant
influence on the brewing industry; in 1998 the market share of the four biggest beer pro-
ducing companies made up 22%, however, in 2010 it was almost 50% of the global beer
market [3,4]. Contemporary global beer production is under the control of a few large
brewery groups: Anheuser–Busch InBev (AB InBev, Leuven, Belgium) including SAB Mil-
ler (London, Great Britain), Heineken (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and Carlsberg (Co-
penhagen, Denmark), Asahi Group Holding (Japan). These companies make up approxi-
mately 41% of global beer production [5]. The beer prepared by these large companies is
very homogeneous and it is exactly homogenization of beer that is one of the reasons for
craft beer’s success [6].
Citation: Březinová, M. Beer
Industry in the Czech Republic:
Reasons for Founding a Craft
Brewery. Sustainability 2021, 13,
9680. https://doi.org/10.3390/
su13179680
Academic Editor: Yoshiki
Shimomura
Received: 24 June 2021
Accepted: 21 August 2021
Published: 28 August 2021
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Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 2 of 12
On the other side, there is a pronounced trend of founding craft-breweries and craft
breweries (as a reaction to the aforementioned) that focus on the production of craft beer.
This trend began in the 1970s in the USA [7,8]. Western Europe joined this trend in the
1980s, while in Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, a significant increase of
craft-breweries and craft breweries came after the year 2000. In recent decades there was
a “craft beer revolution“ phenomenon, which was started by American beer enthusiasts
and homebrewers in 1979 when they enforced a law that left the decision concerning home
brewing to national jurisdiction [6]. Acitelli [7] says that “craft beer revolution” started in
1965 when Fritz Maytag purchased a 51% stake in the Anchor Steam Brewing Company
from San Francisco. We can say that craft breweries and home brewers have been included
in the brewing industry since the end of the twentieth century. Craft breweries and home
brewers all share some characteristics, such as the use of traditional production methods,
quality ingredients and the volume of their production that is set differently for every
country. For craft-breweries in, for example, Slovakia and Poland, it is up to 200,000
hL/year, in the Czech Republic it is 10,000 hL/year and in the USA it is 23,848 hL year [8–
11]. The term craft brewery is defined by production up to 9,539,200 hL per year in the
USA [12]. In the Czech Republic, the terms craft brewery and micro brewery are not dif-
ferentiated, it is always a brewery with production up to 10,000 hL/year in which the beer
is brewed according to traditional recipes, unfiltered and unpasteurized [13]. For the pur-
poses of this article, only the term craft brewery will be used from here on. The volume of
home-brewing is limited to 2000 hL per year and household.
In 2015, there were more than 10,000 craft breweries in the world from which 86%
were located in North America and Europe [13]. Craft beer became a key driving force in
the development of new products in Western Europe whereas there has been a two-digit
increase in the number of craft breweries since 2011. Large industrial breweries are now
trying to react to the increase of the popularity of craft beer brewed in craft breweries by
including special types of beer (trying to compete with craft beers with their taste and
fullness) in their product portfolio. However, the consumers have not shown much inter-
est in these special beers because they still consider them to be industrially produced. This
is why some large breweries have started creating subsidiaries and are brewing beer un-
der a different brand or include beers from friendly craft breweries in their portfolio [14–
16].
Another change that affects the brewing industry is the relocation of beer consump-
tion to regions outside of Europe [17]. The Czech Republic is still first in terms of world-
wide beer consumption per inhabitant (144 l in 2019), however, the increase of overall beer
consumption in the 21st century is caused by increased consumption in these regions out-
side of Europe. The consumption in traditional beer areas in Europe either stagnates or
even decreases [16–20]. China has the largest beer consumption in the world as a country,
where 489.9 million hectoliters are consumed every year, followed by the USA (241.7 mil-
lion hectoliters), Brazil (131.5 million hectoliters), Russia (100.1 million hectoliters) and
Germany (84.4 million hectoliters). The overall consumption in the countries of the EU
was 359 million hectoliters in 2016, from which consumption in the Czech Republic made
up 15.1 million hectoliters, which is 4% of the overall consumption in the EU [15]. As
mentioned above, Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per inhabitant in Eu-
rope (144 L followed by Germany (107 L), Austria (104 L), Poland (98 L), Lithuania (95 L)
and Slovakia (73 L) [15]. Craft beer makes up 3%–5% of the overall beer consumption in
Western Europe and the USA while in Eastern Europe it is just about 1% and in the Czech
Republic it is estimated to be around 2.5% [21–23]. All of the above changes are leading to
an increase in the number of craft breweries around the world. The topic of this article
consists of what other reasons lead to their establishment in the Czech Republic and what
are the obstacles to their further development from the perspective of the owners of the
craft brewery.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 3 of 12
2. Theoretical Background
History, development and current state of brewing in the Czech Republic
There were 804 breweries in the Czech Republic in 1900. During the first World War,
the brewing industry was impacted very negatively. Breweries had a set ration of barley,
which covered approximately one-quarter of what was needed. In 1916, processing barley
and malt was completely banned. Brewery equipment from copper, brass and bronze was
disassembled for war purposes. Production declined to a mere 14% of the pre-war level
during the war. During this time, 122 breweries closed. This trend continued, and in 1918
there were 526 active breweries in Czechoslovakia. After 1918 there were no new brewer-
ies because of the difficulties in Czechoslovakia caused by the war, such as low standard
of living, shortage of goods and loss of foreign markets and destruction of machinery [24].
The crisis in the brewing industry was also caused by the changes in beer production and
increased beer prices. Production was concentrated in bigger production units since 1923,
so this caused another decline in the number of active breweries—there were 456 in that
year [24]. This trend further continued with the beginning and course of the second World
War when there were 374 breweries in Czechoslovakia. In 1946, the Economic Group of
Brewing and Malting Industry was created and later a National Company of Czechoslo-
vakian Breweries was created, and breweries with a production volume of over 150,000
hectoliters were nationalized. The change of the ownership structure was the beginning
of an orientation towards a planned economy with the consequence of (1948) the estab-
lishment of 22 national businesses, which associated 194 active breweries at that time.
Central planners decided on the number of breweries and their production, as well as the
amount of beer to import and export. During this time, there was almost no beer imported
to Czechoslovakia. As for the type of beer, the only produced and consumed beer during
this time was lager. Lagers produced during this period were, however, more differenti-
ated by taste and quality than they are today [24].
The transition of Czechoslovakia from socialism and planned economy to democracy
and market economy, which hit Eastern Europe, also had a significant impact on the beer
market in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia (both countries became independent in
1992). Breweries were privatized and later taken over by international companies such as
Heineken and SABMiller (they later joined with AB InBev, which sold their assets in the
Czech Republic and the whole of Eastern Europe to the Japanese group Asahi), which
dominates the Czech beer industry today [25].
Czech breweries were gradually increasing the effectiveness of the industry, mostly
because of the influx of international know-how and technologies, improvement of verti-
cal coordination in the supply chain and utilizing economies of scale [26]. Traditional local
beer was replaced by homogenous beer produced by big companies. The technology of
beer production was altered so that shorter production cycles could be achieved (pro-
cesses of fermentation and aging were connected). This led to the standardization of qual-
ity, which on the one hand caused the elimination of lower quality beer, but on the other
hand also lowered the differentiation of product.
In 2000 the production of the whole brewing industry in the Czech Republic was
17.92 million hectoliters, in 2015 it surpassed the magic number of 20 million hectoliters
and this trend of continuous increase still lasts to this day, the last official statement from
2019 states the volume of production was 21.6 million hectoliters [27]. Even though the
Czech Republic is still first in beer consumption per inhabitant worldwide, the consump-
tion is continuously declining. It was the highest in 1992 where some sources state con-
sumption of even 169 L per person, another peak was in 2003 where consumption of 161
L per person was stated but since then the decline has continued, to 141 L per person in
2019 [27]. One of the factors influencing the decline in beer consumption is the price, but
that is not the only reason; efforts to have a healthy lifestyle, a change of beer drinking
habits, the transition from beer to wine and others also play a role. The final price of beer
is influenced by excise duty, as well as the increasing labor costs and the price of ingredi-
ents. Since 1995, the excise duty in the Czech Republic has been derived from the volume
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 4 of 12
of a brewery’s production and is divided into six zones (mostly in Europe). The basic rate
is 32 Kč/hL for every whole weight percentage of the original wort extract, lowered rate
for breweries with the production volume of 150,000 to 200,000 hL is 28 Kč/hL, production
volume of 100,000 to 150,000 is 25.60 Kč/hl, production volume of 50,000 to 100,000 hL is
22.40 Kč/hL, production volume of 10,000 to 50,000 hL is 19.20 Kč/hL and the last group
of production volume is up to 10,000 hL, including tax rate 16 Kč/hL [28]. Czech craft
breweries belong in this category.
Even the behavior of consumers is changing—in 2003, Czech consumers drank half
of the overall consumption in pubs and restaurants and half at home. In 2019, 66% of the
overall consumption was at home (off-trade) and only 34% of the consumption was in
restaurants and pubs (on-trade) [29]. The main reason is the different price of draft beer
and bottled beer as a consequence of the increasing labor and other costs of restaurants.
The evolution of the number of breweries and craft breweries in Czechoslovakia is illus-
trated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Evolution of the number of breweries and craft breweries in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic (Czecho-
slovakia was divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1992).
Among other reasons for the decline in beer consumption is the aforementioned
healthier lifestyle of many Czechs who tend to prefer non-alcoholic beverages over alco-
holic ones, and the changing preferences of alcohol consumers where some replace beer
with wine.
3. Materials and Methods
The goal of the research in this article, which is a follow up of similar research con-
ducted in Slovakia [9], was to identify the main factors influencing the growth of craft
breweries but also the challenges to their further development. A method of structured
interview with the owners of craft breweries in the Czech Republic was chosen for these
purposes. The same method and its implementation were used in Slovakia, so the results
can be compared. The research took place during the whole year of 2020, when members
of the research team gathered information about the opinions of the owners of craft brew-
eries concerning the development of the brewing industry in the Czech Republic. A minor
difference in the methodology would be that we have first established a representative
sample within our research using quota selection on which we then carried out the re-
search. Our sample of respondents has the same characteristics as the basic sample, these
characteristics are stated in Table 1. The number of respondents (owners or operators) was
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 5 of 12
48 craft breweries out of 480 existing ones in that time. The research was mostly dealing
with the following topics–factors influencing the demand for craft beer, impact of tradi-
tional beer market characterized by homogenous products on the demand for differenti-
ated craft beer in the Czech Republic, types of beer produced by craft breweries, moti-
vation for starting a craft brewery, factors influencing the supply of craft beer, accessi-
bility of inputs, know-how of the production of craft beer, regulations of craft beer pro-
duction, government support for craft beer production.
Table 1. Characteristics of those craft breweries that are in the basic sample (all craft breweries in the Czech Republic) and
characteristics of the chosen sample which is the representative sample of respondents.
Year of Foundation Existence of an Establishment
Before 2000 8% Yes, craft brewery has its own restaurant 57%
2000 to 2010 15% No, craft brewery does not have its own restaurant 43%
After 2010 77% Region where brewery is located
Production per year South Bohemian/South Moravian 8%/13%
Less than 100 hL 5% Karlovy Vary/Hradec Králové 2%/6%
101–500 hL 35% Liberec/Moravian-Silesian 3%/10%
501–1000 hL 33% Olomouc/Pardubice 7%/4%
Over 1000 hL 27% Plzeň/Prague 9%/9%
Type of beer produced Central Bohemian/Ústí 12%/7%
Only lagers 34% Vysočina/Zlín 6%/4%
Only ALE and special beers (Por-
ter, IPA, Bock, etc./Beers which
contain more than 5.5% (ABV))
3% Seat of craft brewery
Both 63% In the municipality center 51%
Share of lager production On the outskirts of the municipality 41%
Less than 25% 18% Outside of the municipality 8%
25%–50% 50% Number of employees
51%–75% 22% 1–9 83%
Over 75% 10% 10 and more 17%
An advantage of the structured interview method is the opportunity to understand
the thoughts forming the development of the craft brewing industry, become acquainted
with the expectations of the main representatives, their opinions, interests and former ex-
periences. The method used consisted of the following three phases [30,31]: planning the
study thanks to a research method of a structured interview, implementation of the inter-
view itself, analysis of the results and creation of the research report. The method of struc-
tured interview is suitable especially when it is needed to understand the behavior, needs
and interests of respondents. It was possible to find out the preferences, experiences and
opinions during the discussion and from the reactions of the respondents. The interpreta-
tion of these results helps to understand the behavior and decisions of the respondents.
Key questions for the owners or operators of craft breweries in our research were:
1. Does the situation on the market influence the type of beer that you produce?
2. What factors determine the demand for craft beer?
3. Do the customers react sensitively to changes of your beer’s prices?
4. Are the ingredients for brewing craft beer available? Which ingredients are imported
and from where?
5. Are there enough professionals in craft beer brewing in the Czech Republic? Do you
personally (or an appropriate person in your brewery) have previous experience with
beer brewing?
6. Why did you decide to start a craft-brewery?
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 6 of 12
7. What is your opinion on the relationship between the government and craft-brewer-
ies?
8. Do you cooperate with other craft-breweries?
9. Do you think that there is still space for other craft-breweries on the market?
4. Results
4.1. Beer Market in the Czech Republic and Ownership Structure
In the Czech Republic, the changes described above have manifested in the owner-
ship structure and in the trend of the increased number of craft-breweries. This trend has
been significant since 2010 and reached its peak in 2017 when there was essentially a new
craft brewery created every week in the Czech Republic [32,33].
Information about production volumes and hence about the distribution of the Czech
beer market is not completely accessible, the problem is that breweries are not required to
state their production volume. Official statistics and information cannot be considered as
precise because of this reason. Production volume and distribution of the Czech beer mar-
ket were researched from all accessible sources (ČSÚ, Czech–Moravian union of craft-
breweries, Czech union of breweries and malt-houses, customs office of the Czech Repub-
lic, websites of the respective craft-breweries and personal connections with the owners
of craft breweries) in 2019. Detailed information and the most important characteristics
are presented in Table 2 and Figure 2.
Table 2. Production volume share of breweries, brewery groups and companies in the production volume of the Czech
Republic for the year 2019.
Brewing Company, Group Production Volume Share in the Total Production Volume
of the Czech Republic
Plzeňský prazdroj 9,850,000 hL 45.6%
Pivovary Staropramen 3
,
920
,
000 hL 20.8%
Heineken ČR 1,924,000 hL 8.9%
Budějovický Budvar 1,600,000 hL 4.7%
Pivovary Lobkowicz Group 752,000 hL 3.5%
LIV Group 694,000 hL 3.2%
AB InBev: 140,000 hL 0.6%
PMS Přerov 720,000 hL 3.3%
22 independent breweries 1,460,000 hL 6.8%
480 minibreweries 540,000 hL 2.5%
Total production volume of the Czech
Republic 21,600,000 hL 100%
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 7 of 12
Figure 2. Development of beer production and consumption in the Czech Republic in 2000–2019.
There are eight large brewing companies in the Czech beer market:
Plzeňský Prazdroj: breweries Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Radegast, Velkopopo-
vický kozel. Owned by Asahi Group Holding, Japan.
Pivovary Staropramen: Staropramen, Ostravar. Owned by MolsonCoors Brewing
Co., Canada and USA.
Heineken ČR: breweries Krušovice, Starobrno, Velké Březno. Owned by Heineken
N.V., Netherlands.
Budějovický Budvar: national business, owned by the Czech Republic.
Pivovary Lobkowicz Group: breweries Černá Hora, Hlinsko, Vysoký Chlumec, Pro-
tivín, Jihlava, Klášter and Hradiště. Owned by CEFC Geoup Company, China.
Pivovary Moravskoslezské Přerov: breweries Hanušovice, Litovel, Přerov. Owned
by HSK invest, Czech Republic.
LIV Group: breweries Svijany, Rohozec, Náchod. Owned by the company LIF Group
Czech Republic.
AB InBev: brewery Samson. Owned by AB InBev, Belgium. This company owns just
the Samson brewery with a production volume of 140,000 hL in the Czech Republic.
Twenty-two independent breweries and 480 craft breweries and restaurant brewer-
ies, production volume up to 10,000 hL.
The Czech Republic is a long-term beer exporting country where the consumption of
beer is lower than its production volume. The trend of export is continuously increasing—
in 2019 the Czech Republic exported 5.4 million hectoliters of beer. Slovakia has the big-
gest share in the export of Czech beer, over 1.3 million hectoliters has been shipped there
in 2019. Then Germany with 1 million hectoliters and Poland, the Russian Federation and
Hungary with exports of around 400,000 hectoliters. The import of beer into the Czech
Republic is negligible. In 2019, there were only 471,000 hectoliters imported into the Czech
Republic which is around 2% of the total production volume. Beers imported into the
Czech Republic are mostly special type beers and beers with a higher degree of alcohol
[34].
4.2. Opinions of the Owners or Operators of Minibreweries in the Czech Republic and Compari-
son of Results
According to the opinions of the respondents, the most important factor influencing
the demand for craft beer is its sensory expressiveness in its taste, as well as its scent and
color, which differentiates these beers from the unified (euro) beers that are produced by
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 8 of 12
industrial breweries. Another factor which supports the demand for craft beers is the re-
turn of consumers to local products and experiential gastronomy [34,35]. Even the higher
price of craft beers is not a challenge for the increase in demand. Craft beers are perceived
as a unique local product and for that, the consumers are willing to pay. All of these factors
are behind the significant increase in the number of craft breweries in the Czech Republic
and Slovakia. Currently, there are 480 craft breweries out of the 507 breweries that are in
the Czech Republic in total. Their layout within the regions of the Czech Republic is not
uniform, most of them (13% of the total number) are in South Moravian Region and the
least are in the Karlovy Vary Region (only 2% of the total number). Despite the overall
high number of craft breweries in the Czech Republic (the most per inhabitant, there is a
brewery for every 20,000 inhabitants, in Germany, for example, that ratio is one brewery
for every 50,000 inhabitants) more than 65% of respondents think that there is still space
for more on the market. According to the questioned owners and operators of craft brew-
eries, it is expected that their number will continue to rise. There are 30 to 50 new craft
breweries opened every year in the Czech Republic and since 2010 over 350 new craft
breweries were founded. According to the current craft brewers, founding a craft brewery
is still considered to be a very good investment opportunity. These conclusions are also
confirmed by Swinnen [36] and Materna [37].
The owners of Czech craft breweries expect the demand for craft beer to stay con-
sistent or even increase in the future, which could be caused by the increasing income of
the consumers and increasing demand for differentiated, high quality and local prod-
ucts—which craft beer is [29]. It is precisely craft breweries that offer the diversity that
consumers look for. According to a supporting survey among consumers, diversity is the
thing that is going to interest them in the future. The survey shows that consumers are
diverting from being “regulars“, where a customer regularly visits one, usually the closest
pub where they consume the permanent menu, in favor of searching for new beer types
and tastes in their immediate or distant surroundings. The spread of beer tourism follows
this trend, which is another modern trend after wine tourism in the Czech Republic, based
on which the so-called beer trails are created that sometimes connect border areas. The
demand for diversity is then reflected in the cooperation of craft breweries on joint mar-
keting of their products and mutual product sales.
These changes in the drinking patterns and lifestyle of Czech consumers have a sig-
nificant impact on the development of craft breweries. The consumption per inhabitant in
the Czech Republic is decreasing but its diversity and quality are increasing, which is
something that Czech consumers are willing to pay extra for. These conclusions coincide
with the conclusions of research carried out in Slovakia [9].
As for the production portfolio, craft breweries focus both on the production of clas-
sic lagers and on the different beer styles such as IPA, APA, stout, bitters, porter and more.
The diversity of craft beer is a result of differences in production technologies and input
variations. The inputs differ depending on the type of beer. Thirty-four percent of craft
breweries in the Czech Republic focus only on the production of bottom-fermented beers
(lagers), 63% on the production of both bottom-fermented and top-fermented beers and
the remaining 3% produce only top-fermented beers (IPA, APA, etc.). In Slovakia, 74% of
craft breweries focus on both forms of production, 10% focus only on bottom-fermented
beers and 16% of craft breweries focus on top-fermented beers [9]. The difference in the
number of breweries focusing only on bottom-fermented beers could be rooted in a long-
lasting tradition of Czech lagers and in the effort to preserve this tradition.
Motives for starting a craft brewery are mostly a desire to enrich the Czech beer
market, an effort to improve beer culture and it is still a great business opportunity since
the return is estimated to be five to seven years depending on the invested resources. The
survival rate of the newly established Czech craft breweries is more than 98% (since 2000,
only 26 craft breweries have closed down, mainly due to a bad strategy trying to compete
with a low price). Some owners of craft breweries (25%) financed their investments them-
selves, others (75%) used a combination of their own money and bank loans or subsidy
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 9 of 12
titles granted by the Ministry of Agriculture or industry and trade of the Czech Republic.
A similar reason is given by Jantyik [5]. Another thing apparent from the results is the fact
that only 5% of the current craft brewery owners have worked for an industrial brewery
before the craft brewery’s establishment. On the contrary, 45% of the current owners of
craft breweries in the Czech Republic were home brewers who decided to make their
hobby into a business. The remaining 50% did not have any experience with beer brewing
and founded the craft brewery as a form of investment. An interesting fact is that there is
32% of architects or people focusing on construction work in this group. This relatively
significant group was motivated to start a craft brewery for other reasons as well, for ex-
ample, reconstruction of old historical buildings. Their establishments are mostly a part
of farmhouses, mills and other originally agricultural buildings.
The accessibility of inputs, know-how of craft beer production was rated as very
good by the respondents. There are four main inputs needed for beer production: water,
malt, hop and yeast. Based on the conducted research it was found that 90% of malt used
for Czech craft beer production comes from the Czech Republic. Water is always from a
local source and in 80% of cases the yeast, which is either from an industrial brewery or
bought dried from Czech companies, is also locally sourced. This result is also confirmed
by the Czech Statistical Office. Hop is a bit more complicated with more than 30% being
imported into the Czech Republic [29]. It is mostly American, Australian and Japanese
hops that are very aromatic and used mostly for the production of beer types like IPA and
APA. Nonetheless, even these imported ingredients will in some cases be replaced with
hops that are still of American, Australian or Japanese variety, however, it will be culti-
vated in the Czech Republic. This is currently the case for the Japanese variety Sorachi ace.
This trend also corresponds with increasing shares of cultivated areas of foreign hops va-
rieties in the Czech Republic at the expense of a classic Czech variety—semi-early red-
bine hops, which was the only cultivated variety of hops in the Czech Republic until 1995.
Currently, it takes up 87% of cultivated areas. Other cultivated varieties are Brewmaster
6%, Premiant 3%, Saaz Late 1%, Agnus 1%, Kazbek 1% and Saaz Special 1%.
We can say that roughly 2% of the total inputs are imported, as the Czech Statistical
Office states [29]. In Slovakia, the situation is completely different with roughly 80% of
hops and malt being imported [9].
The equipment of breweries is another source of craft beer differentiation. There are
a few Czech producers and suppliers of brewing technologies such as Pacovské rolling
mill, Mini Brewery System etc. After their success in the Czech Republic, most of them
have focused on supplying technology abroad. Foreign subjects are interested not only in
Czech beer and hops but also in production technologies and brewers. The biggest iden-
tified problem concerning know-how and operating a craft brewery is the lack of qualified
brewers. Every craft brewery in the Czech Republic is listed under the so-called craft ac-
tivity, which must be conducted by a qualified brewer. The qualification for a trade cer-
tificate for this activity can be obtained either by graduating from university or high
school with documented practice in a brewery or by successfully completing the exami-
nations of full professional qualification in the field “Brewer–malter“. This examination
can be taken from 2021 in the Czech Republic. Another option which is widely used is
professional supervision where a person with the aforementioned education supervises a
craft brewery and is responsible for correct production techniques, the operation of the
brewery and even its economy. This option is implemented as a paid service. Currently,
one responsible person can supervise up to four craft breweries. Completing the training
or graduating in the field itself is expensive and very time-consuming so this situation
paired with the limited number of craft breweries that a qualified person can supervise is
one of the challenges that prevent further development of craft breweries in the Czech
Republic. On the other hand, this process of certification ensures that all medical and hy-
gienic requirements to protect the public are met. The situation is similar in Slovakia, how-
ever, the number of breweries that a qualified person can supervise is not limited there.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 9680 10 of 12
This section may be divided by subheadings. It should provide a concise and precise de-
scription of the experimental results, their interpretation, as well as the experimental con-
clusions that can be drawn.
5. Discussion
The presented results are in compliance with former studies [9,27,30–32,37–41],
which identified and described similar factors influencing the expansion of craft beer in
different countries, however, there are differences because of the diverse history of the
countries, levels of income, regional differences, a tradition of drinking beer and its sub-
stitutes. Thanks to the gained data we have identified some of the reasons that influence
the expansion of craft beer in the Czech Republic as stated above. Those are mostly: in-
creasing demand for diversified beer and various beer styles, increased levels of income,
which have a positive influence on the demand for differentiated and high-quality prod-
ucts, craft breweries are still considered to be a good business with the return rate of five
to seven years, accessibility of government support (EU subsidies, development funds of
the ministry of agriculture or industry and trade). On the contrary, factors identified to
hinder this expansion were mostly: substitutes such as wine and other alcohol, bureau-
cracy, lack of qualified brewers, tax politics (zero excise duty on still wine in the Czech
Republic discriminates the whole brewing industry).
The expansion of craft breweries in the Czech Republic seems to be a logical conse-
quence of the consolidation of the brewing industry, just like in many other European and
North American countries. There are currently more than 480 craft breweries in the Czech
Republic and several others are being built. However, there is still space for more, and it
is expected that by 2030 there will be over 1000 active craft breweries. The decision to start
a craft brewery was strongly supported by a lack of beer diversity on the market. Different
types of beer require different production techniques and inputs. Nonetheless, a vast ma-
jority of inputs is from the Czech Republic. The opening of most craft breweries is financed
with a combination of own resources and a bank loan or a subsidy.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not Applicable
Informed Consent Statement: Not Applicable
Data Availability Statement: All cited sources can be found in “references”.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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