Czech anger at British beer claims

By Rob Cameron
BBC News, Prague

Czech brewers have reacted angrily to claims by Britain's Campaign for Real Ale, or Camra, that the quality of Czech beer is on the decline.

Camra says that modern production methods introduced by multinational companies are having an adverse affect on the taste.

Czech brewers say they are keeping up with technology

Members of the Czech beer industry gathered in a Prague pub on Tuesday to rubbish Camra's claims that the famous Pilsner-style brew just is not what it used to be.

Camra says the multinationals that dominate Czech beer are ruining it with imported hops and new technology.

That's nonsense, says the head of the Czech Beer and Malt Association, Jan Vesely.

"In the early 1990s, beer was fermented in wooden vessels. The quality for sure could not be kept at that level, the equipment didn't allow that. They decided to jump from the 19th to the 21st century.

"The only aim was to keep the final quality the same - unchanged."

Steady consumption

Jan Vesely says the British telling Czechs how to make beer is like the Czechs telling the French how to make champagne.

We think that there is a danger the Czech beer market could lose its reputation around the world as a quality product Mike Benner, Camra

But Mike Benner, executive director of Camra, says it was not his group's intention to insult anybody.

"We're not trying to stick our noses in where it's not wanted. We realise we're British consumers. We're not trying to tell the Czechs what to do," he said.

"But we do think that there is a danger the Czech beer market could lose its reputation around the world as a quality product. And we'd like consumers to get involved in fighting back on that."

Czech beer consumption remains steady at around 160 litres per person per year. That's just under one pint a day for every man, woman and child.

It's the highest figure anywhere in the world. If Czech beer is really getting worse, say the brewers, then why are people still drinking it?