In 1898, the Pilsner Urquell trade mark was created to put emphasis on being the original brewery. In 1859, “Pilsner Bier” was registered as a brand name at the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Pilsen. He gave it to the Bavarian-born brewer, Josef Grolle, at the Plzensky Prazdroj brewery.

In 1842, a Bavarian monk smuggled a bottom-fermenting lager yeast from Munich to the Bohemian town of Pilsen. Improving transport and communications also meant that this new beer was soon available throughout Central Europe, and the Pilsner Brauart style of brewing was soon widely imitated. While most people think of pilsner as a German style, it actually has its origins in Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic.

The combination of pale colour from the new malts, Pilsen's remarkably soft water, Saaz noble hops from nearby Žatec ( Saaz in German) and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer that was regarded as a sensation. The Bürger Brauerei recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll (1813–1887) who, using new techniques and paler malts, presented his first batch of modern pilsner on 5 October 1842. Part of this research benefited from the knowledge already expounded on in a book (printed in Hebrew in 1794, in Czech in 1799), written by Honzy z Žižkova ( Ger: Franz Andreas Paupie) (1753–1805) from Brno. German: ' gelagert'), which improved the beer's clarity and shelf-life. Bavarian brewers had begun aging beer made with bottom-fermenting yeasts in caves (i.e. The best Pilsner beers are characterized by a bready, biscuity, toasty malt profile with a gentle, spicy Noble hop character from indigenous atec hops. The officials of Pilsen founded a city-owned brewery in 1739, called German: ' Bürger Brauerei' (Citizens' Brewery - now Plzeňský Prazdroj), brewing beer according to the pioneering Bavarian style of brewing. Pilsner beer was revolutionary, sweeping Europe as the first-ever palatable, clear, golden-yellow brew. The taste and standards of quality often varied widely, and in 1838, consumers dumped whole barrels to show their dissatisfaction. Until the mid-1840s, most Bohemian beers were top-fermented.

Pilsner beer origin