Josef and his technicolour dreamjob
This time, we chat to Josef Tolar, head brewer at the iconic Budweiser Budvar brewery in the Czech Republic
How did you first get involved in beer?
As you probably know Czechs are more or less weaned on beer, so you don’t have a Damascus experience; rather beer is part of you from day one.
I always knew somehow that I was going to be a brewer and that’s why I took my degree in brewing at the Faculty of Brewing at the Institute of Chemical Technology Prague.
What is fashionable in beer at the moment?
I would say retro-dark beer. I use the word ‘retro’ advisedly because the Budvar Dark we launched four years ago is a modern version of what all Bohemian and Bavarian lager conditioned beers used to taste like before they were turned golden in the middle of the 19th century.
Right now, certainly in the Czech Republic, history is fashionable, heritage is fashionable and therefore drinking dark beer, or living history, is a perfect fashion statement.
What do you think we’ll be drinking in the future?
Beer of course. I am cautious by nature but I think after 6,000 years we can say the product has stood the test of time. I firmly believe, in Europe at least, that we shall see a massive return to the small local breweries producing world class brews. This will be stimulated as much by environmental considerations as by consumer choice. This is a long way down the line of course and in any event since the man from Carlsberg described Budweiser Budvar as “the biggest microbrewery in the world,” I don’t think we have anything to worry about!
What’s the best thing about working in the be.....
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By Sally Toms
Section : Last Shout
Page number : 82
