This Bud's for You

 We are Bohemians. Pilsner is Our Beer.

This is a prologue to the Louis Vokoun's story.

In English, it's beer. It Czech it's pivo. Pivo is a national heritage which is probably why the Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per capita in the world. Do you question this? It turns out that the Kirin Beer Company runs the Kirin Beer University. The fact that such an institute of higher learning exists is, well, amazing. It publishes lists of beer production and consumption (no doubt put out by doctoral students studying for their PhD in Beer ;-) Anyhow, here is the 2017 list per the Kirin Beer University.

Not only is the Czech Republic number one but it had held the title for 25 consecutive years! When it comes to beer consumption, Czech's are basically both the New York Yankees and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Based on those numbers, I'm betting we keep the title for a long, long time. Perhaps we Czechs’ greatest claim to fame is that we invented the world’s original Pilsner beer. 

Pivo has a long history in what is now the Czech Republic, with brewing taking place in Břevnov Monastery as early as 993. The city of Brno was granted the right to brew beer from the 12th century while Plzeň (Pilsen) and České Budějovice (Budweis), had breweries by the 13th century. However, a revolution (I think it is appropriate to call it that) in brewing that would impact the entire world occurred in Pilsen.

In brewing there are two fundamentally different fermentation processes, one produces ales and the other produces lagers. Ales are fermented with top-fermenting yeast at warm temperatures (60˚–70˚F), while lagers are fermented with bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F). Pilsen is the place where lagers were perfected.

Pilsen is west of Prague close to the German border. In the early 19th century, the German-speaking inhabitants of Plzeň (Pilsen), grew disgruntled with the local beer which was a top-fermented, dark, cloudy brew of dubious quality. They began to drink a cheaper imported bottom-fermented beer. The local brew as being over produced and wasted. So the burghers of Pilsen invested in a new, state-of-the art brewery, the Měšťanský pivovar (Burghers' Brewery), and hired Josef Groll, a Bavarian brewer, to brew a bottom-fermented beer. 

Josef Groll, the true 'King of Beers'

Groll had been experimenting with bottom-fermented beers in his father's brewery. But it was in Pilsen that he perfected his craft. He combined the soft water in Pilsen, barley malt prepared in indirectly heated English-style kiln and Saaz hops. Because Pilsen was higher altitude and thus could replicate Bavarian climate, he could continue to use winter ice year-round and brew cold, bottom-fermented even in the summer. The first batch was brewed from his new mash on October 5, 1842 (Yes, the exact date is preserved for history. They take beer seriously in Bohemia). On November 11 1842, the lager was first served at the feast of St. Martin. The result was called Pilsner and it was crisper, foamier, golden in color, and had an lighter herbal taste compared to other beer of its time. It proved to be tremendously popular.

Pilsen Brewery

Today Pilsner is the most popular beer in the world. It is estimated that 9 out of every ten beers served in the world is based on Josef Groll's invention. Budweiser, Miller, Coors, Heineken, Corona are all lagers inspired by Pilsner. (There is some variation in modern formulations which technically make them not Pilsner for anyone that serious about beer). However, in the Czech Republic, only Pilsner Urquell is considered to be a Pilsner beer. Even other Czech breweries have to refer to their product as a lager.

The relationship of Bohemian immigrants to their beer ran deep. After all, they were beer-drinking Catholics. One of the distinct immigrant neighborhoods that comprises Chicagoland is Pilsen. One of the seminal events for any immigrant group has to be its acceptance within the political structure of its new home. In the case of Chicago Czechs, the occurred with the election of  Anton Cermak as mayor in a city whose politics had been long dominated by Irish Americans. One of Cermak's signature positions  that galvanized his support by the city's newer immigrant population was his opposition to Prohibition.

One last interesting coincidence about Pilsen and the Vokoun family relates to the origins of other Vokouns around America. There seem to be three locations that Vokouns arrived to. Besides Chicago, there is Cleveland and Nebraska/Iowa. The Vokouns of Nebraska/Iowa come from near Pilsen which is why I doubt that they are closely related to our family.

Next time you are enjoying a lager, raise a glass and toast your Czech heritage.