Prague brewery to test sales of hot beer special

The Prague brewery Staropramen, the second largest beer producer on the Czech market, plans to start testing the sale of a special hot beer this winter. According to the brewery’s director Zdenek Havelna, it could become an alternative to mulled wine, a popular beverage in winter.

The beer will be produced in the Pardubice brewery, which was acquired by Staropramen last year.

According to Mr Havlena, the range of beers offered in pubs has decreased due the coronavirus pandemic. The launch of a new, hot beer special could compensate for some of the losses.

“We want to test the product at selected Christmas markets around the country,” Mr Havlena told the Czech News Agency, adding that the hot beer special is not going to be produced in large volume.

“It is an alternative drink, which can be an addition to the traditional pre-Christmas, svařák (or mulled wine) and punch.”

The hot beer special will be Pardubice Porter, a strong, 19-degree variety.

In general, beer specials and stronger beers are usually more popular in the winter months and around Christmas. The company plans to produce other limited series in its regional breweries in the future.

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions in the spring, restaurants and pubs reduced their range of beer on sale, in some cases by as much as 50 percent. According to Mr. Havlena, special beers will begin to return to the menus when beer consumption rises to the values before the coronavirus pandemic.

In spite of the current development, the company doesn’t plan to narrow its range in the future, which includes import specials Hoegaarden and Leffe, writes the Czech News Agency.

Mr Havlena says he expects to see an increase in mainly non-alcoholic beers and beer-base drinks with lemonade flavours. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, which slashed the country’s beer incomes by about 15 to 20 percent, this particular segment has increased by around one fifth on the previous year.