The Cleavage: Budějovický Budvar

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Budějovický Budvar

Type	National enterprise
Founded	1895
Headquarters	České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Industry	Beverages
Products	Beers and lagers
Revenue	CZK 2.4 billion (2004)
Website	http://www.budvar.cz/

Budějovický Budvar is a brewery in the Czech Republic that is best known for brewing a beer known as Budweiser Budvar in European Union, Czechvar in the United States and Canada^[1], and either Budweiser Budvar or Budějovický Budvar in the rest of the world.

1 Beer Lineup

2 Dietary information

3 History and Trademark dispute

4 Privatization

5 References

6 External links

[edit] Beer Lineup

Budweiser Budvar Czech Premium Lager / Czechvar (Red Label): The classic Budějovický Budvar lager. Contains 5% alcohol by volume.

Budweiser Budvar Pale Beer (Gold Label): Marketed as a more accessible beer than the red label. Contains 4% alcohol by volume.

Budweiser Budvar Premium Dark Lager (Black Label): This beer is brewed in the same style as the red label, but is brewed from three different kinds of barley malts. Contains 4.7% alcohol by volume.

Budweiser Budvar non-alcoholic beer (Green Label): A non-alcohol version. Contains a maximum of 0.5% alcohol by volume.

Bud Super Strong (Dark Red Label): This beer is marketed as the super-premium member of the Budvar family. Contains 7.6% alcohol by volume.

Budweiser Budvar Yeast Lager: Unlike the other Budvar beers, Yeast Lager is served in kegs, not bottles. 5% alcohol by volume.

Pardál: Budvar calls Pardál "the perfect beer for sharp and full bitter flavoured beer lovers." Contains 3.8% alcohol by volume.

[edit] Dietary information

Budvar confirm their beer range do not include any animal ingredients.^[2]. Budvar have also confirmed that Budweiser Budvar Czech Premium Lager is suitable for vegetarians.^[3]

[edit] History and Trademark dispute

The original Budweiser Bier or Budweiser Bürgerbräu, had been founded in 1785 in Budweis, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire and had started exports to the US in 1871^[4] resp. 1875 ^[5]. In the U.S., Anheuser-Busch started using the Budweiser brand in 1876 and registered it two years later.

In Budweis, the new company (now named Budvar) was established in 1895 by mainly Czech brewers, which also started exporting beer with the adjective Budweiser ("Budějovický" in Czech). This led to the Budweiser trademark dispute. Negotiations between the three companies, the two from the original town and the American Anheuser-Busch, about using "Budweiser" reached an agreement in 1911 that allowed Anheuser-Busch to use the brand "Budweiser" only in North America.^[6]

As a result of World War I, the new state of Czechoslovakia also renamed the cities of Budweis and Pilsen, and in 1945 expelled the remaining German speaking population. After the fall of communism, both local breweries tried to secure rights to traditional names.

Since three companies had or have trademarks for the name "Budweiser", they have been party to many lawsuits in a number of countries. Because of such disputes, Budvar is sold in the United States and Canada under the label Czechvar.

In the European Union, Budějovický Budvar is recognized as a product with Protected Geographical Indication. However, the trademark rights to the name Budweiser for some products other than beer are owned by Anheuser-Busch^[7].

In 2002, Budějovický Budvar set up a subsidiary company in the UK, Budweiser Budvar UK Limited, and saw a dramatic rise in sales for Budweiser Budvar in the UK, where the brand gained far wider distribution. For the start of the 2002-03 Scottish football season, Budweiser Budvar began sponsoring Scottish First Division side Falkirk F.C.. In the 2002-2003, Falkirk won the First Division but were denied entry to the Scottish Premier League as the member clubs voted out their groundsharing proposals. Budweiser Budvar UK Ltd subsequently released a statement confirming their continued sponsorship of Falkirk in spite of this setback showing support for the club. Budweiser Budvar continued to sponsor Falkirk F.C. for another two seasons when Falkirk won the First Division again in 2004-2005 in the new Falkirk Stadium and were this time promoted to the SPL as a fitting end to Falkirk's Budweiser Budvar era.

In early 2007, Anheuser-Busch and Budvar reached an agreement that stated that A-B would market Budvar/Czechvar in the United States and several other countries for an undisclosed fee. However, both sides stated that this did not affect their lawsuits. Czechvar is listed in Anheuser-Busch's product lineup with brief product info sheet.

[edit] Privatization

On April 6, 2007, Czech Agriculture Minister Petr Gandalovič, whose ministry is in charge of the state-owned company, announced that the Budvar will take the first step toward privatization. Gandalovič repeated the possible privatization process would depend on the outcome of the trademark dispute with Anheuser-Busch. Earlier in 2007, Trade Minister Martin Říman suggested that Budvar could be sold at the same time as Prague's Ruzyně International Airport, the state-run Czech Airlines and the Czech Post to help the government cover a fiscal budget gap.^[8]^{[dead link]}