Top 10 Czech Beers and Breweries

Kozel (meaning "goat" in Czech) is brewed by the Velke Popovice Brewery south of Prague, founded in 1874, and is one of the Czech Republic's most beloved and widely distributed brands both domestically and internationally. The brewery's dark lager, Kozel Cerny, is particularly prized for its smooth, slightly sweet roasted malt character achieved at a relatively low 3.8% ABV. The Kozel brand, now part of the Asahi Group, sells more than 3 million hectolitres per year and is especially popular in Russia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.

Bernard is an independent family-owned Czech brewery based in Humpolec, founded in 1597 and revived in 1991 after the fall of communism by entrepreneurs Stanislav Bernard and two partners. Unlike most large Czech brewers, Bernard uses unpasteurised beer and no additives, preserving a traditional live-yeast character that gives its lagers a fuller, fresher flavour. The brewery has won numerous international awards and has become a symbol of the Czech craft and micro-brewery revival, now producing over 250,000 hectolitres annually.

Budvar, brewed in Ceske Budejovice (Budweis in German) since 1895, is a state-owned Czech brewery famous for its long-running legal dispute with Anheuser-Busch over the right to use the "Budweiser" name — a battle that has played out in courts across over 60 countries for more than 100 years. The Czech Budvar lager is brewed using traditional methods including a 90-day lagering period, one of the longest in commercial brewing. It exports to over 70 countries and sells approximately 1.7 million hectolitres annually, remaining a point of fierce national pride.

Staropramen ("Old Spring") has been brewed in the Smichov district of Prague since 1869 and is the capital city's largest and most historic brewery, attracting over 100,000 visitors per year to its original 19th-century brewery complex. The brand is now part of Molson Coors and is one of the best-selling Czech beers in the UK, where it has cultivated a strong following in pubs and restaurants. Its flagship pale lager is brewed with Bohemian Saaz hops and Moravian barley, maintaining classic Czech lager character at scale.

Gambrinus, named after the legendary Flemish "King of Beer," is the best-selling beer in the Czech Republic by domestic volume, brewed in Plzen alongside Pilsner Urquell by the same Plzensky Prazdroj company (now part of Asahi). Introduced in 1869, it targets the everyday Czech drinker with an approachable, clean pale lager at a more accessible price point than its premium sibling. Gambrinus holds roughly 15% of the Czech domestic beer market and remains a fixture of neighbourhood pubs (hospodas) throughout Bohemia and Moravia.

Kout na Sumave is a small historical brewery in the Sumava region of southwestern Bohemia, revived in 2006 after decades of dormancy, and has quickly become the most critically acclaimed craft brewery in the Czech Republic. Its unfiltered, unpasteurised lagers — particularly the 12-degree and 14-degree "special" grades — are widely considered benchmarks of the traditional Czech lager style by international beer critics and experts. Kout na Sumave is frequently cited in rankings of the world's best beers and has become a pilgrimage destination for serious beer enthusiasts.

The Zatec Brewery, based in the Bohemian city renowned as the world capital of Saaz hops since the 13th century, produces beers that showcase the singular aroma and gentle bitterness of the Zatec (Saaz) hop variety that defines the Czech lager style. Saaz hops, grown in a protected area around Zatec in northern Bohemia, have PDO status under EU law and are exported to brewers in over 40 countries. The brewery's signature "Chmelar" ("Hop Picker") lager is a celebrated expression of single-origin hop terroir.

Rohozec is a small family-run brewery in Liberec Region dating to 1850 that has become a darling of Czech beer enthusiasts for its classically crafted, unfiltered pale lagers brewed from local Bohemian ingredients with no additives or shortcuts. The brewery's intimate scale — producing fewer than 30,000 hectolitres per year — allows for meticulous attention to fermentation and lagering that larger industrial operations cannot match. Rohozec is a prime example of the renaissance of small traditional Czech breweries that has accelerated since 2010.

Matuska is a Broumy-based microbrewery founded in 2009 by homebrewer Martin Matuska that is widely credited with pioneering the Czech craft beer revolution, introducing American-style IPAs, wheat ales, and barrel-aged beers to a market historically dominated by pale lagers. The brewery produces over 40 different styles and its Raptor IPA was one of the first Czech craft beers to gain significant international recognition. Matuska has inspired dozens of craft breweries across the Czech Republic and exports to the UK, Germany, and the United States.

Kozel (meaning "goat" in Czech) is brewed by the Velke Popovice Brewery south of Prague, founded in 1874, and is one of the Czech Republic's most beloved and widely distributed brands both domestically and internationally. The brewery's dark lager, Kozel Cerny, is particularly prized for its smooth, slightly sweet roasted malt character achieved at a relatively low 3.8% ABV. The Kozel brand, now part of the Asahi Group, sells more than 3 million hectolitres per year and is especially popular in Russia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.

Bernard is an independent family-owned Czech brewery based in Humpolec, founded in 1597 and revived in 1991 after the fall of communism by entrepreneurs Stanislav Bernard and two partners. Unlike most large Czech brewers, Bernard uses unpasteurised beer and no additives, preserving a traditional live-yeast character that gives its lagers a fuller, fresher flavour. The brewery has won numerous international awards and has become a symbol of the Czech craft and micro-brewery revival, now producing over 250,000 hectolitres annually.

Budvar, brewed in Ceske Budejovice (Budweis in German) since 1895, is a state-owned Czech brewery famous for its long-running legal dispute with Anheuser-Busch over the right to use the "Budweiser" name — a battle that has played out in courts across over 60 countries for more than 100 years. The Czech Budvar lager is brewed using traditional methods including a 90-day lagering period, one of the longest in commercial brewing. It exports to over 70 countries and sells approximately 1.7 million hectolitres annually, remaining a point of fierce national pride.

Staropramen ("Old Spring") has been brewed in the Smichov district of Prague since 1869 and is the capital city's largest and most historic brewery, attracting over 100,000 visitors per year to its original 19th-century brewery complex. The brand is now part of Molson Coors and is one of the best-selling Czech beers in the UK, where it has cultivated a strong following in pubs and restaurants. Its flagship pale lager is brewed with Bohemian Saaz hops and Moravian barley, maintaining classic Czech lager character at scale.

Gambrinus, named after the legendary Flemish "King of Beer," is the best-selling beer in the Czech Republic by domestic volume, brewed in Plzen alongside Pilsner Urquell by the same Plzensky Prazdroj company (now part of Asahi). Introduced in 1869, it targets the everyday Czech drinker with an approachable, clean pale lager at a more accessible price point than its premium sibling. Gambrinus holds roughly 15% of the Czech domestic beer market and remains a fixture of neighbourhood pubs (hospodas) throughout Bohemia and Moravia.

Kout na Sumave is a small historical brewery in the Sumava region of southwestern Bohemia, revived in 2006 after decades of dormancy, and has quickly become the most critically acclaimed craft brewery in the Czech Republic. Its unfiltered, unpasteurised lagers — particularly the 12-degree and 14-degree "special" grades — are widely considered benchmarks of the traditional Czech lager style by international beer critics and experts. Kout na Sumave is frequently cited in rankings of the world's best beers and has become a pilgrimage destination for serious beer enthusiasts.

The Zatec Brewery, based in the Bohemian city renowned as the world capital of Saaz hops since the 13th century, produces beers that showcase the singular aroma and gentle bitterness of the Zatec (Saaz) hop variety that defines the Czech lager style. Saaz hops, grown in a protected area around Zatec in northern Bohemia, have PDO status under EU law and are exported to brewers in over 40 countries. The brewery's signature "Chmelar" ("Hop Picker") lager is a celebrated expression of single-origin hop terroir.

Rohozec is a small family-run brewery in Liberec Region dating to 1850 that has become a darling of Czech beer enthusiasts for its classically crafted, unfiltered pale lagers brewed from local Bohemian ingredients with no additives or shortcuts. The brewery's intimate scale — producing fewer than 30,000 hectolitres per year — allows for meticulous attention to fermentation and lagering that larger industrial operations cannot match. Rohozec is a prime example of the renaissance of small traditional Czech breweries that has accelerated since 2010.

Matuska is a Broumy-based microbrewery founded in 2009 by homebrewer Martin Matuska that is widely credited with pioneering the Czech craft beer revolution, introducing American-style IPAs, wheat ales, and barrel-aged beers to a market historically dominated by pale lagers. The brewery produces over 40 different styles and its Raptor IPA was one of the first Czech craft beers to gain significant international recognition. Matuska has inspired dozens of craft breweries across the Czech Republic and exports to the UK, Germany, and the United States.