Beer lovers know that Josef Groll is the father of pilsner-style lager, but we consider everyone who works for Pilsner Urquell part of one big family. In many cases, the history and traditions of brewing and serving our beer really have been passed down from father to son.

Our Head Tapster for Asia, Adam Vlček, grew up near our brewery in Plzeň. His great-grandfather worked as Pilsner Urquell’s Head Maltster and passed on his love of carefully brewed and perfectly poured beer to his family. Adam eventually opened his own pub in Plzeň, and more recently has been living in Asia, sharing his passion for Pilsner Urquell with that part of the world.

Father and son relationships have always played an important role at our brewery. The Hlaváček family includes three generations of Pilsner Urquell Brewmasters and more than 80 years of brewing tradition. František, Ivo and Jan Hlaváček all worked at our brewery during the 20th century, helping keep the flavour of our golden lager consistent.

Our current Brewmaster Emeritus, Václav Berka, also learned the trade from his father, who worked at our brewery for many years. As a young boy, Václav often spent time exploring our brewery. When it was time to choose his career, the choice was clear.

Sometimes fathers are the best teachers, and that has certainly been true for our beer. So this Father’s Day, raise a Pilsner Urquell to all the hard-working fathers out there, including the fathers of our golden lager!