Days of the Beer, October 28

The beer for today is Budweiser (Czechvar).

On October 28, 1918, Czechoslovakia was granted independence from Austria-Hungary.

At the time, it consisted of the present-day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia. The territory included some of the most industrialized regions of the former Austria-Hungary. It was a democratic republic before World War II, but there were ethnic problems with the dissatisfaction of the German and Slovak ethnic groups, as the Czechs held political and economic dominance.

In 1939, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and divided it into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and also the Slovak State.

After World War II, the pre-war borders were reestablished, and all people who took German or Hungarian citizenship during the war were forced out (the Hungarians were later allowed to stay, but the Germans were exported). In 1948, the Communists seized power. In 1989, the country became democratic again, around the same time as the fall of communism.

In 1992, Czechoslovakia was dissolved by parliament, and it's territories became the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993.

As to the beer:

The original Budweiser Bier (Budweiser Bürgerbräu) was founded in 1795, in Budweis Bohemia. Anheuser-Busch started using the Budweiser brand in 1876, and registered it two years later. A new company, Budvar, was established in 1895 by Czech brewers, which led to the Budweiser trademark dispute. Negotiations between the three companies, led to AB only being able to use the name Budweiser in North America. This also caused the Budvar to be sold in the US and Canada as Czechvar.

Czechvar is the special name (editor's note: for North America) of the world famous beer produced by the renowned brewery in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. Benefitting from over 700 years of brewing experience of the South Bohemian region, Czech is the golden original, acknowledged by many connoisseurs as one of the best lagers in the world.

So, for the founding of Czechoslovakia, have a Czechvar.

Budvar/Czechvar has been distributed in the US by Anheuser-Busch since January 2007, so it seems part of the hatchet has been buried.

Rumor has it, that if you go to the brewery for a tour, they don't like Americans very much, especially if you mention Anheuser-Busch; but if you say you like their beer better, they are much more accomodating.

For more information, you can pick up a copy of Budweiser Budvar Budejovicky; Budvar 1895-1995. I believe I have a copy of this book on my shelf somewhere. I've also got a six pack of the beer, that I should drink really soon.