Měšťanský pivovar Havlíčkův Brod - Czech Rebel Beer

Despite being a technologically advanced, modern facility, the brewery uses traditional lager brewing techniques to make their flagship beers, including open fermentation vats, cool conditioning in their lagering cellars and, of course, 100% barley malt. The result is a successful Czech pilsner. Rebel is a looker in the glass, offering a clear golden color topped with a robust and long-lasting head of fine white foam. On the nose, expect a soft but robust pale malt aroma, with a touch of caramelization and a hint of hay, along with earthy, spicy notes delivered by the Czech noble hops. These characteristics come through cleanly on the palate, too, as the pale malts offer a center of crackery flavor and mild sweetness to support the hops which provide that Central European character we expect and enjoy in these authentic lagers. The hops clear the palate with their spicy, herbal zing – creating a crisp finish that makes way for another sip. Spicy fare is always a good pairing, like pepperoni & sausage pizza and Mexican dishes; or, try with shellfish dishes like lemon-spritzed shrimp skewers. Na zdraví!

In the 13th century, Czechs settled along a trade route in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. One of these towns, on the bank of the Sázava River, was named Smilův Brod (Smil’s Ford), although it came to be known as Německý Brod (German Ford) not long after, when many Germans arrived and settled there as well. In 1333, the local king granted the town’s inhabitants the right to brew beer. Originally, each townsperson would malt their own grain and brew their own beer, but soon people banded together to form small breweries. Eventually, the few houses that were completely devoted to brewing associated together to construct larger, more efficient breweries that could supply beer for the whole town.

By the end of the 1700s there were two breweries serving the town, but by the mid 1800s they were both closed. One failed due to challenges with profitability (i.e. lack of it) and the other was consumed by fire. So, the citizens of Německý Brod came together and bought a small building that housed a tiny brewery – a building that is still active today as the Rebel brewery restaurant. This small facility was finally superseded in 1880 when a much larger brewery was constructed.

In 1945, upon the close of World War II, the town was renamed Havlíčkův Brod. But, not long after, and the Iron Curtain descended over Czechoslovakia and the communist government expropriated the brewery from its owners and ran it as a state enterprise from 1948 until the government fell during the 1989 Velvet Revolution. By 1995 the brewery was back in the hands of descendants of the original owners, and it remains to this day one of the last few independent breweries in the region. They currently produce about a dozen various lager beers under their Rebel brand.