USA: South African bartender wins Pilsner Urquell contest

South African bartender Cebo Magutshwa has won the final round of the contest organized by Pilsner Urquell aiming to find the bartender who draws the best beer, Prague Monitor published October 31.

Magutshwa beat Lukas Svoboda, from U Pinkasu in downtown Prague, and Pawel Wiszniewski, from Gliwice, Poland, in the final round of the contest, organised by Pilsner Urquell. Some 300 bartenders took part in competitions held in the Czech Republic, South Africa and Poland. The finals were held in New York.

The competition jury was impressed by Magutshwa's knowledge. In the finals, the bartenders did not tap beer but were tested by the jury.

"There was only a debate with the jury," said juror Vaclav Berka. The finalists had to prove they knew the production technology, special aspects of the beer and its history. The jury also paid secret visits to the restaurants where the competitors work.

"We did not want them to tap the beer well merely in the contest, but to serve the beer with a smile to each customer," said Berka. The goal of the contest is to make bartenders promoters of Pilsner Urquell.

"Our beer, when it leaves the brewery, is in a perfect shape. But we have to cover the space before it gets to the consumer. And bartenders play a very important role in this respect," said Berka.

The verdict of the jury upset Ludvik Bejvancicky, director of U Pinkasu, who was convinced his employee lost to Magutshwa because of the language barrier. Bejvancicky also said the results reflected the business interests of Pilsner Urquell, which made by Plzensky Prazdroj and which is in turn owned by SABMiller, in South Africa, Bejvancicky added.

But Berka said this was not true. "The nervousness of the finalists played a bigger role, because it prevailed over all knowledge," he said.

03 November, 2006