E-Malt.com News article: Czech Republic: Budweiser Budvar has put in operation a new unique system for the non-pasteurised beer distribution

Budweiser Budvar, N.C. launched a completely unique technology for the non-pasteurised beer (so-called “tank beer”) distribution, according to company’s press release, June 28. The brewery’s development team created a complex and in the Czech background rare technology of distribution consisting of a container system. The development of the whole system took 14 months. The total costs of the development and production, including two delivery vehicles amounted to CZK 8 million.

“We created a unique technology system, which levered out many disadvantages connected with the up-to-then used storage tanks,” says Budweiser Budvar’s development team manager, Bohumil Maťha. The system is based on special heat-insulated 10 hectolitre beer containers, which keep the beer cold for at least 24 hours. The containers are filled in the brewery under sterile conditions and are then shipped by HGV to the distribution centres. One HGV can take up to 16 such containers. In the distribution centres, the beer containers are moved onto specially adjusted vans, which are equipped with among others a transfer pump and sterile hose. Under sterile conditions, the container gets connected through the hose directly onto the Duo-tank in the restaurants cellar. Therefore, the usual way where the storage tank and the tank are connected with hoses or distributing main kept in the place of the beer consumption, is not used. “As opposed to the competitors’ systems, our system does not need the cleaning of the distributing main at every filling of the cellar tanks. As during this time, the beer often became contaminated, it wasted time and additionally, the restaurant owner had to pay for such cleaning,” adds Bohumil Maťha.

Transferring the beer from the container takes only 12-14 minutes. The total weight of a fully loaded delivery van including the beer is 6 tons. The system is operated by a micro-processor and is undemanding as far as technical handling is concerned. Above all, the new way enables the tank beer delivery to the restaurants in the central parts of towns (where the typical storage tanks usually cannot enter) and keeps the quality as well as the freshness of the beer during the shipping. Amongst other benefits are the shipping cost economies and saving of the time spent during the beer transfer to the restaurant tank.

The system has so far been operating in the area of Central Bohemia. The beer is delivered this way into three Prague restaurants (U Šumavy – Štěpánská 3, Pod Slavínem – Svobodova 144 and Rocky o’Reily – Štěpánská 32) and their number is expected to rise. From August, the new delivery system is also going to operate in the Region of South Bohemia.


04 July, 2007