8 March 2010
€10,000 Prize Fund Announced For Winner Of Pilsner Urquell International Master Bartender of the Year

What would you spend €10,000 on? A deposit on a house, a down payment on that pub you’ve had your eye on or the trip of a lifetime that you’ll remember when you’re old and grey? For the entrants to the Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender programme the answer to that question needs some careful consideration as the Czech lager has just announced €10,000 prize fund for its global winner.

The introduction of the €10,000 prize fund is just one of the changes in the 2010 Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender Programme. The brand recently announced that along with its UK Master Bartender, who will attend the final and represent the UK in the Czech Republic, the licensee of the winning premises will also attend the awe-inspiring awards ceremony, as well as visiting the brewery in Pilsen.

Gillian Loudon, Trade Marketing Manager for Miller Brands said, “We are delighted to offer our customers the chance for one of their bartenders to win €10,000. We know that there is some great talent in the pubs and bars across the UK; people who strive for excellence, are professional in everything that they do and have a thirst for knowledge.

“In 2008, Danny Walker won the title whilst representing the UK, so I have no reason to doubt that a bartender from the UK could once again be crowned Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender of the Year and take home €10,000.

The programme, which is open to selected draught stockists of Pilsner Urquell and is free to enter, tests bartenders’ knowledge covering the history of the Czech lager, the storage of the beer and the brand’s exacting standards in pour and presentation.

The top ten bartenders who successfully complete the various assessments will attend the national final which will be held in September with the winner representing the UK in the world final in the Czech Republic. Last year, the UK was represented by Chris Milner from Browns Bar and Brassiere in Leeds.

If you are a Pilsner Urquell stockist and would like to know more about the Master Bartender Programme, please contact the Programme Support Line on pilsnersupport@bmt.uk.com
-ends-
Issued: 04/03/10

For further information

Emma Currin
Leisure PR & Communications
(M) 07753 838 490
Email: emmacurrin@leisurepr.co.uk

Notes to editors:-

The Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender Programme

The Master Bartender programme was launched on the back of research commissioned by Miller Brands to understand the current levels of bartending and training needs. Only 6% of bartenders asked said that they had received training from a beer brand, compared to 49% from other drinks brands (spirits and wine). Of those beer training sessions, all had been about storage and service, not about the way the beer was brewed and why they taste the way they do.

Pilsner Urquell

Pilsner Urquell is the world’s first, clear golden beer, created in 1842. Pilsner Urquell means ‘pilsner from the original source’. It is the flagship brand of SABMiller’s international brand portfolio and is the company’s premier contender in the premium status segment of the market.

Named after the town in which it was created, the beer came to define a whole category (Pilsners) and set the standard for all lagers. At the brewery in Pilsen, Pilsner Urquell is still brewed to its original recipe (unchanged for over 165 years) using the parallel brewing process to ensure that the taste of the beer stays true. By brewing a sample batch of the beer in the traditional way, using original-style equipment, the beer can then be compared to that which is made using modern equipment to make sure the beers match perfectly – no other brewer in the world does this.

Using the finest ingredients: Saaz hops, malt and Pilsen water, Pilsner Urquell is an intensely hoppy beer with a crisp body and a balance of subtle sweetness with velvety bitterness.