The Friedland castle proudly stands on a high cliff in Northbohemian mountains and is among the most important castle complexes in Bohemia. Its grandeur can be admired not only from the eponymous historical town of Friedland but also from the local Albrecht brewery that is closely connected to the castle. Indeed, the brewery was established there as early as 1381 when the castle was owned by the Biberstein noble family who replaced the Old Bohemian Ronov family who had built the original castle back in the 13th century.
However, a key owner of Albrecht beers was the Redern noble family and ultimately Albrecht of Wallenstein. Indeed, the Rederns decided to turn microbrewing to real brewing by building a new brewery outside of the castle and a name to memorize is Katherina who was fighting so fiercely against the competing citizen brewery that citizens rebuffed Katherina from being buried at the local cemetery!
The exceptional Katerina 12 dark lager made out from 5 different malts is here to celebrate this brave lady. It is really very hard to believe that this rich and pleasantly bitter dark lager is only 4,5% ABV!
Then came supreme commander Albrecht of Wallenstein from a very old Bohemian noble house who was one of the most successful warriors of the 30 years war and as such was granted the Friedland duchy from the Emperor. Albrecht is the man who granted the brewery its current baroque shape and never missed a pint when travelling to his castle. He simply loved Albrecht beers.
Brewing has taken place at the premises ever since and not even the much-hated communist regime managed to destroy this amazing story – they eventually closed down the brewery but local entrepreneur and patriot Marek Vávra reopened this fantastic piece of history after the Velvet revolution!
Today, Albrecht is a recognized independent brewer in Bohemia celebrated for marrying traditional Bohemian brewing with new bold approaches.
So whilst you can savour the pleasantly bitter Albrecht Pilseners along with the amazing dark Katerina, you can also explore gems like the multi-awarded Morion Stout – Opaque Black and distinctive brown head with caramel coffee and dark chocolate flavour, this stout is surprisingly very easily drinkable which is a feature that characterises quality Czech beer in general. Medium to full body soft carbonation and a sweet finish. Made out of 8 different malts but exclusively English Fugles and East Kent Golding hops. Welcome to the Czech-English beer Nirvana!
Come to PIVO to taste the unique Albrecht lagers and ales on tap, in bottles and cans.
