About us
Brewery
Beer production in Banská Bystrica has a history of more than five hundred years.
The tradition of beer from Urpín
The brewing tradition in Banská Bystrica dates back to 1501. This rich history was followed by a modern brewery built in the Radvaň – Kráľová district, which was put into operation on 13 August 1971 under the name Pivovar Urpín with an annual capacity of 350 thousand hectolitres of beer.
Today, Banskobystrický pivovar, a.s. is a continuator of this tradition, which has been undergoing a comprehensive renovation since 1 May 2007. The new management has already invested more than
Exceptional Slovak beer
- Crystal clear mountain water from the surrounding Bystrian hills
- Slovak hops of the highest quality
- Levický malt from southern Slovakia, which in 2016 was the first in its category to be entered in the EU Register of Protected Geographical Indications
The Banská Bystrica brewery is built on honesty, quality and tradition, and its goal is to continue to bring exceptional beer experiences to all beer lovers.
Awards that say it all
The Urpiner brand boasts a number of prestigious domestic and international awards from tasting competitions such as:
European Beer Star
Frankfurt International Trophy
Czech Beer Seal
Beer of the Czech Republic
Slovak beer crown
Slovak Craft Beer Cup
History
The first mention of brewing beer in Banská Bystrica dates back to 1501.
In the heart of central Slovakia lies the town of Banská Bystrica. The tremendous wealth of ores, especially copper, was the treasure of the “golden period” of the city’s history in the 14th – 16th centuries. With the development of mining, other crafts also flourished. According to oral tradition, the brewing tradition in Banská Bystrica is estimated to be more than 500 years old. The brewery entrepreneurs in Banská Bystrica were first the colonised Germans, followed by Hungarian industrialists and then the trading Jews.
The right to brew beer in the houses of the square also appears in the preserved archival documents from the period of granting rights to the town. In 1501, the council and the richtár of Banská Bystrica asked Vladislav II to grant a new town privilege. This request was later granted under the monarch Louis II with a privilege of 7 August 1524. Until the privilege was granted, light wheat beer was brewed with the permission of the town council. The first mention of bottling beer dates back to 1516. Brewing beer in Banská Bystrica was widespread in the 17th century. Over 80 breweries were established in a short period of time. The development of the brewery guild is also evidenced by the “Articules of the Brewmasters”, published in 20 articles in 1636.
The industrial production of beer in Banská Bystrica began in the second half of the 19th century, after the collapse of the guild system. According to archival documents, a new municipal brewery was built in 1871 on the current Moyzes Square.
The peculiarity of this brewery was that part of the technology such as the cold store, fermentation room, lager cellar and kegging room was located in a different place, behind Hušták (part of Trosky), near Radvanské barracks, at the entrance to the town, where today there is an off-ramp crossroads. The brewed beer was transported in wooden vats from the square to Trosky for further processing. The brewery owned three lakes (taichs) in which ice was made in winter.
The equipment was outdated and all the work was done by hand. Around 5 000 hl of beer were produced annually. Banskobystrický beer had a good reputation, namely Banskobystrický Porter and Ležiak (20% and 16%). The owners exported these beers as far as Pest and Vienna.
The brewery and the malt house were passed down from generation to generation by the Heritz family until 1942, when the new owner Ján Beňuš took over the brewery. It is rapidly modernising the equipment in the brewhouse and bottling plants. In 1944 the brewery produced more than 20 000 hl of beer, which is about 60% of its capacity. Despite the high quality of the beer, only 5% of the production is sold in the city and the rest is transported up to 160 km from the brewery. Beer warehouses have been set up in the town and immigrant beer merchants bring beer from all the breweries.
V 50. – 60. years the brewery produced 3 000 – 5 000 hl of beer per month, in the range of 7, 10, 12% and holiday 16% dark beer. The development of brewing continued and a new modern brewery in Radvan – Kralova was built on the traditions of the production of “Zlatopramen” beer, which was named URPÍN. The foundation stone was laid in 1968 and after three years of construction the new plant with a capacity of 350,000 hl of beer per year was put into operation.
Beer production
Technological procedure of beer production.
The production of Urpiner beer starts with the use of the highest quality Slovak ingredients – unique Bystrica water, the highest quality Slovak hops and protected Levice malt, with a protected geographical indication of the EU.
In the first stage, the malt is ground and mixed with water to form a slurry. The mixture is gradually heated to different temperatures to activate enzymes and break down sugars and proteins. The resulting solution – the wort – is separated from the residual mash, which is not further used. The wort is pumped into the wort kettle, where it is boiled with the hops. During the boiling process, the bitter substances and aromas from the hops are released into the wort and sterilisation takes place. The resulting wort is subsequently cooled and passed to the spilka centre.
Yeast that has been previously multiplied in the laboratory is added to the sparge. The wort with the yeast is pumped into the fermentation tanks where the main fermentation takes place. During the main fermentation, sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. After this process is completed, the young beer is pumped into the lager cellars. In the lager cellars, the beer matures in horizontal tanks at low temperatures for up to 7 weeks. During the maturation process, the flavour, clarity and carbon dioxide are added to the structure of the beer. The maturation process gives the beer its final sensory characteristics and makes it ready for filtration and further processing.
In order to naturally prolong the shelf life and achieve sparking transparency, the beer is filtered, i.e. freed from yeast and turbidity, on a mechanical filter to which a special filter medium is added. The turbidity-causing substances are captured on the filter and the filtered, clear beer is stored in storage tanks.
1. Production of wort
From the main raw materials – water, spring malt and hops, the wort is produced in the brewhouse by decoction mashing, from which the wort is obtained by boiling with the hops. Each type of beer is produced according to a prescribed technological procedure, which takes into account the specific requirements for each type of beer. The hot wort is cooled down to fermentation temperature and fermented with brewer’s yeast.
2. Main fermentation
The main fermentation takes place in a semi-continuous manner in closed fermentation tanks, observing the prescribed fermentation time and temperature. The main fermentation produces the largest proportion of alcohol and carbon dioxide. After the main fermentation is finished, the young beer is kegged in lager tanks in the lager cellar.
3. Finishing of beer
Finishing of the beer takes place in the lager tanks in the lager cellar at low temperatures for the time specified in the technological procedure. During the even fermentation the beer is clarified, carbon dioxide is sufficiently bound, rich foaminess, clean taste and aroma of the beer are achieved. After the end of the fermentation, the beer is filtered.
4. Filtration
The fermented beer is filtered on a diatomaceous earth filter. The filtered clear beer is stored in storage tanks.
5. Bottling of beer
Clear filtered beer meeting the quality requirements of the Slovak Food Code is filled into clean glass bottles, cans and kegs. In order to increase the shelf life of the beer, the beer is pasteurised.
Innovation
Honest ingredients, master craftsmanship and traditional cooking process. Discover the secrets of a beer that has not only won many awards, but also the hearts of beer drinkers.
Urpiner restaurant & pub
The new restaurant offers a complete selection of draft Urpiner beers along with a unique gourmet cuisine. The restaurant is therefore an excellent place to host not only a private celebration, but also an unconventional teambuilding event, a Christmas party, corporate training, or a small conference.
The entire venue has a capacity of 100–140 seats.
