The Jihlava brewery is a prominent building of the Vrchlického Street and one of the most distinctive landmarks in Jihlava. Brewing has a long tradition in Jihlava. Each competent burgher had the right to brew beer and have it on tap, but it was not allowed to tap beer outside the city walls. In the 15th century, there were numerous malt houses operating in Jihlava, while breweries were centred in approximately four locations, where burghers with brewing rights took turns to brew beer.
The brewing craft in Jihlava played an important political and economic role. This is also indicated in one of three important deeds issued by Charles IV for Jihlava between 1346 and 1369. In one of them, the Emperor prohibited brewing of beer in villages, probably on the initiative of Jihlava burghers. In addition to cloth traders and weavers, maltsters and brewers were among the most prosperous professions in the city and represented a major political power on the City Council. There was also a certain amount of protectionism as the City Council gave preference to local applicants and apprentices for this trade over those from elsewhere. As prosperity of individual trades grew, guilds began to be established. The first evidence of them in Jihlava dates back to the 1340s. The oldest brewer statutes date back to 1531.
The good reputation of Jihlava beer and the convenient transit position of the city are also evidenced by the fact that the beer was delivered to the court of the Archduke Albrecht’s widow, Queen Elisabeth, to the court of his son, Ladislaus the Posthumous, and even to the court of Emperor Frederick III. At the beginning of the 17th century, about 900 batches were brewed in Jihlava in one winter period, primarily intended for export to Austria. Domestically, beer was mainly supplied to Brno. However, none of the four breweries survived the Thirty Years’ War, while 23 malt houses suffered considerable damage during that period.
In the middle of the 18th century, beer tapping pertained to “houses with brewing rights” (Mälzhäuser), the number of which settled at 123 at the time, corresponding to a quarter of the town houses within the city walls. There were still four breweries in operation: in the Bohemian Quarter at what is now Brněnská Street 15, in the Holy Mother Quarter (čtvrť Matky Boží) on what is now Mrštíkova Street, in the Saxon Quarter (Saská čtvrt) in a house at the corner of what are now Palackého and Benešova Streets, and in the Mlátečná Quarter in the western part of what is now the Grandhotel at Husova Street 1. Other breweries disappeared. For example, the small brewery located in the house at U Mincovny no. 6 was replaced by a malt house and warehouse, another small brewery located in a house on the corner of Masarykovo náměstí Square 26 and Znojemská Street ceased to exist at the beginning of the 19th century.
Rapid development in the 19th century began to affect the brewing industry, too. The influence of guilds was fading, and they were abolished on the 20th of December 1859 by the State of Austria. As the era of small breweries was drawing to a close, maltsters decided to concentrate capital as well as production. In 1859, they joined forces to build a large-capacity brewery. Its profitability was high, which is evidenced by the fact that the association with brewing rights that operated the brewery became the largest tax payer in Jihlava at the time.
In 1859, a brewery buildings project was designed by the builder Alexander Theuner. The construction was assigned to the master bricklayer Mathias Lang. Based on the archives available, it can be inferred that Mathias Lang was also cooperating with Ignaz and Franz Lang in constructing the brewery buildings. Later on, starting in 1916, the name of another member of the Lang family – Gustav – starts to appear in this context, too. The architecture of the Jihlava brewery was typical of the mid-19th century. The builder Theuner with his partners conceived it in a romantic, Neo-Gothic style. The new building on a greenfield site was surrounded by a small Biedermeier garden. Josef Rosenberg, a prominent brewery designer and builder, who ran his technical office in Jihlava from 1873–1915, was also involved in the project. He designed an arched underground cold store, where the beer could ferment in a cool environment. The construction was completed in 1861 and the brewery was inaugurated on the 4th of April.
The inauguration commenced with high Mass in the Church of St. Jacob. The procession went on to the brewery, which was then consecrated by a Minorite priest. Karel Brandtner became the brewery director, and J. Jelínek was the head brewer. In the following years, the brewery was expanded and modernised. A barley warehouse was built in 1865 and a pub in 1869. In November 1871, a new steam boiler was supplied by H. A. Luz company from Brno. In 1873, a second malt kiln for drying green malt was built. In 1874 and 1885, Ringhoffer company supplied a boiler (or more precisely two boilers, which were used in turn) and other machinery. Škoda also supplied other brewery equipment. In the 1890s, a weighing machine was installed, the pub was extended and small construction changes were made. In 1916, during the First World War, new cooling machines were installed. After the new brewery was built, production increased. In comparison to the 17,433 hectolitres brewed in 1828, production increased to 44,319 hectolitres in 1910.
The regular occurrence of two names – H. A. Luz and J. V. Novák – in archival documents and on their stamps might be of interest. Heinrich Alexander Luz was a German businessman active in Brno. He was engaged in the production of steam engines for sugar factories, distilleries and breweries. In 1873, imperial councillor Josef Vincenc Novák, industrialist and brewery owner, together with Richard Jahn set up a company specialising in the production of equipment for the same industrial sectors. The Jihlava brewery had its own water well, and a steam engine used to stand near the brewhouse. The brewery always used the most modern technology. From 1923–1929, a new boiler room was set up. From 1927–1930, machine cooling was introduced. From 1934–1936, fermentation room buildings and a vacuum pump for drawing green malt from the malting floors to the malt kiln were added. Between 1920 and 1945, the brewery had 70 employees.
After the Second World War, the brewery was nationalised. From 1948–1959, it was part of the Horácké Breweries (Horácké pivovary) national enterprise. From 1960–1990, it operated under Jihomoravské Breweries (Jihomoravské pivovary) company. While smaller brewery enterprises in the area were disappearing, production at the Jihlava brewery was increasing. In 1962, it reached a record level of 200,000 hectolitres. At that time, the brewery compressors were used to cool the ice rink in the nearby Horácký zimní stadion stadium. From the 1950s, many changes were made in the brewery, including the construction of a canteen from 1950–1952, where the builder Ctibor Máčel was engaged, and the construction of fermentation tubs in 1959.
In 1995, the brewery was privatised, and Karl Schwarz, successor to the Austrian-Czech brewery family (Brauerei Zwettl Karl Schwarz) became the majority owner. The new owner modernised production significantly, but also incurred substantial debt, and many consumers claimed that the quality and popularity of Jihlava beer had declined. In 1996, the enterprise underwent extensive renovation according to the project by Jaroslav Huňáček from Fortis studio, when the lager cellars were restored and the workshops and garages converted into a restaurant. A new gazebo and playground were also built in the garden. Though less visible, loft conversions were also carried out. At the turn of the millennium, however, the brewery found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. The situation improved towards the end of 2008, when the brewery was purchased by the Czech company K Brewery Group (now Pivovary Lobkowicz Group, a. s.). It began brewing beer using recipes from the 1980s, and changed the logo, which now resembles the older logo from the 1970s. Most restaurants in Jihlava began to have the re-established Ježek beer on tap again.
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