Stanislav Bernard – "Pivo dobré, majitel magor." To je Bernard. | LIDÉ Z PRAXE

Thank you. Good day. My name is Standa Bernard. I asked to sit down because I have a light cold, but I think I'll manage. I'd like to make this interactive rather than a monologue. Let me start with a bit of history. We bought the Humpolec brewery in 1991 at auction for 52 million crowns, while its book value was only 9.5 million. The brand had a ruined reputation, so we had to dump most of the beer inventory. In 1995 we saw a dramatic sales drop because we reached capacity. I raised prices sharply, but there were also price wars, bribes to pub owners, and the merger of Pilsner Urquell and Radegast. In 1993 I founded the Small Independent Brewers Association, and in 1995 I managed to get a reduced excise tax for small breweries – something I'm still proud of. Today we have 270 microbreweries in the Czech Republic, compared to about 1,000 in Germany, but per capita we lead. We also won gold at Pivex in 1994, which was a huge boost. In 2001 we sold 50% to Belgian brewer Duvel Moortgat. They don't interfere with our operations; we simply inspire each other. We've been partners for 15 years. Now, any questions about this history?

Regarding capital, the book value was 9.5 million. As for people, we started with 30 employees – 20 from the previous state brewery and 10 from our families. Today we have about 200 employees. Why sell 50%? The beer industry is extremely competitive. We were fighting for survival, reinvesting all profits, but we were still in a prehistoric technological state. We sold 50% to accelerate development. Personally, I don't care whether I own 100% of a struggling company or 25% of a thriving one; what matters to me is the process, not the feeling of ownership.

I get that question often. You think differently today. Back then, after the revolution, we had no experience. My partner was a professional brewer. He told me about the auction in Humpolec. I went, we bought it, and only then did we start thinking about what to do. It was completely against the textbooks. So it wasn't a conscious choice – it just happened.

In principle, yes, because competition was less dense. We could make ourselves known while the big brewers were sleeping. But payment morale was terrible, courts didn't work, and fraud was rampant. So it was easier in some ways, harder in others. Still, I believe there are endless opportunities today as well – you just have to find a niche. It's like music: there will always be new bands and new ideas.

Thank you. The idea came simply. In early 1992, I met a German brewer named Roland Demleitner at a marketing seminar. He explained that in Germany, small independent breweries had a reduced excise tax, which is why there are over 1,000 microbreweries there. I realized that was the only way to preserve a diverse beer market here. So I founded the Small Independent Brewers Association, which initially had about 25 breweries. Then I tried lobbying ministries: the antimonopoly office rejected it, the agriculture minister said he'd help but did nothing, but the finance minister (a colleague of Klaus) surprisingly said in the media he could imagine it, but then faced huge backlash. So I turned to a former classmate who was an MP. He arranged a meeting with a few coalition MPs. I explained the logic, and they agreed it made sense. But a formal parliamentary bill from the coalition would be blocked. So they found an opposition MP – an economist from the left – who submitted the bill. Then we made a computer game on floppy disks for all MPs. After they played the first level, they had to watch a presentation explaining why they should vote for our bill before they could continue playing. The bill passed in December 1994 because the whole opposition voted for it, along with about five coalition MPs who convinced others. I'm proud that no one was bribed. Then President Havel, under pressure from big breweries, challenged the law at the Constitutional Court, claiming it violated the charter of fundamental rights. The argument was nonsense – tax systems are inherently unequal. The Court upheld the law in early 1995. It took effect on July 1, 1995, and is still in place. Today we have almost 300 microbreweries. So it worked.

Fine. I think we'll skip the investment slides. There are some pictures...

Or jump in there. I'll just skim through it. I won't comment on this, please, and don't read it. Throughout this time, we've only been repairing and investing. So here are the photos: old brewhouse, new brewhouse, boiler room, inside brewhouse, fermentation cellar. That no longer exists at this location. The vault you see in the upper picture is now replaced by a new section of pressure tanks for lager beer. Here you see construction of the barrel filling area, and above is a staff room. We are building a new lager tank section. This is a note: we claim we brew beer traditionally, and one principle is separate primary fermentation and lagering in tanks. It's not just saying it, but realizing it. This right part shows inserting a lager tank with a crane. That was the only time we argued with the Belgians. For half a year they couldn't understand why when most breweries are removing lager sections, we are building them. My idea was simple: if we want to make the best possible beer, we cannot simplify the production process. After half a year, the Belgians came and Michel Morgad, co-owner, said 'Sando, Hedviga, the production director, won't be convinced.' They respected my decision since I know the market. So we went ahead. That investment cost 50 million CZK. This year we opened another section, so now we have invested about 110-120 million CZK in lager tanks. I say this because it's not enough to just say something; you must also realize and respect it, even if it costs a lot of money.

This main building looks different now because there is an ongoing extension of another floor for more space and an expanded lab. Here you see construction where the vault was — those open tanks in the fermentation cellar. We sank the whole thing into the ground about 14 meters deep. From above, you see how we inserted pressure tanks. This is an aerial view, and from below everything is sunk into the ground. We are in the city center, so the building is low, but on this tiny space we can realize almost anything. Here is the next phase of expanding lager cellars, already completed. This is how it looked last year when it was being assembled. Those two yellow arrows indicate that about a month from now, two giant fermentation tanks will arrive — cylindrical-conical tanks, each with a volume of 2,400 hectoliters. I just hope we can transport them because I hear they are very large and we are having trouble planning the route. These tanks will be used exclusively for our new beer, Ail, a top-fermented ale you might know from billboards. Here you see a visualization: the view from above, on the right is the boiler room, and above you see the tall building — the former cooling towers where beer was cooled in open vats by air. I'll skip this — here is a visualization of the visitor center. Half of the boiler room will be cut, there will be an entrance passage, then a tube for elevator and stairs, and at the top where the cooling towers were, a visitor center with a beautiful view of Humpolec and the surrounding Vysočina. Here is a visualization of the interior of the visitor center, and another view from below.

And just a few photos from Rajhrad nearby. So this is what the settling tank looks like. Humna, new wastewater treatment, new silos. That's it for the investments. I wouldn't go further unless you have any questions. Any question on this topic? I think we can move on. I know you are interested in marketing and advertising. But let me ask: are you interested in the third section — the company's mission and corporate values and culture? Interest? Yes? Then I'll briefly pause on that. Sorry. The mission — very briefly. Both the mission and corporate values were defined by our people. We didn't invent them in the office. I would underline that three times and then have five minutes of silence for it to sink in. In most corporations, culture is created from the top. It's invented at headquarters or by a small group, then hung in offices. The problem is that if people don't invent it themselves, they only perceive it but it's not theirs. So we said, let's go from the other side: our people will invent it. The mission: 'Our own path to honest Czech beer.' This was specifically invented by the women in the lab and sounds simple. 'Our own path' is our slogan; we've been publishing a magazine called 'Vlastní cestou' for 10 years. 'To honest Czech beer' sounds simple — honest everything. But Czech beer belongs among the best in the world, and we said if we make it honestly, our beer will be among the best. So we accepted it. And since then, awards from around the world have confirmed it. We have many awards from competitions worldwide — Australia, America, Europe, Canada, all over the world.

Now about the values. The whole process: I recently gave a lecture to a multinational company and the entire lecture was only on this topic. You can spend a lot of time on it, but I know some of you don't want that, so I'll be brief. For the values, we approached people and said, 'Come, give us proposals.' It was voluntary. Anyone who wanted could submit. We received about 130 words. Management only did one thing: we eliminated synonyms and very similar words, leaving one representative. Then we returned it to the people and said, 'Now choose, maybe each of you pick one word.' I don't remember exactly — this was about seven or eight years ago. We said you can each give one value, one word. Then we tallied the votes and selected the corporate values that people wanted. What was interesting was the process itself. We gave them enough time because we respected that it was summer season or economic audit. We never pushed. In the end, it took a year and a half including the mission. At that time, it was unimaginable for me because we used to make decisions on the fly. But what was fascinating was that during the time people were thinking and discussing, I could feel the atmosphere in the company clearing. Until then, we were a company like any other with various relationships. Suddenly, I felt a better energy. Just the fact that people discussed it and felt they had the opportunity to choose made it start working. Another thing I discovered: generally, people chose the value that was most lacking in their workplace. They were calling for it, and by giving them the opportunity, they could express it.

In the end, these five words emerged: Openness, Trust, Cooperation, Responsibility, Positivity. Notice they form a pentagram and the arrows are not random. Each value is interconnected with every other. If you start to undermine one, the whole structure crumbles. It is a powerful tool — or perhaps not a tool, because it works to clear relationships and improve energy. People suddenly knew what the foundation of the company was. It has many benefits to this day. When we hire new people, besides references, education, and experience, we never pick someone who clearly does not resonate with some of these values. You can hire the greatest expert, but if they don't fit humanly, they will disrupt the atmosphere. This is not only true for a company but for any sports club, group of friends, etc. It's a general life principle. The consequences: our fluctuation decreased significantly, sickness decreased significantly. But I don't consider those as key as the fact that today one feels good in the company. That is important even for me. When I started, I thought if we ever succeed and become rich, we would also be happy. That's nonsense. Today we are rich and happy, but not because of the money. I say this with full seriousness. Sometimes I walk through the company just observing, and it's beautiful to feel that the people, with the trust they have been given, also feel responsibility. On the other end of trust is responsibility. When you have complete freedom, you know you can decide, but if you decide badly, it can cost something. Great trust or freedom generates greater natural responsibility. When I walk through the company, I don't need to stand behind people. I have completely stopped dealing with day-to-day management. There are capable people in key positions, and that is the foundation. Once you find a capable person and can delegate to them — meaning you have inner certainty that they know what it's about and are compatible with the values — then it's better to give them freedom than to interfere. Without trust, you drive the most capable people out of the company. If you ever find yourself in a company where you don't feel good because of the culture or values, my advice is: move on. Let them wallow in it themselves. You only have one life. So, regarding this topic, I could talk another hour, but I don't want to stretch it. I would conclude that this was probably our most important investment in the 25 years. For comparison, last year we invested about 120-130 million CZK in technology alone, plus tens of millions in packaging and other things. But the soft part — corporate culture, values, mission, if done well and people feel it's genuine, not just superficial — that was the best investment we ever made. That's all for this. If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer. No questions? Then we can move on to marketing.

Here is a graph, deliberately included because many people think we are already a big brewery. Our market share is barely 2%. The truth is that our brand is somewhere completely different. It not only exceeds the sales volume but surpasses it many times over. I do this intuitively and feel it should be so. This is just a reminder that we are still a small brewery. Here are some photos: our branded store directly opposite the brewery. That is a marketing concept — not just selling beer. We now have eight such stores across the country. We'll see how they develop. Possibly we'll cover the country, but it's not certain. The idea was to have an alternative sales channel to supermarkets, under our control, so we don't depend on annual negotiations. Dealing with supermarkets is fun. These stores share common interior elements. Then there is another thing: the franchise concept Bernard Pub. Currently, three pubs are operating, all in Prague. We are not rushing with the concept. We want it to have natural potential. The first one, about three years old, has been very successful. For perspective: an average pub sells about 60 hectoliters of beer per year; these pubs sell about 600 hectoliters per year — ten times more. The concept doesn't have hard targets; the key is finding quality partners who will resonate with our corporate values. One bad partner could damage our reputation. Currently there are three pubs, two more are being built in Prague, one in Chomutov, and an agreement in České Budějovice. You'll ask about Brno — when we find a serious, quality partner there, we'll have one in Brno. Currently about 30 interested parties from the country and Slovakia are applying. So it's interesting. We are not about quantity but natural development, and I believe the concept is very successful. Here are some examples of places where we tap: Dancing House, Cafe Louvre in Prague, and on Praděd mountain. It is important and nice that in recent times, owners of these exclusive places are contacting us themselves. In the current climate, pub owners are constantly offered huge sums — half a million CZK for a 200-300 hectoliter pub a year. We don't give pub owners that money, yet some are coming to us from such places. That pleases me even more.

Here you see how the bottle evolved from the original to the current shape and label design. These bottles have a patent cap. We are the only brewery that sells them fully. The decision to go ahead was interesting because we had no money at the time and the investment cost about 8 million CZK. We had to redo the bottling line, buy bottles from Germany, and I came up with wooden crates made in Turnov. That was the only time I negotiated with supermarket chains myself, and for the first time I didn't discuss price — I just told them the price. They wanted it, and I said this is the price. When we put it on the market, demand was so high that the Germans couldn't deliver bottles fast enough, and Turnov couldn't make crates fast enough. We even went to Turnov to motivate the workers to work weekends. Another interesting detail: the bottle was a risk because the deposit for a bottle is usually 3 CZK. We set the deposit at 15 CZK then (now 7). The purchase price from Germany was 10 CZK, so on each unreturned bottle we made 5 CZK. Per hectoliter, that was 1000 CZK — about five times the profit on beer. So it was a big risk, but it turned out to be a good risk. Gradually the market saturated and that benefit stopped working. Now, with a 7 CZK deposit, we lose on each unreturned bottle. But at the time it was great and helped us a lot.

We have our own series of glasses designed by glass designer and architect Rony Plešl. A logo redesign in 2011 — subtle changes. Here you see the evolution of the patent cap bottle: far left is the first German one, then bottles made in Kyjov, Moravia, with embossed 'Bernard' and the year 1597. You can also see the changing shape and redesign of labels. Here is our overall portfolio. An interesting decision last year: all our beers will be available in both filtered and unfiltered (with yeast) versions. So you can buy any of our beers either classically filtered or with yeast. Filtered beer is clear, unfiltered is hazy. The yeast remains inside, giving a fuller, more interesting taste with more vitamins. That's the main difference. We also made a similar decision related to marketing: when we say 'ten' (10°), 90% of breweries today sell a 9° beer under the name 'ten'. We decided that every one of our beers labeled as 10° will actually have 10° Plato (not alcohol; alcohol is about 4%). We always deliver beers with higher gravity than declared.

We introduced Černá lavina (Black Avalanche), a Guinness-type beer. Here is the wooden crate I mentioned earlier. Now, some highlights: at that time we were working with an advertising agency called Havas (formerly Euro RSCG), one of the largest in Europe. We chose them not because they are big, but because in the tender, most agency people came in suits and their main question was our annual media budget. When we told them, I felt their interest cool. Then Havas came. Their creative director was Dejan Steinberger, from Belgrade, a good guy. He didn't ask about money; he pulled out creative concepts and we discussed if we resonated. We did, so we went ahead. Before that, I had never imagined acting in an ad for our own product because I had a problem praising it like typical beer ads. Then Dejan came up with the character of a bald Bernard with pointed ears for our non-alcoholic beer, 'Bernard with a clear head.' At first I fired him, then I put it on billboards and labels. I realized the joke was strong and would work — making fun of myself is no problem. I didn't know then what would develop from that. You see various limited editions and concepts. Under marketing we include innovations. We started late with non-alcoholic beer (2006), but we were the first to open the fruit beer segment — plum and cherry. Thanks to those two innovations, we survived the crisis without a decline. The whole beer market fell about 18% during that time, but we didn't fall. Being ready for innovation in time is very good. If you're too early, it brings nothing because people don't understand you. For example, if we had introduced Ail (our current main new product) ten years ago, it would have been completely lost.

Further marketing initiatives: various packaging. I was concerned that Mr. Paroubek, who seemed dictatorial to me, might win the elections. I heard students would give him only about 6%. So I thought, let's invite people to vote. But how? Everyone would be done with graduation and go celebrate. So we offered beer. We said that any graduating class that sent a written declaration that at least 80% of them would go vote would get a keg. For college students, we gave a case of beer for a similar declaration. Initially we promised 250 kegs and about 1,000 cases. Immediately companies sponsored us — we gave away 100,000 CZK and so on. In the end, we gave 1,000 kegs of beer, so about 1,000 graduating classes went to vote. Of course, it's without control, but I believe when someone says yes, maybe it wasn't 85% but 75%. We gave almost 5,000 cases of beer. Mr. Paroubek did not become prime minister. That is long gone, but one can feel if someone is beneficial. Interesting: Czech media barely wrote about it, for several reasons. First, we advertise little in them, and don't be fooled about media independence; there are few independent media, and economic ties often influence coverage. Second, they were afraid. What delighted us was that the Herald Tribune and other world newspapers wrote about it with headlines like 'Can beer save Czech democracy?'

Under marketing we also put this moment: David vs Goliath. Pilsner Urquell or SAB put up billboards saying 'Birel surpasses others in taste.' That seemed very cheeky to me, so I wrote to the CEO of Plzeňský Prazdroj challenging them to a taste duel. They didn't take it. Then Mladá fronta DNES did a test and the result was they finished eighth, we came first. But I wouldn't overestimate that — each tasting can turn out differently. We also established the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which is not exactly marketing but we had to put it somewhere. If you really want to talk about marketing, I never studied it; I studied heavy-current electrical engineering in transportation. When every half year or so we are mentioned in marketing media, it's mostly critical. I don't know why, because for your perspective: I recently had our media costs calculated for the last 10 years, and the average is 1.9% of turnover. So truly minimal. But as I said, our brand is in the top 10 in surveys, and I believe we've moved up a few places recently. I don't feel the need to commission a survey because I feel it from sales and overall interest. In the last two years, the beer market is stagnating due to huge discounts and plastic bottles, but we grew 9% in 2021 and 14.5% in 2022. Zdeněk is showing me the results — I don't know if I can talk about it yet. We have the news: there is an annual journalist poll. This year about 300 journalists voted which beer brand they consider the best. Zdeněk showed the results — it will be in the media soon — we won it.

Thank you.

I already spoke about our magazine 'Vlastní cestou'. It's a non-traditional format, purely authorial. We produce it with five people. It's a quarterly with a circulation of 30,000 copies. It's our marketing because it writes about us, but very little. It's not overloaded with information about us. For example, one marketing idea was stickers on rear car windows of beer trucks. There are about 1,300 such cars in the country. Facebook is our communication channel. We also produce unfiltered beers and gluten-free beer for celiacs. Every year we organize Bernard Fest in Humpolec. Last year was the 20th edition. This year it will be on June 19-20. We had to limit ticket sales because it was completely full last year. Another interesting marketing moment is Den Bernarda (Bernard Day). We've done it for two years. There were about 1,000 billboards in Czechia and Slovakia. On that day, in every pub that serves our beer, the beer costs 10 CZK. We give the beer to the pub owners for free, and the 10 CZK is for their margin. Last year we gave away about 4,000 hectoliters of beer, which is about 30 truckloads. The purpose is to celebrate and have fun. I was inspired by Guinness's Arthur's Day in Dublin. This year will be the third edition, but we moved it from August to October because August is the peak season. The key is for people to have fun. We also introduced a new beer, Bernard Bohemian Ale, a top-fermented Belgian-style ale with 8.2% alcohol. We advise approaching it with humility. We also have a rotating tap principle: we have 14 types of beer, each in filtered and unfiltered versions. The rotating tap will feature a different specialty each week or two weeks, using the pin-up girl concept. This allows customers to taste different beers in our pubs. You'll see the visuals on Facebook.

It will be on my birthday.

The process is always about inspiration. Czech beer is bottom-fermented lager. We have a poster showing the beer tree. There are many types worldwide. For example, we were inspired in Belgium for fruit beers, but we made them non-alcoholic because Czechs might not accept alcoholic fruit beers. Gluten-free beer was a natural idea. We don't do large market research; we rely on feeling. When we have an idea, our brewer Pepa Vávra experiments with it. Every beer goes through a tasting committee. For example, the Švestka (plum) beer started as a light non-alcoholic beer with lemon flavor, but then someone tried adding plum juice to amber non-alcoholic beer and it was great. So it's a process of intention and trial. As for marketing plans, we want to build a cult beer brand.

You know cult brands like Zippo, Harley. That wasn't a joke; we really feel that a beer brand should be different. It should be about something else. Otherwise, you go to the market and don't know how the beers differ. But it's not just about the brand; the content must be in line with the brand, maximum quality, interesting taste and aroma, and the brand should resonate and be exceptional. Maybe to the ad...

So we needed to promote the bottles with patent closure. So we made an ad 'Looking for work in Pilsen and surroundings' to poke fun at Pilsner. Then a woman from the Czech Marketing Society asked if anyone would understand it. I think you do, judging by your smiles. Then I told you about Dean Steinberg who brought concepts. The first was 'The world has gone crazy, hold on.' But we needed something current from Czechia. At that time, there was the first season of Czech Superstar with Anna Daidow, who couldn't sing, had no musical ear, couldn't speak English, and lisped. She became a phenomenon. We thought that was the moment: the world has gone crazy. But TV Nova threatened to destroy her if she appeared in our ad. We had to involve lawyers, gave Anna guarantees, and within a week the billboards were up. Eventually Nova realized it was synergy and didn't sue. The billboards were up in April 2004, but you remember it as 2015? The newspapers were full of it. Spontaneous PR worked then. Then came global themes from the ad agency: SARS, wedding with masks, child soldiers. Controversial, but we were against it. To lighten it, we put up Czech reality. That was 10 years ago, things are different now. And Zdeněk reminds me we have half-size crates. Then another topic: the raid on Czech Television, with Paroubek sending riot police. We made a billboard with a bloody boy, and later he asked for money. We paid him 40,000. His lawyer later became a partner of the photographer we work with. Coincidences don't exist. Then wiretapping. That campaign was legally challenging. Lawyers said 'you can't', but I said 'I need to know how we can do it'. They learned and became flexible. For example, the policeman's mustache was too wide, looked like the police president, so we narrowed it. One example where billboards almost went up: the referee Collina. We wanted a billboard with him whistling, slogan 'Czechs, hold on'. It was already in print, but lawyers called to stop it because he was a member of UEFA/FIFA and couldn't appear in alcohol ads. So we stopped it. Then sad topics: cooperation of socialists with communists. That was many years ago, memory doesn't exist. Because that topic was too negative and political, we ended that campaign and started 'Beer as a Jewel'.

We still use that campaign's motifs on bags and multipacks. It's not really a campaign. Then came the 'eared bat' emails. People asked what the eared bat is doing on our labels. It goes to Zdeněk first, he laughs, then sends it to all@bernard. Then there was 'darkness'. Then the 'on guard against Eurobeer' motif. We'll keep using it. Eurobeer is not low quality, it's what most large producers make to maximize profit. Beer is brewed by economists, not brewers. If you're an economist, don't brew beer, or do it at home as a homebrewer. When you brew millions of hectoliters with a focus on profit, it becomes a problem. That happened in the Netherlands and in most developed countries, especially with lagers.

Then there was the Pope's visit near Brno, and someone decided to close the D1 highway for a day. We lined the detour with these billboards. I have nothing against the Pope, but closing the D1 seemed stupid. Then an ad for Švestka: we had a contest for the cleanest shaven head. Winners got their own labels and billboards. The 'on guard' motif evolved; now there are three in the country, two near Humpolec and one between Ostrava and Opava. I have an idea to expand it. Then doctors were blackmailing for more money, so we made a billboard 'Thank you, leave'. The union complained we violated ethical principles of alcohol advertising because we showed a beer bottle in an IV drip, implying it could help, which is against the rules. But it does help, in the morning. Then the raid on Czech Television over Karel Rožánek and a secret paper. Riot police occupied the TV. Then my favorite: the plastic campaign. First ad: 'Today from a five, tomorrow from a bag', then we developed it further. 'Plastic Age'.

This was just a Facebook campaign when the EU banned traditional light bulbs. Our marketing director Tomáš first posted 'Don't be sad about the end of light bulbs. Bernard tastes great even by candlelight.' A week later he posted a sequel 'Even in the dark'. But he didn't notice that the methanol affair had started. I swear I'm not making this up. Then we returned to the 'World has gone crazy' campaign for the president's amnesty. That was sweeping real crimes under the rug. The idea came on a Friday, we discussed it on ski trip stops, and by Monday the first billboards were up. Then billboards for yeast ten: 'Good beer, owner crazy'. Ad for the book. Then last year's billboards for Den Bernarda. Now there are many themes using the word 'but'. Currently, there's a billboard about the hyphen. The girls came up with that. We put one at the entrance to Pilsen, Krušovice, and Nošovice, changing the city each time. I have another idea I won't reveal yet. On Slovakia, we have to translate due to language law. That ad is still up today.

From me.

I can tell you how it came about. We were discussing with the publisher what to put on the back cover. Usually there are recommendations from famous people. But since we go our own way and I like to make fun of myself, I said let's find on Facebook the insults people throw at us. There were things like 'I don't drink Bernard and I hate the owner, he's an idiot' etc. One of them was 'Good beer, owner crazy'. So we put that on the back cover. It clicked, and we thought maybe a few billboards. So we did it. The 'P' are the initials of the author. It caught on. The book has sold about 17,000 copies, which is a bestseller by Czech standards. A funny side note: the initials are not only the author's, but many people have them. For example, the current editor-in-chief of Forbes, Petr Šimunek, called me and said everyone asks if he said it. So that's how it happened. So any other question from the audience?

It developed. The two questions are completely related. We jumped into a moving train, or rather a standing train, and tried to push it. We were there from morning to night solving problems, sleeping at one of our places. The third partner was named Ruda. In the evenings before sleep, we brainstormed names. First we tried local names, but the brewery had a bad reputation, so Humpolec or Humpolecké beer was not possible. We tried everything, nothing sounded right. On the third evening, Ruda blurted out 'Bernard'. At that moment, I thought it doesn't need translation, it doesn't mean a terrorist organization in foreign languages, and it doesn't sound completely stupid. I asked the third partner Pepa if he would really brew good beer. He said he would brew it as well as he could. So I said okay, it will be named after me. So it came about after three evenings of discussion.

I understand. Thank you. Regarding the future, I already mentioned we are in the city center on 1 hectare. Just to give you an idea: the state enterprise produced 26,000 hectoliters per year. Last year we sold 265,000 hectoliters, more than 10 times on the same area. What next? We believe we can still invest more on the same site. Second, we will try to acquire more land. Currently, we are in the process of getting a much larger plot on the edge of town to build the expedition part of the brewery (bottling, filtration, storage). But I feel your question has more dimensions. First, I don't know what demand will be in 5 or 10 years. Currently, demand is growing while others are complaining. Our basic premise is simple: we will react to demand. It's possible we will become a much larger brewery, but one thing we will not change is our approach to quality and production method. That would be the grave. If we started looking only at numbers and profit, we could call ourselves Heineken, and we don't want that. That's the basic answer. We also haven't talked about export. We export to about 25 countries, and we only started after joining the EU. Last year we exported about a fifth of our production, and export grew by 44%. So there could be large increases. To answer your question fairly, I don't know where it will end, but we will grow, and if we grow, we will do so in a way that the saying 'they were good at the beginning and now they've gone bad' doesn't apply to us.

Thank you. It affected us. The volume to Russia last year was about 4,000 hectoliters, not a dramatic share. But our beer was among the most expensive in Russia, much more expensive than Pilsner. Now, with the ruble depreciating about 65% against the euro, the beer becomes unsellable. Currently, we are giving significant discounts to our export partners. We hope the situation improves, and we want to help the partner maintain sales even if we don't profit or even lose for a while. If not, then it won't be. That's life: it's good to pursue your dreams, but also to remain free inside.

Good beer.

I thank you for your attention and for the great questions, and I wish you all the best in life.