October 10, 2025
Samson puts on his crown: the top ten in the Czech Republic
Samson Brewery is celebrating significant success on the domestic and international beer scene. In the prestigious Czech Beer 2025 competition, which is organized annually by the Czech Association of Breweries and Malteries in cooperation with the Brewing and Malting Research Institute, its top ten draft beers won the title of best beer in its category. Samson also scored points at two of the world's most important tasting competitions - the World Beer Awards and the European Beer Star.
Traditional beer with award-winning taste
Samson ten is a pale beer, characterized by a mild bitterness, a characteristic pleasant aroma and a refreshing bite. “A good brewery can be recognized by its ten, and the world envies us for it, because the Czech ten exactly corresponds to the trends of drinking less alcoholic beers. Samson ten is brewed in two mash according to a traditional recipe, using Žatec hops, Czech malt and high-quality water from a 274-meter-deep artesian well, which gives it a uniquely harmonious and balanced taste and excellent drinkability,” says the brewery’s brewer Radim Lavička.
The Czech Beer competition, the results of which are announced as part of the St. Wenceslas festivities, has long been one of the most important domestic tasting competitions. Jurors from among real beer experts evaluate beers anonymously, based on taste, aroma, appearance and overall impression. In addition to the winning ten, Samson 11, Samson 12 and the dark eleven also won silver medals in their categories, which represents an extraordinary success for Samson.
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Samson scores points abroad too
At this year's prestigious World Beer Awards, the dark lager Samson 11 shone, winning gold in the category of dark beers brewed in the Czech Republic. The brewery also succeeded with the dark lager Samson 11 in the European Beer Star competition, where it took home a silver medal. Both competitions are among the largest tasting competitions in the world, where dozens of judges evaluate hundreds of samples from many countries. Additional medals were also won for the top ten, top twelve and other beer styles from the brewery's portfolio.
"For us, this is a huge recognition of the work of the entire brewery. Successes in international competitions confirm that our beers can withstand strong foreign competition. Having the best beer in the country and at the same time gaining recognition in the world is a great honor for us and our customers," adds the brewery's general manager Daniel Dřevikovský.
For the oldest brewery in České Budějovice, which this year celebrates 230 years since its founding and which recently underwent a complete modernization, when its owner, the Belgian-Brazilian brewing company AB InBev, invested over half a billion crowns in technology, this year's winning of 13 medals at such important brewing competitions is a symbolic success for the brewery. Samson confirms that the traditional recipe in combination with modern technologies is the right way to celebrate successes not only at home, but also in the world.
World Beer Awards
is an annual global competition held in London, where a jury awards beers in various categories. Every year hundreds of beers from dozens of countries are entered, which are evaluated by independent judges based on appearance, aroma, taste and overall impression.
At this year's World Beer Awards, Samson brewery won gold in the Country Winner category (best dark beer from the Czech Republic) for Samson Tmavá 11. Silver medals went to Pito, Samson 11 and Samson Bock. Bronze medals went to Samson 10, Samson 12 and Samson Nachmelený ležák.
European Beer Star
is the most prestigious international tasting competition. The highest quality beers are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals in each category. The competition has been running since 2004 and the final evening takes place in Munich.
This year, the Samson brewery brought home a silver medal for Samson Tmavá 11 and a bronze medal for Samson 10 from this competition.
Czech beer is the most important tasting competition in the Czech Republic. It is organized every year by the Czech Association of Breweries and Malteries as part of the St. Wenceslas festivities. The expert jury is composed of brewers and technologists of Czech breweries, experts from the University of Technology, the CAFIA and the Research Institute of Brewing and Malting.
Czech Beer 2025
Samson 10 won the Czech Beer 2025 competition, Samson 11, Samson 12 and Samson Tmavá 11 won silver medals.
The Samson brewery belongs to the Brazilian-Belgian company AB InBev, which is the world's largest beer producer. Other brands of this concern include, for example, Stella Artois, Corona, Leffe and Beck's. Samson, which celebrates 230 years since its founding this year, is the oldest brewery in České Budějovice, which it proudly emphasizes on its new labels. The consistently high quality of Samson Brewery's production is proven by many awards from prestigious tasting competitions. The history of beer brewing in Samson combines traditional Czech recipes with modern technologies. The brewery's brands also include the legendary non-alcoholic PITO.