We sat down with a Mo Mentor barrel maker (and his moustache) from the Pilsner Urquell brewery in the Czech Republic to get his take on Movember.

We sat down with a Mo Mentor barrel maker (and his glorious moustache) from the Pilsner Urquell brewery in the Czech Republic to get his take on Movember:

What’s your name and what do you do?
I’m Jiri Fiala and I am a cooper at the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Plzen, Czech Republic. My job is to build wooden barrels for our beer.
 
How long have you been a cooper at the brewery?
A long time – over 30 years. I was trained as a cooper at the brewery’s apprentice school and I’ve been here ever since. We now build small and large barrels – the biggest hold almost 8,000 pints of Pilsner Urquell.
 
Is it rewarding to see the finished product, knowing you’ve made it from scratch, with local produce and traditional techniques?
Of course. We take pride in what we do, especially as we’re the last remaining brewery coopers in Central Europe – we’re keeping this craft going and still building these barrels by hand. We use Czech wood for our barrels and the beer is made with just Czech ingredients. Very few breweries make beer in wooden barrels like we do, so it’s rewarding to continue this great tradition.
 
How long have you had a moustache?
Longer than I can remember. It takes more than a month to get a moustache like mine!
 
How much beer do you think a fully grown moustache can absorb/carry/hold?
That depends on the beer and the type of moustache! I think that Czech beers are great at clinging to a moustache – it’s all about the thick foam that we like on our beer here. I think you could mop up a lot of beer in it. Someone once told me that beer is good to use for shaping a moustache so maybe that explains why there’s a long tradition of brewers and coopers having moustaches at the brewery.
 
What would you say to someone who was unsure if they should grow Mo for Movember?
Don’t you wonder what you’d look like with a big moustache?
 
Would you recommend other people to take part in Movember?
All the Pilsner Urquell coopers are growing moustaches for the month and they are really getting into it. It’s funny to see them every day – I think they all believe they look like me, but they don’t just yet! It’s good to see others around the brewery supporting us. Growing a moustache is something that any man can do and we’re all happy to do our bit to raise awareness of the charities.
 


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