CAMRA says that Czech beer quality is declining.

In a recent report, Britain's Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the world's largest beer consumer group, asserts that the consolidation of Czech breweries under foreign ownership is having a detrimental effect on Czech beers, as the new managers skimp on ingredients and alter long-established brewing methods.

"The quality of Czech beer produced by some of these breweries has deteriorated. They are perhaps skimping on the quality with cheaper malt and hops and reduced lagering times," CAMRA's research and information manager Iain Loe told the Agence France Presse.

CAMRA has noted that some famous Czech beer brands are now brewed outside the country, under license. As an example, the group points to Plzensky Prazdroj, owned by SABMiller. Prazdroj now brews Pilsner Urquell in Poland, Slovakia and Russia.

Czech brewers take exception to the claims. Jan Vesely, chairman of the Czech Brewing and Malthouse Association, said CAMRA's report was, "unfair, incompetent and insulting...After 1989 brewers increasingly invested into equipment. Czech beer is undoubtedly better than it was before."