At the very moment that Darren Clarke is lifting the famous Claret Jug in front of a raucous crowd at this year’s Open, 200 yards away a more modest celebration is taking place.

In contrast to the euphoria spreading around the 18th green, a simple smile of satisfaction slides across the face of Colin Simper, a man relieved and relaxing after the most taxing week of his working year.

Colin is a quiet but highly knowledgeable man, with years of experience in beer dispense.

He’s a technical specialist for SABMiller in the UK and his responsibility this week has been to deliver the perfect pint of Pilsner Urquell on the golf course – a pre-requisite, you would think, if the brand’s huge financial outlay to be the ‘official beer’ of The Open is to be judged a success.

This is the third year Pilsner Urquell has been the beer sponsor and there are two more years to run on the deal. To many observers, a Czech lager and an iconic British event like The Open do not make obvious bedfellows.

However, the aim is to underscore the originality and authenticity of Pilsner Urquell, which was the world’s first ever golden lager when it was created in 1842, by pairing it with the father of all major tournaments that, with its uncompromising, weather-ravaged links course settings, offers the purest of golf experiences.

‘Savour the taste of two true originals’, reads the brewer’s publicity blurb.

In return for a sizeable fee, brand owner SABMiller receives exclusive lager pouring rights on the course and the opportunity to roll out the hospitality red carpet to influential guests and loyal customers.

First-Class Hospitality

The actual sum handed over for such privileges is not disclosed, but the company goes on to spend around ten times as much again in marketing its connection with the tournament and treating its guests to a first-class hospitality experience (complete with entertainment from former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher, pictured below).

It goes without saying that a poor pint of Pilsner Urquell on the course would take the gloss off the whole undertaking, and this is where Colin and his logistics team play their part.

Consider the scale of the undertaking. Apart from the various hospitality suites, the beer is served in four separate locations strewn across the Sandwich course, the largest bar – close to the first tee and the 18th green – offering 64 taps.

Over the event’s four days, a remarkable 90,000 pints or more of Pilsner Urquell are sold. Even at £4.20 a pint – prices set not by SABMiller, incidentally – the beer proves exceptionally popular, on visual evidence clearly out-selling the one other beer available – an equally-priced John Smith’s Smooth – by some considerable distance.

At times the scene in the beer tents is frantic, particularly during the frequent rain showers when the shelter provided is a bonus. To keep the lines moving, Colin’s team of dedicated Pilsner Urquell servers front a logistics operation planned with the precision of an army manoeuvre.

It all begins a year in advance, with course inspections and discussions with the Royal & Ancient (the organizers of the Open) and the staging club. In the days leading up to the first tee-off, the infrastructure for storing and serving the beer is installed.

The beer is imported from the Czech Republic and transported from a depot by specialists Wincanton in refrigerated trucks. The trucks return after each day’s play for a restock, this year avoiding the gridlock of Sandwich’s narrow streets by arriving in the dead of night.

Quick Changes

Beer is kept on site at around 4º C, still on the lorries, and is then transferred into a cellar – a sort of mobile restaurant fridge. The temperature is slightly higher here, but the beer doesn’t hang about, such is the rate of service and the need to change a 50-litre keg every three or four minutes.

Lines from the cellar lead to a further cooling system behind the bar itself, with insulated pipes then taking the beer on to the metered-dispense pumps.

To keep the crowds rapidly supplied with beer, pints are poured at the back of the bar, with counter staff merely taking the orders and handling the money.

At the push of a button, fast-pouring, 12-head machines deliver a precise pint of the golden lager, with room in the lined glasses for the thick, foamy head you’d expect to find on the beer in its native country.

It’s an effective system. In the main bar, 64 pints, at a cool 6º C, are dispensed every 15 seconds.

There are also a few single pour units dotted along the line, partly as a promotional counterpoint to the faceless 12-head dispensers, and partly to cater for slower periods when the beer is not turning over so quickly.

To speed up service for those only wanting to order Pilsner Urquell and no other products, there are dedicated lines in each of the bars.

It’s a highly impressive mechanical exercise and one dreads to think of the chaos that would ensue should this efficiently planned regime be disrupted by some sort of equipment failure. Not taking any chances, SABMiller has two specialist engineers on site at all times.

Glass is not permitted on the course, so Pilsner Urquell has brought in its own sturdy, branded plastic containers. While they can never replace the real thing, they offer a better drinking experience than the squishy, flimsy cups often used at such events.

The company has earmarked 150,000 for the event, some of which are washed and recycled, with others tucked into rucksacks by customers as souvenirs of their thrilling day.

In the hospitality suites, of course, only the best glassware is employed, and this year there are special glasses in use overprinted with a list of all the winners of The Open at Sandwich since the first event in 1894.

As Darren Clarke kisses the trophy and Colin Simper raises one of these shapely glasses to his lips – the weight off his shoulders and the worry of the week over – I doubt if he’s ever had a beer that tasted so good.