Budějovický Budvar is seeking to tap into the craze for haze, with a rebrand and relaunch for the unpasteurised version of its namesake lager in the UK. Budvar Nefiltr, previously known as Kraüsened, will launch in the country's on-premise channel this month. The 4% abv beer is created through a blending process of ‘mature’ and ‘fresh’ batches of lager to create a hazy and unfiltered finished brew. Budvar UK’s MD, Jitka Vlčková, said that the draught-exclusive was part of a play for premium, session-strength beer consumers. “The 4% category has shown significant growth in recent years as drinkers look to enjoy the great flavour of beer without the higher alcohol content,” Vlčková said. “With Budvar Nefiltr, we are bringing the Czech beer culture and brewing tradition to drinkers across the UK." An SRP for the product was not made immediately available. Despite a meagre 1% uplift in sales in 2020, The Czech brewer has managed to weather the worst of the coronavirus storm thanks to strong export sales (up 3.5% in the 12 months of 2020). Although the state-owned company did not give a market breakdown for exports in its results for the year, it noted strong growth in the UK, citing a 75% leap in off-premise sales in the country in the 12 weeks to 9 August. In a trading update this January, Budvar said its UK volumes were up 38% in 2021, with a total of 80,000 hectolitres sold across the on and off-premise. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r