Crisis communication is an inevitable part of crisis management and in the contemporary society understanding of basic rules and ways of communication in crisis situations enables individuals as well as companies to successfully overcome risks and decrease negative impacts. The overview of theoretical context of crisis communication and crisis management provides a frame, which enable a better understanding of circumstances and of the case Karlovačka pivovara from 2007. This case shows that unpreparedness and ignorance represent a problem, not only to business society, but also to authorised services and institutions of local government, which increases crisis potential and precludes adequate and timely functioning of the system. Media appear to be an important target group to almost all business entities and they have a dual role in crisis situations. On the one hand media serve as an intermediary in transfer of information; on the other hand they turn up to be main actors in responsibility games. Untimely communication and non-sharing of information to media give an additional stimulus for formulation of the ”real truth” and threaten image and reputation of the organisation. Continual listening and monitoring of the environment enable timely recognition of first signs of a crisis, which refer the organisation to the preparedness phase in order to successfully cope with the crisis situation. Karlovačka pivovara case demonstrates what and how big are consequences of inappropriate crisis communication, which included a number of omissions and deficiencies inside and outside the organisation and in the management process itself.