Dittmann Brewery
| Langenberger Brewery Gebr. Dittmann KG | |
|---|---|
| legal form | KG |
| founding | 1867 |
| resolution | 1974 |
| Seat | Langenberg |
| Branch | Beverage production |
The Langenberger Brewery Gebr. Dittmann KG was a brewery in the Westphalian Langenberg in North Rhine-Westphalia , which existed until 1974.
Company history
The brewery was founded in 1867 by the two master brewers from Langenberg, Johann and Georg Dittmann. They produced different types of Pilss , including Langenberger Edel-Pils and Imperial Pilsener. In 1974 it was closed.
Brothers Dittmann
The Dittmann brothers came from a family that had been brewing brewers in Wiesentheid near Kitzingen for generations ; her parents leased the prestigious Wiesentheid castle brewery and also ran a well-known inn.
In 1850 Johann and Georg Dittmann set out on a journey north.
In 1858 Johann Dittmann was taken over by the clerk Lappmann; who built a brewery on his Hohenfelde estate, was accepted into his service as master brewer.
But as early as 1865, Johann Dittmann dared to become an independent entrepreneur. With his brother Georg, who was a master brewer at the Overbeck brewery in Dortmund up to this point , he started building his own brewery not far from the Hohenfelde estate.
Causes of erection
One of the reasons why Johann and Georg Dittmann set up a brewery in Langenberg is indicated by the place name. The "Long Mountain" apparently refers to the long mountain range from Beckum to Wiedenbrück, which is officially called "Beckumer Berg" and is located on the south-eastern edge of Langenberg. The springs and wells at the foot of this ridge provide particularly good water that is suitable for brewing purposes. Further prerequisites for a successful foundation were favorable traffic and terrain conditions and probably also the fact that excellent hops had been grown in the immediate vicinity of Langenberg for centuries. With a purchase of land in 1862, Johann Dittmann announced his intention to settle in Langenberg for the first time. Three years later, he took the decisive step by securing the land required for the brewery by acquiring more land. At the same time he arranged for his brother Georg, who, as already mentioned, worked as a master brewer in Dortmund, to move to Langenberg in order to run the planned plant together with him. The first brewery buildings were erected between 1866 and 1867 and the company was entered in the commercial register according to the files of the Royal District Court of Bielefeld. The first construction phase comprised the brewery building, a residential building, stables and barn, an ice and two beer cellars and a carriage depot.
Development of the brewery
The fact that Johann and Georg Dittmann applied for and received a permit for a steam boiler with a steam engine as early as July 4, 1868, speaks for the dynamism of the founding and the successful start. With 24 proud brewery horses, the Langenberger beer was delivered to Bielefeld, Paderborn and Soest; For rail transport, the brewery had its own siding and its own freight wagons with effective advertising. For the years 1880 to 1882, the company's books of accounts showed a number of 245 customers, located in 71 different locations. If the same books state that at that time the brewery made a profit of 20 pfennigs for a liter of beer, then this figure can only be seen with the purchasing power of the average income of a citizen of that time, without drawing any conclusions about the amount of the general living standards could be drawn. But it is a good example of the stability of the economic situation in the German Empire when the same statistics say that in 30 years from 1882 to 1912, i.e. at a time when the economic strength of the empire was growing from year to year, the price of beer in the Langenberger Brewery only rose by a single pfennig, from 20 to 21 pfennigs. The business decisions made during these years also include the decision to set up our own malt house. Until then, malt etc. a. from Halberstadt and Mainz, which naturally turned out to be cost-increasing. The malt house started operating in 1884. In just a few years, the Dittmann brothers' company had grown into the largest brewery in the area. Extensive real estate secured any subsequent expansion of the brewery. But Johann Dittmann died in the middle of the construction on March 8, 1872, his brother Georg died 21 years later on April 16, 1893.
Subsequent generations
Second generation
Max Dittmann (1857-1916)
In 1887 Max Dittmann, Johann's son, joined the company. He had already worked for various breweries. Max Dittmann worked for the company for a total of 28 years. He died on April 1, 1916.
Georg Dittmann (1875–1957)
Georg Dittmann, born on October 6, 1875, attended the Langenberg village school and the secondary school in Hagen. He completed his training in well-known breweries and at the Academy for Agriculture and Brewing in Weihenstephan. After completing his studies in the USA, he took on joint responsibility for the company. His work fell during two world wars. After the end of the First World War, the number of employees in Langenberg fell to a total of 18. With the stabilization of the currency in 1923/1924 and after the domestic and foreign policy situation in Germany improved, the Dittmann brewery was also able to increase its sales significantly again.
A new period of expansion began until the Second World War and in 1937 the Langenberger Edel-Pils variety was added to the brewery's range. But then the brewery, like many other companies, suffered from the consequences of the war. In the first few years after the war, only one substitute drink called “Hopfenbäu” could be produced.
A few months after the currency reform, the Langenberger Edel-Pils could finally be delivered again, with new varieties quickly following. In the following years the brewery developed very positively, so that finally 1966 became its record year.
Georg Dittmann died on April 24, 1957.
Products
The brewery produced under the Dittmann's Langenberger beer brand.
At the time of the brewery, the following types of beer were offered:
- Langenberger Edel-Pils
- Langenberger Imperial Pilsener
- Langenberger Pils Royal
- Langenberger export
- Langenberger Edel-Bock
- Langenberger Malz full beer
Company names
- 1887 Bavarian brewery, Dittmann brothers
- 1940 Dittmann OHG brewery
- 1974 Langenberger Brewery Gebr. Dittmann KG
Slogan
On some beer mats from the Dittmann brewery you will find the slogan:
"If you have grief or anger - drink Dittmann's Langenberger"
The backs of these coasters contained different caricatures with respective sayings.
literature
- 100 years of Langenberger Brewery Gebr. Dittmann KG - a fluid story - from 1967
Individual evidence
- ^ Beer mat collector: Langenberg Brewery ( Memento from September 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Langenberger Brewery Gebr. Dittmann KG. (Ed.): A fluid story . Verlag für Wirtschaftspublizistik H. Bartels KG., Wiesbaden 1967, p. 35-41 .
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento from December 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Beer mat collector: Langenberg Brewery ( Memento from September 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 51 ° 46 ′ 46.3 " N , 8 ° 19 ′ 10.2" E