Köstritzer black beer brewery
| Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei GmbH
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1543 |
| Seat | Bad Köstritz , Germany |
| management | Stefan Didt (Marketing / Sales) Uwe Helmsdorf (Technology) |
| Number of employees | 175 (2012) |
| Branch | brewery |
| Website | www.koestritzer.de |
The Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei GmbH is a brewery in Bad Köstritz in the district of Greiz near Gera . It is one of the oldest black beer breweries in Germany.
history
In 1543, the brewery was first mentioned in the so-called hereditary interest register as the "Köstritzer Erbschenke", making it one of the oldest breweries in Germany. The counts of the Reuss family took over the brewery in 1696 and renamed it the “knightly estate brewery”. Since 1806 the brewery has been allowed to use the title “Princely Brewery”, as the knights of the Reuss family were elevated to princes. In 1811, 6400 hectoliters (hl) of different types of beer were produced and sold as far as Berlin, Dresden, Magdeburg or Frankfurt am Main.
It is said that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , who lived in Weimar, was at times mainly interested in beers of various kinds and similar. a. of the breweries Köstritz and Oberweimar as well as bread rolls . The scholar Wilhelm von Humboldt wrote on November 17, 1823 from Weimar to his wife Caroline von Humboldt a . a. about his own and Goethe's diet:
- “Since I've stopped drinking tea, it's all over. I stand once on the edge of the abyss and one step further, so I swim in the beer. Oh God !, dear child, Goethe has no appetite for anything, not for bouillon, meat, vegetables; he lives on beer and rolls, drinks big glasses in the morning and deliberates with the servant whether he should drink dark or light brown Köstrizer or Oberweimar beer - or whatever the horrors are called. But he usually goes to another room when I'm there. The shyness doesn't quite go out in a human breast. "
In 1829 the company and another 15 buildings in Köstritz burned down. The brewery was then rebuilt in the west wing of the palace. In 1872 the agricultural inspector and later entrepreneur Rudolf Zersch leased the Reussian domains Köstritz, Dürrenberg and Hartmannsdorf and in 1875 the Princely Brewery Köstritz. The latter was initially expanded under the direction of master brewer Carl Holomoucky in the castle and at other production facilities in Köstritz.
The varieties Köstritzer Schwarzbier and the lager Blume des Elsterthales were now produced. From the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, black beer was ascribed a health-promoting effect. In an advertisement from 1893, the brewery advertised that it was “recommended by high medical authorities for anemia, lung patients, women who have recently given birth, nursing mothers and the like. Convalescents of all kinds ”. The brewery sent Otto von Bismarck containers with the Elsterthal flower on his birthday and advertised the beer with his praise .
In 1896 the brewery had a capacity of 40,000 hl and produced 25,000 hl of beer annually, of which 12,000 hl were black beer.
Between 1906 and 1908, Zersch had a new brick building built as a company building in Köstritz. After the Second World War , the brewery was expropriated in October 1948 and converted into VEB Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei . In the German Democratic Republic , the Köstritzer brewery was one of the few companies that produced beers for export. The beer was exported to the FRG from 1956 to 1976, then to all of Eastern Europe until the fall of the Berlin Wall. The brewery was completely rebuilt between 1979 and 1990.
Bitburger Holding took over one hundred percent of the operation in April 1991 . The brewery was heavily modernized from 1991 to 1993. In 1993 the company established "Köstritzer Schwarzbier " as its most important brand on the German market. In 1989 around 12,000 hl of black beer were brewed. The brewery more than quintupled its total output between 1991 (145,000 hl) and 2005 (879,000 hl). (for comparison: today approx. 700,000 hl p. a.)
Köstritzer organized the Köstritzer Schwarzbiernacht once a year from 1993 to 2013 in Gera and from 1999 to 2016 in Jena . In addition, the Schwarzbiernacht music festival has been taking place in the Moritzburg Castle Park in Zeitz since 2015 .
It was advertised in a nationwide introductory campaign with the 450th anniversary of the brewery license and the slogan "The black one with the blond soul". As of July 2008, this slogan was abandoned and replaced by “Gives moments of soul”.
present
In addition to the “Köstritzer Schwarzbier”, the products now also include “Köstritzer Edel Pils ”, “Köstritzer Spezial Pils”, “Köstritzer Kellerbier ” and the mixed beer drinks “Köstritzer bibop” and “Köstritzer Edelpils Radler ”. Following the craft beer trend, a pale ale , witbier and red lager recently came onto the market. The mixed beer drinks "Kellerbier-Limette" and "Schwarzbier-Kirsche" have been produced since the beginning of 2019. The beers are now exported to more than 50 countries.
Köstritzer is the market leader in Germany in the field of dark bottom-fermented beers with a 31 percent market share. The Bibop beer mix, introduced in 2002, ranked second among the cola beer mix brands in eastern Germany with sales of 41,712 hl.
photos
Bottle of Köstritzer
Köstritzer black beer
Portal of the brewery in Köstritz
Bottling of the Edel Pils brand in the brewery in Köstritz
Beer mat from the GDR
Köstritzer export black beer
Köstritzer bibop
logo
Label Köstritzer Schwarzbier (GDR)
Individual evidence
- ^ Wilhelm von Humboldt in communication with his friends in the Gutenberg-DE project
- ^ Wilhelm von Humboldt: Letters to my friends . Jazzybee Verlag, Altenmünster 2012, ISBN 978-3-8496-3865-8 , pp. 238 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed July 20, 2017]).
- ↑ Anna von Sydow (ed.): Wilhelm and Caroline von Humboldt in their letters: Reife Seelen. Letters from 1820–1835 , Zeller, 1968, page 183
- ↑ a b Advertisement in: Publications of the Imperial Health Office , Volume 17, J. Springer, 1893, page 32
- ^ Fritz rule : Thuringia. A geographical manual , Volume 3, Jena 1896, page 154
- ↑ a b c Dürener Kreiszeitung, July 25, 2011 business section, p. 21
- ↑ Organizer throws in the towel: Off for Schwarzbiernacht in Gera
- ↑ Off for the Schwarzbiernacht in Jena ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Köstritzer Schwarzbiernacht Music Festival | radio SAW
- ↑ gera.otz.de/Wirtschaft
- ↑ Super Illu from February 13, 2013
- ↑ Heinrich Voß: "It must surprise" - requirements for beer mixes are increasing, Beverage specialist wholesalers , 4, 2009, page 12
literature
- Köstritzer - The East is brewing black . In: Success Secret East / Survival Strategies of the Best Brands , Gabler Fachverlag 2009, pp. 139–143
Web links
- Website of the Köstritzer black beer brewery
- City of Bad Köstritz: The Art of Brewing , 2008
- Old brewery beer labels
Coordinates: 50 ° 55 ′ 55 ″ N , 12 ° 0 ′ 48 ″ E