Nordhäuser Korn

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Nordbrand factory building in Nordhausen

Nordhäuser Korn is a pure grain brandy produced in Nordhausen in Thuringia . The distillery Nordbrand Nordhausen GmbH belongs to the Rotkäppchen-Mumm sparkling wine cellars in Freyburg (Unstrut) .

history

16th Century

The first written mention of the Nordhausen brandy (not the grain!) Comes from the year 1507. In a resolution of the city ​​council of December 23, the word bornewyn (brandy) is mentioned for the first time: “It was like eating with the bornewyne hinfur, eynne sul be zinß daruff to sit held. " the sentence testifies that there is a before the 23 December 1507 liquor tax was, so was manufactured in Nordhausen brandy.

The northern houses then wanted to use grain for distillation. This was forbidden to the distillers. The first ban on grain distilling dates back to 1545. In a council decree of the city of Nordhausen, the use of grain or malt for the production of grain brandy is prohibited. In this council decree the name Korn is mentioned for the first time. At that time, the brewers still had a strong influence in the city. They themselves needed the grain to make beer. The ban lasted until the 17th century. Violation was punished with distemper . At the end of the 16th century, the distillery industry in Nordhausen was firmly established as an economic factor.

17th century

The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) brought about the economic decline of Nordhausen and with it the distillery industry. After the war, the distillery industry flourished again in Nordhausen, freed from restrictions. Whilst grain brandy was the drink of the poor before the war, it has now also found favor with the higher social classes. The quality of Nordhäuser Korn was known beyond the borders of Germany. At the end of the 17th century there were numerous attempts to poach Brenner from Nordhausen.

18th century

The city of Nordhausen had an interest in making money in the distillery business. In 1725 a standardization of the brandy barrels was issued (1 barrel = 58 small rooms = 256.6 liters). This made the work of the brandy sight, who had the task of measuring the amount of alcohol produced, easier. Between 1726 and 1729 the council restricted the group of people who were allowed to burn. Burning rights were tied to citizenship and property. The industry became more professional. Unprofitable small businesses were closed and illegal burning was punished.

In 1749 the city council tightened the control regulations. Every second day the distilleries were checked and the tested barrels were given the council seal at the bunghole. As a result, the city guaranteed the quantity and quality of the grain brandy.

The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) contributed to the further upswing of the Nordhausen grain distilleries. Demand rose, the price of a barrel of grain rose from 26 to 61 thalers. At the same time, the production process could be improved. The city of Nordhausen wanted to keep knowledge about grain distilling in the city and prevent distillers from migrating. In 1775 she issued an “Ordinance because of their distillers”. When a former Nordhäuser distillery burnt grain elsewhere, the town's civil rights were revoked. This approach was an attempt to protect the uniqueness of Nordhäuser Korn. The municipality of Nordhausen issued the first purity law for grain brandy in 1789. The ordinance stipulated that at least two thirds of rye or grain and a maximum of one third of barley or malt could be used.

19th century

From 1806 to 1815 Nordhausen belonged to the Kingdom of Westphalia created by Napoleon . This enlarged the sales area of ​​Nordhäuser Korn and the Nordhäuser distilleries were able to earn good money. The distilleries also supplied the government troops with Nordhäuser grain. Since the government did not pay, the Nordhausen distillers joined forces in 1810. The 77-strong advocacy group selected three members who were supposed to enforce the financial claims against the government in court. A customs law passed in 1818 taxed beer, wine, tobacco but also brandy more heavily than before.

In 1834, when the Zollverein was founded, all internal German customs borders of the 39 individual states fell. With the development of the railway, the sales area of ​​Nordhäuser Korn expanded even further. The larger market for Nordhäuser Korn also had its negative sides. Because more and more inferior brandy was sold under the name Nordhäuser. In order to counteract the damage to its reputation, the distillers of Nordhausen had their barrels marked with a seal on which the city's coat of arms and the inscription "Brandy factory in Nordhausen" were depicted. With the emergence of the potato distillery there was a first sales crisis in 1839. In order to be able to stand up to the cheaper potato liquor, new production techniques were used to extract more alcohol from the grain.

Many distilleries also mixed their grain brandy with the cheaper potato liquor. The grain flavor could be imitated with the grain flavoring developed after 1860. Many distilleries also rely on the production of liqueurs. But as early as the 1870s, some distilleries returned to traditional production because of the lower grain price.

Nordhäuser Korn maintained its excellent reputation despite the crisis caused by the potato liquor. Prominent personalities such as Chancellor Otto von Bismarck were among the lovers of real Nordhäuser Korn.

Otto von Bismarck

In 1874 Otto von Bismarck received 12 bottles of alleged Nordhäusers as a gift. His comment, handed down by Baron Lucius von Ballhausen:

“That is not real grain brandy, but potato spirit diluted with water. In the past, only 50 percent alcohol was extracted from the grain, but now, according to the equipment offered by the mash room tax, you cannot do anything other than extract 90 percent or more alcohol in order to achieve the highest yield. That’s no good. In his old Schönhauser distillery he will once again have real grain distilled according to the old recipe and fideikommisar ensure that his sons keep the barrel full by filling it with real material so that the real variety is preserved. "

The Nordhausen distillers reacted quickly and sent Bismarck two barrels of the best Nordhausen grain. In a letter they were able to convince the Chancellor that the real Nordhäuser still existed. Bismarck thanked:

"For the donation of Nordhausen brandy that I received from the distillery owners in Nordhausen, I would like to express my most binding thanks and, in accordance with the determination of Messrs. Geber, which meets my own wishes, I will pass on Nordhausen's well-known product to my grandchildren so that the well-deserved reputation for this local beverages will be preserved and recognized by later generations. "

20th century

In order to secure the quality and the reputation of Nordhäuser Korn, most of the Nordhäuser distillers joined together in 1904 to form the "Association of Nordhäuser Kornbranntweinfabrikanten eV". In 1907 the city celebrated 400 years of Nordhäuser Korn. In 1909 a German-wide purity law was introduced. At the beginning of the 20th century there was a decline in consumption, caused by abstinence movements and the increased taxes on spirits.

During the First World War , there was a general ban on serving alcoholic beverages from 1914. In addition, a raw material ban was imposed. In 1915 all rye stocks were confiscated and in 1916 the production of liqueurs was banned due to sugar shortages. In the same year the "Reichsbranntweinstelle" was created. The state controlled all brandy through this authority before it was put on the market.

In 1917 all equipment made of copper, brass, gunmetal and bronze was confiscated from the grain distilleries in order to use them as raw materials for the armaments industry. That was the brief end of the grain burning. At the beginning of the 1920s, only three distilleries were still producing in Nordhausen from the former 68. It was not until 1924 that the production of spirits from grain was allowed again. The Reichsbranntweinstelle created in 1916, now the Reich Monopoly Administration for Spirits , established the annual distilling rights. It controlled the production, price and thus the profit of the distilleries. In addition, she ran state fuel factories. Many small businesses could not survive. The number of Nordhäuser distilleries fell to 37 in 1926. As a result of the economic crisis of 1929, the number fell further: in 1932 there were still 30 distilleries.

During the National Socialist era , the focus was on producing fuel for industrial purposes. The National Socialists wanted to remain self-sufficient in procuring raw materials. The regime forced the production of technical alcohol through the Reich monopoly administration. The city of Nordhausen was 74 percent destroyed by bombing at the end of the Second World War, including the distilleries. Only nine remained intact.

Today, two huge grain bottles shape part of the cityscape of Nordhausen

On June 1, 1948, VVB Food, Enjoyment Thuringia, Nordhäuser Brandy Works, Korn and Wine Distillery was founded. In 1950 it was renamed VEB Nordbrand Nordhausen. VEB Nordbrand exported its products, especially the Echte Nordhäuser Doppelkorn, to the West and Eastern Europe.

After 1989, the company - now Nordbrand Nordhausen GmbH - cooperated with Eckes on sales because the trading structure in the GDR had collapsed. In 1991 Nordbrand became a 100% subsidiary of Eckes .

21st century

At the end of 2006, Eckes AG's spirits division was in turn taken over by Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien GmbH .

literature

  • Karl Meyer : History of Nordhausen brandy Festschrift to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Nordhausen grain brandy industry 1507–1907. Self-published, Nordhausen 1907.
  • Chronicle Nordbrand Nordhausen GmbH, 1998.
  • Hans-Dieter Werther, Paul-Ludwig Schierholz, Steffen Iffland: 500 years of Nordhausen distillery tradition. Distillation of the northern part of Branntewien. From Northusener Bornewyn to Nordhäuser Kornbranntwein. 1507-2007. History of schnapps distilling and the former distilleries in Nordhausen . Verlag Iffland, Nordhausen-Salza 2007, ISBN 978-3-939357-04-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rotkäppchen swallows Eckes , manager Magazin (online) from November 7, 2006, accessed on September 8, 2008.