Dortmunder Actien Brauerei is a German

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

in the city of Dortmund, founded in 1868 by the businessmen Laurenz Fischer and Heinrich and Friedrich Mauritz together with master brewer Heinrich Herberz. Originally, it was called Herberz & Co Brewery (Bierbrauerei Herberz & Co.).

History

Due to business steadily improving, the company expanded and went public in 1872, changing its name to "Dortmunder Actien Brauerei" (Dortmund

Joint Stock A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders a ...

Brewery). In 1879, the company started to export its beer internationally. In 1881,

Carl von Linde Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde (11 June 1842 – 16 November 1934) was a German scientist, engineer, and businessman. He discovered a refrigeration cycle and invented the first industrial-scale air separation and gas liquefaction processes, whi ...

himself equipped the brewery with one of his refrigeration machines, allowing for a boom of bottom-fermented beer. In 1893, the brewery established a chemical and bacteriological laboratory. Although

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

led to a crash in beer production, the brewery was equipped with its own railway connection in 1917. After the near-total destruction of Dortmund in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the brewery was rebuilt by 1949. From 1959 to 1963, DAB switched from the old wooden to new aluminium barrels. The Hansa Brewery, a local competitor, was acquired in 1971. On its grounds, DAB erected a new modern brewery, finished in 1983, at the time the largest of the

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

. However, the cost of the acquisition of Hansa was substantial, and burdened DAB for years to come. Questionable decisions by the company management in the 1990s exacerbated the situation, leading to a collapse of the company brands and the increasing production of generic brands to make use of the capacities. Even the acquisition of the brand names of another local competitor in economic difficulties, the Kronen Brewery, could not stop the downward trend which to this day, even though the company is the last brewery in Dortmund, has not been fully stopped. Most prominent stock holder today is the

Radeberger Group Radeberger started in 1872 when the brewery was founded as ''Zum Bergkeller'', in Radeberg, a town in the vicinity of Dresden. Radeberger ranks No. 9 among Germany's best selling beers. History This beer was also brewed for a period for the ...

of breweries, which in turn belongs to the company founded by

August Oetker August Oetker (; January 6, 1862 – January 10, 1918) was a German inventor, food scientist and businessman. He is known as the creator of baking powder as a ready-to-use product, and also as the founder of the Dr. Oetker company. Biography E ...

, today one of the most prominent players in the German food and drink industry. DAB produces a

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...

called DAB after their initials. DAB was also the favorite beer of

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...

, former leader of East Germany.

Dortmunder Hansa

Dortmunder Hansa refers to a number of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

s from Dortmund,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, brewed by Dortmunder Hansa Brewery, a division of Dortmunder Actien Brauerei. Its popularity is due in some part to its low price. Hansa brews a variety of beers, including

Pilsener Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Bre ...

Altbier Altbier (German: ''old beer'') is a style of beer brewed in the Rhineland, especially around the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. It is a copper coloured beer whose name comes from it being top-fermented, an older method than the bottom ferme ...

, Malzbier, Kölsch and

wheat beer Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German ''Weizenbier'' and Belgian ''witbier''; other types include Lambic (made with wild ye ...

. Because of its low price, Hansa Pils is often used in

Radler Shandy is beer or cider mixed with a lemon or a lemon-lime flavored beverage. The citrus beverage, often called lemonade, may or may not be carbonated. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste but are usually half lemonade ...

. The low price also led to its popularity in the punk subculture in

. The former Hansa Brewery is in the North-Central section of Dortmund, and today serves as the Dortmunder Actien Brauerei, which took over Dortmunder Hansa in 1971. The facility also houses the Dortmunder Brewery Museum. Before changing its name to Dortmunder Hansa, the beer was brewed in the same location, then called the Borussia Brewery.

References

External links

DAB
* {{Authority control Breweries in Germany Beer brands of Germany 1868 establishments in Prussia Manufacturing companies based in Dortmund Food and drink companies established in 1868 Dr. Oetker

History

Dortmunder Hansa

See also

References

External links