The Grans Brewery (Grans Bryggeri AS) is a

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 be ...

founded in 1899 in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The name was ''Sandefjord Bryggeri og Mineralvandfabrik A/S'' until 1965. After two generations of Guttorm Gran (senior and junior) in the management, Trygve Christophersen was employed as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

in 2001. In 2019, the brewery sold 55 million liters of drinks, which was a four percent increase from 2018. 80 percent of their production consists of soda and mineral water, while beer and other alcoholic beverages make up 20 percent of the production. As of 2020, Grans is the fifth-largest brewery in Norway. It distributes most of its products domestically through the

REMA 1000 REMA 1000 (Bokmål: Rema tusen) is a multinational no-frills soft-discount grocery chain owned entirely by the Reitan Group (Reitangruppen). REMA is a short for ' (Reitan Food), referring to Odd Reitan (founder of the company). ''1000'' refers ...

chain stores. The brewery was not a member of ''Norwegian Brewers & Soft Drank Association'' ("Den norske bryggeriforening") from 1965 to 1996. It withdrew in 1966 in order to compete outside its designated sales area. The organization organized a nationwide boycott of Grans products following their decision to withdraw.

Facts

* Owners are Guttorm Gran Jr. and

Reitangruppen REITAN AS, formerly known as Reitangruppen (Reitan Group), is a Norwegian conglomerate comprising three business areas: Reitan Retail, Reitan Eiendom (Reitan Real Estate) and Reitan Kapital. REITAN’s head office is at Lade Gaard in Trondheim, ...

(50% each) * 57 employees (2005) * Approximately 18 million liters

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 ...

and 18 million liters

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

s produced in 2004 * Turnover 151 million NOK (2004) * Distribution deal with the

store chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

Names

Some former names for the brewery have been: * Sandefjord Bryggeri og Mineralvandfabrik A/S (1899-1949) * Sandefjords Bryggeri (1949-1966) * Grans Bryggeri AS (1965-)

History

Grans was established at Grønli in Sandefjord in 1899 under the name ''Sandefjords Bryggeri og Mineralvannfabrikk''. Its first Chairman was Anton F. Klaveness and its first manager was Reidar Due. Peder Bugge Bull became a major shareholder in 1903. After Bull sold his shares in 1949, Guttorm Gran took over all stocks and renamed the brewery ''Sandefjords Bryggeri''. In 1966, Guttorm Gran took his brewery out of the Norwegian Brewers & Soft Drank Association ("Den norske bryggeriforening") and renamed the brewery Grans Bryggeri (Grans Brewery). The brewery established its own grocery store chain in 1982. It established a distribution deal with

in the spring of 1996. As of 1996, the brewery operated 36 stores and its beer was not sold in any other stores besides REMA 1000 and the brewery's own stores. The brewery does not deliver products to bars or restaurants. The brewery became a family company ("familieaksjeselskap") in 1969. Guttorm Gran passed away in 1979 and his soon Guttorm Gran, Jr. took over the brewery in 1989. It had 50 employees as of 1996 and an annual beer production of 4.5 million liters. Guttorm Gran took over Sandefjord Brewery (Sandefjord bryggeri) in 1949 when the company was doing badly both production-wise and economically. When Gran resigned from the brewery association in 1965, the brewery went its own way and became hugely popular. Soda brands and beer variations from Grans Brewery are now found throughout the

Oslo Fjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

region. As of 2000, the brewery produced 30 million bottles per year. In 1966, the brewery acquired a new bottling plant with a four times higher production capacity. In its early years, the brewery presented itself as a more affordable alternative to its competition. In 1968, Grans Brewery began delivering its products to Oslo, and its products were sold throughout

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...

, from

Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn was ...

to Oslo. The brewery saw a large expansion in 1979. In the 1980s, Grans Brewery acquired the chain of grocery stores known as Grans Mini-kjøp. As of 1984, Grans operated three stores in Sandefjord and 35 shops in other cities. Gunnar Olav Hildrum was the

brewmaster 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 beer ...

and brewery manager at Grans Brewery from the late 1960s until his retirement in 2003. In 1997, the brewery began exporting its products throughout all of Norway, and in 2012, the brewery began exporting three brands of beer to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

.Grans.no (2021). "Sentrale årstall i Grans-historien" (in Norwegian). Grans bryggeri. Retrieved on August 24, 2021, from https://grans.no/den-usminka-historien/timeline-sentrale-arstall-grans-historien/

References

External links

Home page (Norwegian version)

Norwegian Brewers & Soft Drink Association

RateBeer
{{Coord, 59.1296, 10.2419, region:NO-38, format=dms, display=title Breweries in Norway Buildings and structures in Sandefjord Companies based in Sandefjord Food and drink companies established in 1899 Norwegian companies established in 1899