Krombacher Brauerei () is one of the largest privately owned
breweries
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
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 ...
and ranks number 2 among
Germany's best selling beers.
History
The brewery was founded on 4 February 1803 by Johannes Haas. His father Johann Eberhard Haas was running a tavern in Krombach. According to a regulation of 25 July 1618 the sale of beer was permitted only to restaurants having their own brewery and malt kiln. Therefore, Johannes Haas established the brewery within the family business.
The water for the brewery (''Hasbrauerei'') was first brought in barrels from a spring at the foot of Grumberg in the west of the village by ox cart to the brewery. In 1854, the brewery owner Haas had to pay annually 17 guilders (Florin) to the church, because the water pipeline was constructed on church property in the village.
The relocation to its current site is estimated to have occurred between 1858 and 1879/82. In that time, two caverns were created that served as beer cellars.
In 1896, Hermann Haas sold the brewery for 360.000 marks to Otto Eberhardt († 17 August 1924). Eberhardt ran the brewery as a limited partnership called "Hasbrauerei Eberhardt and Co." and converted it to a corporation in 1905.
At the beginning of the 20th century, "Krombacher Pilsener" was introduced, which led to a rapid recovery. In October 1922, Bernhard Schadeberg (the grandfather of current CEO Bernhard Schadeberg) assumed the management of the company, which has been running as a family business to this day. The current owners are Friedrich Schadeberg and his sister Barbara Lambrecht-Schadeberg, his son Bernhard Schadeberg and his daughter Petra Schadeberg-Hermann.
The Krombacher Rock Spring supplying the water for the brewery (together with the "Breitenbach" Dam near Hilchenbach), was discovered by the mountain inspector Fresenius in 1722. The soft, low mineral water is the basis for the brewed beer. The brewery is one of the largest employers in the city. On the emblem of the brewery the Kindelsbergturm (Kreuztal's landmark) and among the Littfe creek is visible.
Location
Krombach is a suburb of
Kreuztal
Kreuztal is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Location
Kreuztal is a town in the low mountains of the northern Siegerland and lies at the western edge of the Rothaargebirge about 10 k ...
near
Siegen
Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...
, a city in a part of Germany called
Siegerland
The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen (now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoin ...
, a part of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
. The small town of Krombach is located at the foot of the
Rothaargebirge
The Rothaar Mountains (german: Rothaargebirge, , also ''Rotlagergebirge''), or Rothaar, is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany.
It is believed that its name must once have been ...
.
Products
![Krombacher Pils at restaurant E](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Krombacher_Pils_at_restaurant_E.T.Charlie.jpg)
Krombacher Brewery produces the second most consumed
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 Brewe ...
in Germany, the ''Krombacher Pils''. An alcohol free variant is also produced. ''Krombacher Radler'' is a mixture of 50% Krombacher Pils and 50% lemonade. Krombacher brews ''Krombacher Weizen'', a wheat beer, since 2007 in response to market research.
[Press Release: "Entdecken Sie das Krombacher unter den Weizen"](_blank)
retrieved on 2008-06-25.
Targeted at young adults, "Cab" is a brand of beer-based mix drinks. Initially meaning "Cola and Beer", three variants are now produced: Cab Cola and Beer, Cab Banana and Beer, Cab Cherry and Beer. All variants are flavored with
dragon fruit
A pitaya () or pitahaya () is the fruit of several different cactus species indigenous to the Americas. Pitaya usually refers to fruit of the genus ''Stenocereus'', while pitahaya or dragon fruit refers to fruit of the genus ''Selenicereus'' ( ...
.
Krombacher Brewery also produces
Rhenania Alt, a dark beer and distributes
Schweppes
Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...
in Germany. All Schweppes products are manufactured by the Krombacher Brauerei under license from Schweppes Germany.
Schweppes
Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...
Germany (and indirectly Krombacher) both control the German and Austrian licenses for Snapple (not available in Germany/Austria),
Dr. Pepper
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
(available since 2006) and
Orangina
Orangina () is a lightly carbonated beverage made from carbonated water, 12% citrus juice (10% from concentrated orange, 2% from a combination of concentrated lemon, concentrated mandarin, and concentrated grapefruit juices), as well as 2% orang ...
.
Regenwaldprojekt
In 2002, Krombacher Brewery started a Rainforest campaign. It announced that for every crate of Krombacher sold one square meter of rainforest would be saved for at least 100 years. For achieving this, Krombacher Brewery partnered with
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
, famous German television host
Günther Jauch
Günther Johannes Jauch (; born 13 July 1956) is a German television presenter, television producer, and journalist.
Career
Jauch is known for a unique style of informing and entertaining people that is generally considered witty and funny. ...
promoted the campaign.
The campaign was very successful, but was also criticised. In fact no rainforest was acquired by WWF or Krombacher. Rather, existing nature reserve were supported. Accordingly, a German court decided the campaign was partly anticompetitive.
[OLG Hamm, 2003-11-18, File Reference 4 U 105/03]
The campaign was started again in 2008.
Exports
As of 2005, the company's official exports are as follow:
[Krombacher » Facts](_blank)
retrieved on 2008-12-08
*49.2% to Italy
*16.4% to Spain
*7.4% to Russia
*3.0% to The Netherlands
*3.0% to the United Kingdom (UK)
*2.8% to Greece
*2.7% to France
*and 15.5% to others
Krombacher Beer Kitchen
The Krombacher Beer Kitchen is a restaurant located at the
Sheraton Palace Hotel in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia. It has been nominated for a
restaurant and bar design award during the 2020 award competition.
The restaurant averaged 4.5 stars out of 5 possible stars, based on 66 reviews on
TripAdvisor, as of June, 2020.
See also
*
List of brewing companies in Germany
This is a list of brewing companies in Germany. Beer is a major part of German culture. For many years German beer was brewed in adherence to the ''Reinheitsgebot'' order or law which only permitted water, hops, yeast and malt as beer ingredient ...
References
External links
Krombacher's WebsiteCab Website
{{Authority control
Companies established in 1803
1803 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Breweries in Germany
Beer brands of Germany
Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia
Food and drink companies established in 1803