The König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg 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 bee ...

in Fürstenfeldbruck,

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

, Germany. Their slogan, "Bier von königlicher Hoheit", or "Beer of royal highness", refers to the brewery's heritage which can be traced back through the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

, long associated with beer and brewing. The current proprietor, Prince Luitpold of the House of Wittelsbach, is the great-grandson of the last King of Bavaria,

Ludwig III Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially he served in the Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold the rank of Oberl ...

, and by extent a descendant of the original signatories of the 1516 Bavarian Purity Law, and

Ludwig I en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

, whose wedding celebration marked the first

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...

History

The House of Wittelsbach is known to have owned a brewery by 1260. 32 years later,

Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria Rudolf I of Bavaria, called "the Stammerer" (german: link=no, Rudolf der Stammler; 4 October 1274 – 12 August 1319), a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1294 until 1317. Life R ...

built

Schloss Kaltenberg The Schloss Kaltenberg is a castle in the village of Geltendorf in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The castle was built in 1292 and is currently under the proprietorship of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, the great-grandson of the last king of Bavaria, Ludwi ...

, which houses part of the brewery's facilities today. The brewery as it exists today was opened in 1870. In 1980, Marthabräu brewery in Fürstenfeldbruck was purchased, where the company administration is now located and where a large part of its production takes place. In 2001, Prince Luitpold entered into a 50/50 joint partnership with

Warsteiner Warsteiner () beer is brewed in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park outside of Warstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Warsteiner has been owned by the Cramer family since 1753. Warsteiner is Germany's largest privately owned brewery; its b ...

. A smaller brewery in Holzkirchen was also integrated into the company in 2007, and a joint-venture established with Postbrauerei in

Thannhausen Thannhausen () is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Mindel, southeast of Günzburg, and west of Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_Germa ...

. As of 2004, production was up to 340,000 hectoliters annually, of which 100,000 are produced at the brewery's Schloss Kaltenberg facilities. Much of the international production takes place under licence in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Sweden,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

under the Kaltenberg brand.

Beers

König Ludwig brand * König Ludwig

Weissbier 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 ...

Hell * König Ludwig Weissbier Dunkel * König Ludwig Weissbier Kristall * König Ludwig Weissbier Leicht * König Ludwig Weissbier Alkoholfrei * König Ludwig

Dunkel Dunkel, or Dunkles, is a word used for several types of dark German lager. ''Dunkel'' is the German word meaning ''dark'', and dunkel beers typically range in color from amber to dark reddish brown. They are characterized by their smooth malty f ...

* König Ludwig Hell Kaltenberg brand * Kaltenberg Spezial * Kaltenberg Schloss-Keller Naturtrüb * Kaltenberg 3,8 * Kaltenberg Leicht * Kaltenberg Ritterbock * Kaltenberg Pils (Croatia) * Kaltenberg Royal Lager (India) * Königliches Festtagsbier * Prinzregent Luitpold Weizenbock

References

*
Article by Michael Jackson

External links

* Beer and breweries in Bavaria Breweries in Germany Beer brands of Germany Companies based in Bavaria {{Bavaria-struct-stub