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The Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan (''Bavarian State Brewery of Weihenstephan'') is a German
Until the 1950s, the brewery described its date of foundation as the year 1146. At this time, a document allegedly dating to the year 1040 resurfaced. In it,
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 ...
located on the site of the former Weihenstephan Abbey
Weihenstephan Abbey (''Kloster Weihenstephan'') was a Benedictine monastery in Weihenstephan, now part of the district of Freising, in Bavaria, Germany. Brauerei Weihenstephan, located at the monastery site since at least 1040, is said to be th ...
in Freising
Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000.
Location
Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Is ...
, Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. In 2014, the total output was . The brewery advertises itself as "The World's Oldest Brewery".
History
Establishment
Until the 1950s, the brewery described its date of foundation as the year 1146. At this time, a document allegedly dating to the year 1040 resurfaced. In it, Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
, Bishop of Freising
The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria:
Bishops of Freising
* St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organ ...
bestowed a brewing right
In Medieval times, the brewing right or ''gruit right'' was one of the privileges granted by the land owner or territorial ruler. Sometimes this right was linked to a plot or a house, called a "beer court"; sometimes the right was held by a heredi ...
upon the abbey. The document is generally dismissed as a forgery from the early 1600s. The first written record of the brewery dates to the year 1675. Another source, dating to 768, indicates the presence of a hops
Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whi ...
garden nearby.
State Brewery
In 1803, as part of a larger wave of German secularization, Weihenstephan Abbey was dissolved. The cloister passed into the ownership of the Bavarian government, where it was incorporated as the ''Königlich Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan'' (''Royal Bavarian Brewery Weihenstephan''). In 1921, the brewery adopted its current name. Today, although it is fully owned by the government of Bavaria, it is run as a modern enterprise in line with private sector practices. The grounds around the brewery were developed into a campus of theHochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf
The Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science (german: Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf) is a Fachhochschule in Freising, Germany.
Facts and figures
Students (winter semester 2016/17)
* 6,400 students (4,200 in Weihenstephan ...
.
Awards
* 2016: Gold medal at the ''World Beer Cup
The World Beer Cup is an international beer competition organized by the Brewers Association, a trade group representing America's small and independent craft brewers. It is the largest competition in the beer industry and has been described as " ...
'', in the category South German-Style Hefeweizen
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 ...
, for Weihenstephaner Hefeweißbier.
* 2016: Silver medal at the ''World Beer Cup'', in the category German-Style Wheat Ale, for Weihenstephaner Kristallweißbier.
See also
*List of oldest companies
This list of the oldest companies in the world includes brands and companies, excluding associations and educational, government, or religious organizations. To be listed, a brand or company name must remain operating, either in whole or in part, ...
References
{{authority control 1040 establishments in Europe 1040s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Beer and breweries in Bavaria Beer brands of Germany Breweries in Germany Pages translated from German Wikipedia Buildings and structures in Freising (district) Government-owned companies of Germany Companies established in the 11th century