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 b ...

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions 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 of the district gove ...

, 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 ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, long associated with beer and brewing. The current proprietor, Prince Luitpold of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, is the great-grandson of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and by extent a descendant of the original signatories of the 1516 Bavarian Purity Law, and Ludwig I, whose wedding celebration marked the first

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

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" (; 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 Rudolf was born in Basel, the son o ...

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 (b.1951), Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, the great-grandson ...

, which houses part of the brewery's facilities today. The brewery as it exists today was opened in 1870. In 1980, Marthabräu brewery in

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 be ...

. A smaller brewery in Holzkirchen was also integrated into the company in 2007, and a joint-venture established with Postbrauerei in Thannhausen. 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

under the Kaltenberg brand.

Beers

König Ludwig brand * König Ludwig Weissbier 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, ma ...

* 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