Region & History

Badisches Bier is not a protected designation of origin. Neither "Badisches Bier" nor "Kurpfälzer Bier" appears on the EU register of geographical indications, unlike Kölsch or Münchener Bier. What's meant here are the beers from breweries between Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, and Mannheim, brewed from water, malt, hops, and yeast in the usual German fashion.

The roots reach back into the Kurpfalz, the land of the Palatine prince-electors. In Mannheim, the city council granted Jean du Chaine a brewing license on October 3, 1679 for the inn "Zum Aichbaum." That venture grew into the Eichbaum brewery. In 1752, Prince-Elector Carl Theodor authorized brewmaster Heinrich Joos to brew, and this operation later became Welde in Plankstadt.

The Heidelberger Brauerei traces back to the old town, with sources usually citing 1753 as the founding year. From 1820 onward, the Kleinlein half-brothers ran the business. In 1934 Kleinlein AG bought five springs on the Königstuhl, which gave rise to the brand name Schlossquell. From 1968 the brewery belonged to the Berlin-based Schultheiß group, and since 2005 it has again been privately owned, by Michael Mack.

Karlsruhe, founded in 1715, is the youngest of these cities. The Hoepfner family started with a small brewery and tavern in Liedolsheim near Karlsruhe in 1798, moving into the city center in 1850. Between 1896 and 1899 the Hoepfner Burg was built, a brewhouse designed to look like a knight's castle.

The situation today is mixed. Eichbaum filed for insolvency in late October 2025; according to press reports, brewing in Mannheim ended in late September 2026, and the brand passed to Park & Bellheimer in the Palatinate. At Heidelberger Brauerei, a 2024 agreement settled succession with Welde Braumanufaktur. On the edge of the Black Forest, Ketterer has been brewing in Hornberg since 1877.