Region & History

Bremer Bier has its roots in trade. As early as the 13th century, beer was the most important export good of this Hanseatic city on the Weser. According to Bremen's city promotion board, about forty percent of the cargo bound for Holland, Flanders, England, or Scandinavia at the time consisted of beer casks.

In the 19th century, brewing moved from private houses into factories. On 20 May 1826, 24-year-old Cord Hinrich Haake founded his brewery on Wachtstraße. On 27 June 1873, construction entrepreneur Lüder Rutenberg, brewmaster Heinrich Beck, and merchant Thomas May followed suit with the Kaiser-Brauerei Beck & May.

The newly founded brewery soon took the name Exportbrauerei Beck & Co. and focused entirely on shipments by sea. A pale beer in the Pilsner style was meant to survive long voyages. At the World's Fair in Philadelphia in 1876, it is said to have won a gold medal as the "best of all continental beers."

In 1921, Haake and Beck merged their production, which is why the brand still carries the double name Haake-Beck today. Beck's now belongs to AB InBev, the largest brewing group in the world. Alongside it, the Union-Brauerei has also returned: founded in 1907 by Bremen innkeepers, taken over by Haake-Beck in 1965 and closed in 1968, it has been brewing again since December 2015.

Since 18 July 1998, "Bremer Bier" has held protected geographical indication (PGI) status within the EU. This ties the name to the city itself. The list of brewers here is manageable: alongside the large Beck's plant, smaller houses such as the Union-Brauerei are also at work.

The Beck's plant still stands today in Neustadt on the left bank of the Weser, right where the ships used to dock. What began as a harbor operation became a brand known throughout the city and carried by Bremen out into the world.