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“Herborner
Baerenbraeu” is the oldest brewery in the valley of
the river Dill.
It
was founded by Adolf Schramm more than 120 years ago.
Adolf Schramm was born in a family of a porcelain
producer in Laubach in 1842. In 1871 he moved to Herborn.
The population of the town was about 3 000 residents at
that time. They earned their living by trade, handicraft
and farming. Adolf became a trader, because his father
couldn’t afford higher education for all his sons. In
his capacity as a trader Adolf supported his sister,
whose deceased husband owned the Theissche brewery,
which was the only brewery in the town. Theissche
brewery produced about 5 000 hectoliter of beer
according to the old methods of beer making in Bavaria.
The storage capacity of a rock cellar amounted to 150
hectoliter at that time. Adolf Schramm hired the brewery
of Theissche. At the same time he decided to build his
own brewery in front of the town, on the other side of
the river Dill and the railway. There was enough space
to build a spacious cellar in a rock for the storage of
beer. For the production of beer according to Bavarian
traditions an ice cellar was necessary. For this purpose
an ice pond was fitted out. In a new organized brewery
steam was used for the heating of boilers. The steam not
only rationalized the process of working, it was also
used for a refrigerating mechanism, which made the
brewery independent from recourses of natural ice. The
brewery was called “The First Herborner Steam Brewery”.
In 1912 the brewery had 12 horses, 5 two-horse and 2
one- horse carriages, one 8-seater family coach and one
carriage for the selling of beer in the town. In the
same year Adolf Schramm bought the Wissenbach brewery
for 15 000 golden guldens. One year later the founder
died in the age of 61.
His 4 children continued to run the brewery. Adolf’s
only son Franz Schramm studied brewing in Munich and
Dortmund. At the age of 32 he took over the brewing
business. In the year 1917 Franz did something that his
father couldn’t do. He bought Theissche brewery for
150 000 marks. Since that time there had only been one
brewery in Herborn. In spite of inflation, unemployment
and the decline of beer production Franz Schramm managed
to overcome difficulties. In 1919 the output of beer was
reduced from 11 000 to 5 000 hectoliters. From 1933 the
output began to grow, however due to the Second World
War the brewery faced new difficulties. From 13 workers
7 were called up for military service. Raw material was
rationed and on Christmas Eve the air raid did heavy
damage to the brewery.
In 1945 Franz Schramm retired and a grandson of the
founder Herbert Doeinck took on the management for a
short time the leadership over. Later he handed over the
administration of the brewery to Karl Strunk, who was
the chief of the brewery from 1950. Together with the
50-year-old Czech Franz Rosibal, who was an experienced
Pils brewer, Karl Strunk coped with the difficulties of
a postwar period. During this hard period, beer was even
produced from whey. In 1950 the production of beer
reached 35 000 hectoliter. Franz Rosibal retired and
Richard Reelitz took the technical leadership of the
brewery. He managed the rapid upward trend of the
brewery skillfully und prudently. The amount of
production reached 80 000 hectoliters. In 1971 Karl
Strunk died. He had been manager of “Herborner
Baerenbraeu” for more than 40 years.
A
graduate engineer Peter Stoll took over the management.
The brewery at that time had modern technology at its
disposal and produced the best sorts of beer according
to old traditional recipes.
In 1990 under the leadership of a diplomaed
brewer Otto Reichle the brewery succeeded in producing a
non-alcoholic beer named “Herborner Drive”. It
completed the product range of “Herborner Baerenbraeu”.
Today
“Herborner Baerenbraeu” produces 10 sorts of beer.
The marketing area of the brewery is within a radius of
50 kilometers around Herborn. In addition to this, the
brewery has its trade representatives in the former East
Germany. The brewery produces its beer according to the
so called “purity requirements” of 1516. In order to
protect the environment beer is not produced in tin and
in plastic bottles.
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You
can taste and relish Herborner beer in the cafes
and restaurants of Herborn. |
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