Kronenbourg Brewery


Kronenbourg Brewery is a brewery founded in 1664 by Geronimus Hatt in the Free Imperial City of Straßburg, Holy Roman Empire. The name comes from the area where the brewery relocated in 1850. The company is owned by the Carlsberg Group. The premium brand is Kronenbourg 1664, a 5.5% abv pale lager.

History

Geronimus Hatt, who obtained his Master Brewer's certificate in 1649, started up the Canon Brewery in the Place du Corbeau in Strasbourg. His son Claude, succeeded his father in the trade in 1683. However, the frequent flooding of the River Ill compelled in 1850 a move to the higher terrain of Cronenbourg, an area of Strasbourg.
In 1922, the Hatt Brewery changed its name to Tigre Bock, the most well-known brand of the Tiger Brewery it had acquired to become the leading brewer in Alsace. Following the Second World War, Kronenbourg became the name of the company, and began international expansion. In 1970, it was acquired by industrial group BSN, along with the Société Européenne de Brasseries. In 1986, Kronenbourg merged with Kanterbräu.
In 1953, Kronenbourg was sold in the UK for the first time in honour of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
British company Scottish and Newcastle plc acquired it in 2000 for £1.7 billion. In April, 2008, S&N's operations were sold to Heineken and Carlsberg, the latter acquiring Kronenbourg.
Its main breweries are in Obernai and in Champigneulles, although the Champigneulles site is now up for sale.
On 2 April 2015, Brasseries Kronenbourg launched a new corporate identity which it will use in corporate communications. It was designed by Carré Noir, which has been the brewery's design agency for several years. According to a press release, the new logo reaffirms Kronenbourg's identity as a French brewer with 350 years of history.

Beers

Kanterbräu

Kanterbräu is a 4.2% pale lager.

1664

is a 5.5% pale lager first brewed in 1952. A small amount of the Strisselspalt hop, a French aroma hop from Alsace, is used. The main Kronenbourg 1664 brewery is in Obernai, but the brand is also brewed in the UK by Heineken at its Manchester brewery, in Australia by Coopers, as well as in Ukraine by Carlsberg.

Other beers

Other brands include: 1664 Brune; Single Malt, 6.1% abv; Kronenbourg Blanc, a fruity wheat beer with citrus notes; Kronenbourg Premier Cru 6.0% abv; Kronenbourg Cold Premier 5.0%, a super chilled variant on 1664, draught only, UK; and Kronenbourg Red 4.2% abv.