König Brewery
| Company type | Gmbh |
|---|---|
| Industry | Brewery |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Successor | Bitburger brewery  |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Beer |
Number of employees | 200 |
| Website | www.koenig.de |
The König Brewery is situated in the Beeck area of Duisburg; amongst other beers, it brews the well-known König Pilsener (also known in colloquial German as “KöPi”).
History[1]
Theodor König was born in 1825 at Üppenhagen farm (in what is known today as Selm-Cappenberg); in 1858, he opened a brewery in the country district of Beeck[2] which, at that time, did not yet form part of the city of Duisburg. He brewed lager in the Pilsener style, despite the fact that this bottom-fermented style of beer was relatively unpopular at the time. First records of the brand “König Pilsener” appear in 1911. At first, König Pilsener was known for its bitter hoppiness; later, the beer was consistently adapted to the requirements of a premium lager intended for mass consumption.
On 1 February 2000, the König brewery became a subsidiary of the Holsten Group; this group was then sold to the Danish Carlsberg concern in the course of 2004. Carlsberg broke up the Holsten Group, selling the König and Licher breweries to Bitburger Holdings.
Product portfolio[3]
The most important product in the König portfolio is the König Pilsener[4] brand. König Alt, a beer brewed in the form of the local Rhineland Altbier, was developed in the 1970s, but then later discontinued alongside König Export and König Malz, a malt beer. New products include the alcohol-free Kelts beer, renamed to König Pilsener Alkoholfrei[5] in 2005. From 2006 up until 2011, a beer-lemonade mix was available under the name König Pilsener Lemon.[6] In 2011 the production of König Pilsener Lemon was discontinued and a new beer-lemonade mix was introduced under the name of König Pilsener Radler.[7]
Sponsoring
The König Brewery is a sponsor of several sports teams in the Rhine-Ruhr region. The König Pilsener brand appears on the ice hockey kit of EV Duisburg and the brand is also the official named sponsor of the Nordkurve terraces in the MSV Duisburg football stadium. The brewery advertises regularly elsewhere in this stadium, as well as in the Georg-Melches stadium in the neighbouring city of Essen. The brewery has also lent its name to the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, just north of Duisburg, and to the KönigPALAST multi-purpose sports arena in nearby Krefeld.
Brand representatives[8]
For several years, the König Brewery has used actor, director and producer Til Schweiger as corporate representative for the König Pilsener brand. He has appeared on billboard advertising, as well as in print and on television.
Past testimonials include tennis legend Boris Becker (up until 31.12.2010) and chefs Dieter Müller and Herbert Seckler.
See also
References
- ^ König Brauerei | Geschichte: http://www.koenig.de/brauerei/geschichte/
- ^ Schützenverein Cappenberg: Handwerk auf Cappenberg. Exkurs Theodor König
- ^ König Brauerei | Produkte: http://www.koenig.de/produkte/
- ^ König Pilsener: http://www.koenig.de/produkte/koenigpilsener/
- ^ Press release König Pilsener Alkoholfrei: http://www.koenig.de/brauerei/pressedetail/8/
- ^ Press release König Pilsener Lemon: http://www.koenig.de/brauerei/pressedetail/6/
- ^ Press release König Pilsener Lemon: http://www.koenig.de/brauerei/pressedetail/24/
- ^ König Brauerei | Botschafter: http://www.koenig.de/botschafter/