Yes I am staying in Germany and specifically in Bitburg a bit north of Trier and further north from our home base in Konz-Oberemmel. The festival of wine there also had a round stand serving the bitburg beer and we like it too. Therefore, I look up the location and saw that was not far from our base and you know it the road warrior put the pedal to the metal and got there.
Here is a bit on the story of the Bitburg brewery and some photos of our memorable visit with an anecdote. The text below is mostly from translated German text with google lol!! Our trip to the brewery turn out the only tour was in German! so heck we were there for the beer so had to skip the history as do not speak German ok: Anyway it is still a memorable visit trip of our family and this language incidence! Hoping it gives you the full story and do come and visit, even in German !!!
Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon GmbH or Bitburger Holding is base in Bitburg. The company’s flagship brand is Bitburger, a low-fermentation German lager (pils) brewed in Bitburg since 1817. The founder was Johann Peter Wallenborn and still is a family run private company as well as been one of Germany’s best known beer brand.
The history is as follows, and I like it.
In 1877, the brewery’s annual output was also more than 1,000 hectoliters for the first time. In 1879 the “art winery” was completed, in which the beer could be cooled with natural ice all year round. The sales area expanded with the first railway line in the region, which was opened between Trier and Cologne. Since it was then possible to brew bottom-fermented beer, the production of the top-fermented beer was discontinued because it had poor transport stability. In 1880, the Bitburger beer was also bottled for the first time and sealed with corks. In 1893, the world exhibition took place in Chicago, at which Bitburger was also represented. The brewery first produced a beer based on the Pilsen brewing method in 1883.
In 1907 Theobald Simons sons Josef and Bertrand became partners of the brewery. Two years later, the first deep well on the grounds of the Bitburger brewery was put into operation since then, the water required for brewing has been obtained from the “Triasmulde” below the city. When the railway between Erdorf and Bitburg opened in 1910, the brewery was able to expand its sales. The first truck was purchased in 1914.
A judgment of the Reichsgericht in 1913 allowed the brewery to offer the Pils under the name “Original-Simonbräu-Deutsch-Pilsener”. Due to the judgment of the Reichsgericht at that time, the term Pils was permitted in Germany as a denomination. It wasn’t until 1919 that the brewery was able to brew a full-fledged Pilsener according to a well-known recipe and start production again since the outbreak of WWI. In 1921, a brewery laboratory was set up to test the beer for quality and durability.In order to further improve the clarification of the beer, Bertrand Simon developed the so-called “Simon-Späner” in 1928, with which the maturing beer was clarified with the help of metal shavings. With Theobald Simon, Hanns Simon and Bert Simon, the three sons of Bertrand Simon, the fifth generation finally took over the family business in 1935. Large parts of Bitburg and the brewery were destroyed during WWII, especially in 1944. In 1945, after the cooling system was repaired, the first brew of thin beer was prepared. Four years later, the bottles were closed with a crown cap for the first time.
This was followed in the early 1950s by the introduction of the well-known 0.33 liter Steinie reusable bottle. In 2002, the Bitburg brewing group registered the term STUBBI for the bottle shape name as a word mark. In 1958 a new brewhouse was built in the same place where Johann Peter Wallenborn founded his home brewery in 1817. In 1975 the management passed to the sixth generation of the family. At the end of the 1980s, the Schultheis brewery in Weißenthurm and the associated Coblenzer cloister brewery in Koblenz-Metternich were taken over. Both companies were continued for some time and then abandoned. Only the Kandi-Malz brand from the Schultheiss brewery has survived to this day. In 1990 an in-house experimental brewery was founded, which to this day tests new systems and processes, examines raw materials and develops and tests products. This experimental brewery is known today as Craftwerk Brewing. With the introduction of new varieties such as “Drive” or Bitburger non-alcoholic in 2004) and “Light” 1992, Bitburger became an umbrella brand. From this point on, the Bitburger brewery became Germany’s most popular draft beer brand.
In May 2005, with the launch of the “Bit Sun” product, the brand portfolio was expanded to include the “Bit” umbrella brand and an additional cyclist was introduced. In 2006 the range was expanded again with “Bit Passion”, followed in 2007 by “Bit Copa” a mixed beer drink with the taste of lime and cachaça. In addition, the “Kandi Malt” soft drink is produced. In 2010 followed with “Bitburger Cola” and “Bitburger Radler” other beer mix drinks. Both are mixed drinks that remained in the range. Three years later there was the second new edition of the alcohol-free line and two other alcohol-free products. The alcohol-free product range was further expanded by the introduction of the “Bitburger barrel shower”. 2017 was the company’s 200th anniversary. On this occasion, the limited anniversary beer “Bitburger 1817” was sold.
The brewery is in Bitburg at the locations Bitburg-North now administration and Bitburg-South the brewery with a total area of around 232,000 m², as well as five own wells with a depth of up to 300 meters and a total capacity of up to 800 m³ per hour. The brewery has a total output of around four million hectoliters of beer. There are about 900 representations in Germany and abroad. Bitburger is now sold in 60 countries and sold in around 50,000 restaurants. The main export regions are Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA.
Some webpages to help you enjoy your visit here are
Official Bitburger beers site in English: Official Bitburger beers
Tourist office of Eifel Bitburg area on the brewery in English: Tourist office Eifel Bitburg on the brewery
Tourist office of Trier and Luxembourg region on the brewery in English: Lux Trier tourist office on Bitburger beer
There you go a nice introduction to German beers which luckily we can get here now! Hope you enjoy the tour and the beers ::) Bitburger was a trip and a memorable souvenir for my family
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 