ERDINGER 0.0% WEIZEN BEER

In 1886, the 'Weisse Bräuhaus' was founded by Johann Kienle in Erding, in the heart of Upper Bavaria about 30 km north-east of Munich, Germany. In 1930 the brewery is bought by the malt factory F.W. Otto. In 1935 the Managing Director at the time, Franz Brombach, is offered the opportunity to buy the brewery. Annual wheat beer production at the time is around 3,500 hectoliters (hl). In 1949 Franz Brombach names the brewery Erdinger Weißbräu. In 1965 the company is racing ahead: annual production rises to around 40,000 hl. The brewery’s current owner, Werner Brombach, joins the company. His declared intention is to gradually establish and successfully market a nationwide wheat beer brand. In 1971 a successful advertising campaign is launched for the Erdinger Weissbier brand, focusing on its "high quality standards" as a "traditional Bavarian specialty". The new Erdinger jingle "Des Erdinger Weissbier, des is hoid a Pracht..." becomes a German advertising classic. In the 1970s Austria and Italy became Erdinger’s first wheat beer export nations. Today, the mid-size private brewery exports its specialties to 100 countries on five continents. In 1975 following the death of his father, Werner Brombach takes over the family business. Two years later, output reaches around 225,000 hl and Erdinger is market leader. In 1983 a new brewhouse is constructed on the edge of town – there is no longer enough space at the company’s historic base in the middle of the Old Town. Capacity is now almost 600,000 hl, but a second building is soon needed to expand capacity further. In 1990 Erdinger passes the magic 1-million hectoliter mark for the first time! In 2001 repositioning of Erdinger Alkoholfrei as an isotonic thirst-quencher for sports enthusiasts. Just five years later, Erdinger Alkoholfrei is the market’s number 1 Alkoholfrei beer. In 2008 after two years of construction, the Erdinger Weißbräuhof is re-opened. The Brombach family’s faithfully restored base is now home to the brewery’s HQ, a pub and a four-star hotel. In 2016 130-year brewery anniversary: Erdinger Weißbräu has stood for cultivated Bavarian wheat beer enjoyment and maximum enjoyment for 130 years now. In 2017 the new bottling plant goes into operation. Two new bottling lines and the modernization of an existing line create additional capacity: up to 165,000 bottles can be filled per hour. In 2019 big bang at the 80th birthday party of Erdinger owner Werner Brombach: Jürgen Klopp (football coach - Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Mainz 05 - and former German footballer - Mainz 05, Rot-Weiss Frankfurt, Eintracht Frankfurt II, 1.FC Pforzheim) becomes a new ambassador of the private brewery. In 2021 total sales are 1.5 million hectoliters of beer (2020). Erdinger is the largest family-owned wheat beer brewery. For over 130 years, Erdinger Weissbräu has stood for carefully nurtured Bavarian wheat beer culture and perfect enjoyment.

We are talking about the largest producer of Weizen not only in Germany, but also in the world, with a presence in the most diverse corners of the world thanks to the constant activity of its brewing rooms and fermenters, from which millions of hectolitres flow annually.

Erdinger is the typical German, or rather, Bavarian wheat beer. Erdinger is brewed by the brasserie of the same name according to the specification issued in Bavaria back in 1516 to defend the authenticity of beer (Reinheitsgebot seit 1516, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water). For more than two centuries, the Bavarian royal families had a monopoly on production and the court breweries became the place where brewing methods were studied and perfected. The Erdinger Weissbier brand is still synonymous with typical Bavarian beer today.
This is the typical German, or rather, Bavarian wheat beer. Erdinger is brewed by the brasserie of the same name according .
Erdinger uses only high-quality raw materials starting with the water, which is drawn from two private wells within the brewery. The pleasure experience is completed by the stimulating bitterness of the hop aroma and a touch of a light fruity acidity. This is completed by the fine sparkling carbonic acid.

The actual history of wheat beer, as we know it today, began around 500 years ago. At the time, beer made from wheat was quite controversial as this grain was mainly needed for baking bread. From 1567 onward, the use of wheat for brewing beer was forbidden throughout the Duchy of Bavaria. There was just one exception: the Degenbergers in the Lower Bavarian town of Schwarzach were permitted to brew wheat beer by a privilege granted by the Duke of Bavaria in 1548. When the last Degenberger died without an heir in 1602, this right to brew wheat beer reverted to Duke Maximilian. He was thus unrivaled in its own territory, as wheat beer brewing was still taboo for all others. Over time, a number of electoral breweries emerged throughout the country in which the local rulers were allowed to have wheat beer brewed on payment of a special duty. The Wittelsbach family earned a lot of money with this wheat beer monopoly, which they used to finance their lavish state budget.

Top-fermenting wheat beer also had a practical advantage. It can withstand higher ambient temperatures during the brewing process. Unlike bottom-fermenting beer, it could therefore also be brewed in summer. It was only when new brewing techniques led to an improvement in the quality of brown beers in the mid-18th century that wheat beer became “common”, i.e. no longer a royal privilege. In addition to the aristocracy, all licensed brewers throughout the land were now permitted to brew wheat beer.

Bavaria has always been a wheat beer stronghold. 90 percent of all wheat beer sold in Germany comes from the Free State. Around 1,000 different brands are brewed here. Wheat beer has been the most widely brewed Bavarian beer since 1994 – currently accounting for 35 percent of the state’s total beer output. By comparison: in 1960, it accounted for just three percent. The specialty beer has thus had an amazing success story over the past decades, and has long become a firm favorite beyond the so-called “white sausage equator” in Germany and abroad.

Purity Law

Erdinger Weißbräu is a staunch defender of Bavaria’s Purity Law. We’ve never used anything else to brew our Erdinger wheat beers than the pure natural ingredients water, malted wheat and barley, hops and yeast – in strict compliance with the Bavarian Purity Law.

We guarantee that no chemicals, artificial colorings and aromas, or any other additives are used in the production of Erdinger wheat beers – only Bavarian brewing skills and the highest quality standards.

Brewing purely with the basic ingredients

There have been numerous brewing regulations over the ages. They all set out to protect the consumer of the finished product – the beer drinker. The main aim was to ban the addition of harmful substances. Brewing should be limited to just a very few basic ingredients.

One of the oldest historic laws for the production of beer is the brewing regulation issued by the Duchy of Bavaria-Landshut in 1493. This states that only water, hops and malt may be used. The most famous brewing law, however, is the edict of Wilhelm IV on April 23, 1516 on the occasion of a meeting of the Assembly of Estates, at Ingolstadt, north of Munich and for the entire Duchy of Bavaria. The original text says that “We wish…forthwith that…in all our towns and markets and in the countryside no other items be used for beer than barley, hops, and water.” Since then, this decree has gone through many iterations, revisions, and amendments, and is now part of the modern German tax law, where it resides under the frightfully convoluted title of “Section 9 of the Public Notice concerning the Amendment of the Provisional Beer Law dated July 29, 1993.” The Purity Law may be almost 5 centuries old, but its current name of Reinheitsgebot is of much more recent vintage. That term was coined on March 4, 1918, by an obscure member of the Bavarian State Parliament, Hans Rauch, during an impassioned debate about beer taxation. Before then, the law had simply been known by the prosaic name of "Surrogatverbot” (surrogate, or adjunct, prohibition). Because of its longevity, the Reinheitsgebot is now considered the world’s oldest, still valid food safety and consumer protection legislation.

If you see the seal of quality stating “brewed in accordance with the Purity Law” on the beer you’re buying, then pure beer enjoyment is guaranteed!

2022 - 2023 - 2024 Nominee for Europe's Leading Beer Tour Visitor Experience at the Annual WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS, London (UK). It's the most prestigious, comprenhensive and sought after awards programme in the global travel and tourism industry

2023
ABOUT-DRINKS Beverages Award, Paderborn (DE)

• Silver Medal

LEBENSMITTEL PRAXIS (German Trade Magazine), Neuwed (DE) - Product of the Year 2023 in the beer category

• Silver Medal

2022
ABOUT-DRINKS Beverages Award, Paderborn (DE)

• Gold Medal in the wheat beer category
• Silver Medal in the non-alcoholic beer category
• Silver Medal in the helles category

GETRÄNKE ZEITUNG (one of the most important and well-respected trade magazine in the German Beverage Industry), Neustadt an der Weinstraße (DE)

• Title "Beverage of the Year" in the non-alcoholic beer segment
  

THE FIZZZ AWARDS 2022 (compulsory reading for owners, managers and bar-tenders in the German Gastronomy sector)

• Newcomer of the Year Award

2018 - LEBENSMITTEL PRAXIS (German Trade Magazine), Neuwed (DE) - Product of the Year 2018 in the beer category

• Silver Medal