Lech Browary Wielkopolski (; English: Lech Breweries of
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.
The bound ...
) is a big industrial brewery in Poznań, with a production capacity of 7.5 million hl. The plant is owned by
Asahi Breweries
The is a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo.
In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: Alcoholic drink, alcoholic beverage business (40.5%), over ...
subsidiary
Kompania Piwowarska SA.
History
The modern brewing plant in Poznań was built between 1975 and 1980. In 1984, a malthouse was added. By 1992, along with other brewers, it was part of Wielkopolskie Zakłady Piwowarsko-Słodownicze SA, but after 1992, it became the company's main production facility, Lech Browary SA. In 1993, the ministry decided to privatize the ownership of the brewery. As a result of the tender a majority shareholder in the company was Euro Agro Centrum Poznań, owned by entrepreneur
Jan Kulczyk.
In 1996, the brewery was taken over by
South African Breweries, which in the same year, together with Jan Kulczyk, purchased the
Tyskie Brewery. Three years later, the two breweries were combined to form
Kompania Piwowarska.
On 11 March 2007, at the newly opened section of the brewery, the world's biggest beer mug was erected and filled with Lech Pils beer, setting a Guinness world record for the largest number of people drinking from one mug, which included 4250 liters of beer. The establishment of the record was attended by 10,625 people.
[Lech Pils i rekord Guinessa](_blank)
On 31 July 2010, an advertisement containing words "Zimny Lech" (Cold Lech) was placed near
Wawel
The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...
. The controversy was that in
Polish, "zimny Lech" means both ''cold Lech (beer)'', and can coincidentally mean ''cold (body of)
Lech (Kaczyński)'', the former president of Poland, who was buried in Wawel on 18 April 2010. On 2 August 2010, it was announced that the advertisement would be removed from near Wawel, as well as from other cities.
In 2017, Kompania Piwowarska was acquired by Asahi.
References
External links
Centrum Wycieczkowe Lech*
{{Coord, 52.3861, N, 17.0004, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Asahi brands
Breweries of Poland
Beer brands of Poland
Companies based in Poznań