The Ernst Barre Private Brewery () is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

located in

Lübbecke Lübbecke (; ) is a town in northeast North Rhine-Westphalia in north Germany. This former county town lies on the northern slopes of the Wiehen Hills (''Wiehengebirge'') and has around 26,000 inhabitants. The town is part of district of Minden- ...

, a town in the north-western German district of

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz (district), Diepholz, Nienburg (district), Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford (district), Herford, Osnabr ...

, East Westphalia. Founded in 1842 by Ernst Johann Barre,Harald Wixforth, Ostwestfalen, Streifzug durch die Wirtschaftsgeschichte; Kunstverlag Josef Bühn, München, 1999; Herausgeber: Dr. Christoph von der Heiden, Industrie- und Handelskammer Ostwestfalen zu Bielefeld the brewery has remained in the same family for generations. The Ernst Barre Private Brewery, along with its immediate competitor, the Herforder Brauerei, is one of the largest breweries in East Westphalia based on beer production, signifying its regional importance. In addition to beer, the brewery also produces shandy and soft drinks. As of 2015, the brewery's annual production was approximately , generating a revenue of about €20 million, and employing 110 people.

History and regional importance

The brewery not only supports numerous festivals in the region, but it has even founded a festival of its own, the Bierbrunnenfest (Beer Fountain Festival), which has been celebrated in Lübbecke since 1954. Incredibly, this involves serving thousands of litres of beer to the general populace, at no charge whatsoever. Barre Bräu is not just popular in the Lübbecker Land, but also further north on the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland () is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north, Germany's ...

, and in the district of Herford, to the south of Lübbecke. Barre Bräu is also exported to Taiwan and China. Barre Bräu is brewed in accordance with the purity law ('' Reinheitsgebot'') of 1516, and the brewery is a founding member of the ''Die Freien Brauer'' (Independent Brewers) initiative, an association of medium-sized private breweries in Germany and Austria. According to its own sources, Barre Bräu produced of beer during 2010,Den Erfolg in der Nische suche
''Privatbrauerei Ernst Barre fährt strikten Sparkurs''
In: Neue Westfälische, 27 May 2009 (accessed on 7 July 2009) which is just over 2% of the annual output of Germany's largest brewery. However, Barre Bräu has a reputation for quality and operates very successfully in its

niche market A niche market is the subset of the market on which a product is appealed to a small group of consumers. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the ...

Products

Barre produces numerous types of

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

and shandy: * Barre

Pilsener Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewery. Histor ...

* Barre Frey Bier (non-alcoholic) * Barre Dunkel * Barre Alt * Barre Weizen * Barre Maibock * Barre Alt Schuss (Alt Bier + malt beer) * Barre Alster (beer shandy) * Barre Lemon (beer shandy) * Barre Festbier * Barre Weizen Grape (beer shandy) * Barre Fass Brause (non-alcoholic) Barre Maibock is only available in spring; all other types are sold year-round.

Features

The brewery runs its own museum, ''Barre's Brauwelt'' (Barre's Brewing World).''Homepage des Brauerei-Museums''
. Retrieved 8 July 2009 The museum opened its doors in 2001, and is the only one of its kind in Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The impressive sandstone-and-brick building housing the museum was among the first to be built when the brewery was established, and it was used as a brewing and storage cellar until the mid-1980s. The exhibit shows a complete production facility, including numerous carefully restored brewing machines and tools used in beer making, and gives a good overview of the brewery's history. Experienced guides provide visitors with interesting information about the art of beer brewing during the 19th and 20th centuries. The brewery's products can subsequently be sampled in the adjacent restaurant.

Slogans

"Barre Bräu dein Herz erfreu!" (loosely translated as "May Barre Bräu please your heart!"); "Mit Gebirgsquellwasser gebraut" (brewed with mountain spring water); "Aus Norddeutschland's ältester Pilsbrauerei" (from northern Germany's oldest

Pilsner Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewery. History ...

brewery).

References

External links

Barre's Brauwelt

Life in Barre-Land, past and present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barre, Ernst, Private Brewery Breweries in Germany Beer in Germany Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia Minden-Lübbecke Lübbecke