Pécs Brewery or Brewery of Pécs ( hu, Pécsi Sörfőzde) is of the four big breweries in Hungary and the biggest in the Southern Transdanubia located in

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other alternative names) is the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the country's southwest, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administr ...

, the capital of

Baranya County Baranya ( hu, Baranya megye, ) is a county () in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region and the historical Baranya region, which was a county ('' comitatus'') in the Kingdom of Hungary dating back to the 1 ...

in southwestern

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

History

The brewery was founded in 1848 by ''Hirschfeld Lipót'' (

Leopold Hirschfeld Leopold Hirschfeld ( hu, Lipót Hirschfeld, 1798, Bonyhád – 1893, Pécs), was Hungarian Jewish brewer in Pécs, Hungary, Habsburg Empire. He founded in 1848 the Pécsi Sörfőzde. Life Leopold Hirschfeld was born in Bonyhád, Hungary where ...

). Following the death of Leopold Hirschfeld, his son Sámuel took over the brewery. He expanded the facilities and drilled a spring to provide a supply of good quality water. The ''Szalon Sör'' brand was registered as a trademark by the ''Iparkamara'' (Industry Chamber) in 1907, and is still produced under that name today. In 1911, Sámuel founded the company that would later become known as ''Pécsi Sörfőzde Rt.'' It was first known as ''Hirschfeld S. Sörgyár Részvénytársaság'' (S. Hirschfeld Brewery Incorporated). In the following years, the company managed to stay successful and continue operations through the depression, and both world wars. The company was nationalized during the communist takeover following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but during the 1970s and 1980s experienced growth and development that would increase the capacity of the brewery to its current size. In 1992, several years after communism had ended in Hungary, the company again returned to a private corporation. During the privatization in 1993, a large portion of the company was purchased by the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n Ottakringer Group. The new ownership and additional capital helped the modernization efforts of the brewery. In 1994, the company name was changed to ''Pécsi Sörfőzde Rt.'' (Brewery of Pécs, Inc.). Although the company is majority-owned by the Austrian Ottakringer, it is still run independently of its parent organization, as a truly Hungarian brewery.

Company

In 2000, ''Pécsi Sörfőzde Rt.'' was 78% owned by Ottakringer of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, with another 6% in the hands of Brau Union AG. 12% of the company is owned by employees, and the remaining 4% is owned by private investors, as well as the local city government. Despite the fact that such a large percentage of the company is in Austrian ownership, the company still maintains a distinct independence and pride in being a Hungarian brewery.

Beers

As of October 2005, ''Pécsi Sörfőzde'' produces 8 kinds of beer. Six of them are traditional Hungarian brands, while the other two are produced under license from the parent company. The brewery also distributes and sells three Austrian brands within Hungary. The products are sold in bottles (0.33L, 0.5L, 0.66L), cans (0.5L), six packs (6 x 0.5L), barrels (30L, 50L) or any combination thereof. The beers are best known in the ''Dél-Dunántúl'' (Southern Transdanubia) region, but they can be found throughout the country as well. *Szalon Sör (4.6% alcohol, pale ale) – Essentially, the flagship of the brewery, the ''Szalon világos sör'' has been around since 1907, when it was registered as a trademark. Since then, it has gained popularity throughout Hungary. *Szalon Félbarna (5.5% alcohol, semi-dark beer) – The newest addition to the product line, this beer combines the lighter taste of a pale ale, and the stronger taste of a darker German-style beer. *Szalon Barna (5.8% alcohol, dark German style) – This beer has proven to be a valuable product for the brewery since it was introduced next to the Szalon Sör in 1994. *Három Királyok (6.6% alcohol, seasonal beer) – ''Három Királyok'' (Three Kings) was introduced in 1999 as a seasonal beer produced for a limited time around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and New Year's Eve. It is also the highest alcohol beer produced by the brewery *Tavaszi Sör (4.8% alcohol, seasonal beer) – ''Tavaszi Sör'' (Spring Beer) is another seasonal offering of the company that was introduced around the same time as ''Három Királyok''. As the name states, the beer is produced in the spring time, and is somewhat lighter than its winter counterpart, befitting the season. *

Radler Shandy is beer or cider mixed with a lemon or a lemon-lime flavored beverage. The citrus beverage, often called lemonade, may or may not be carbonated. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste but are usually half lemonade ...

(1.4% alcohol, soft drink-beer) – Introduced in a complete untouched segment, the Radler is a light, low-alcohol beer that is essentially a combination of lemonade and beer. *Gold Fassl Pils (4.8% alcohol,

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

) – Owned by the parent company, Ottakringer, and licensed to ''Pécsi Sörfőzde'' for brewing in Hungary, this is a light

Vienna lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage ...

. *Gold Fassl Spezial (5.3% alcohol,

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Dif ...

) – This somewhat heavier, golden-colored ale originally from Vienna is also produced under license in Hungary. In addition to the seven listed above, the brewery also sells three other Austrian brands. Ottakringer Helles (5.2% alc.) famous in Vienna, and the

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People *Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of the D ...

Weisse (5.4% alc.) unfiltered wheat beer originally from Bavaria in southern Germany are the two alcoholic ones. The Null Komma Josef is a non-alcoholic beer sold only in small 0.33L bottles, which is a valuable addition to the product family, since Hungary has a zero tolerance policy for driving while intoxicated (maximum 0.0% allowable blood alcohol level). In addition to widely distributed beers, the brewery also produces "Pécsi sör" on a microbrewery basis. This special unfiltered beer (5.2% alc.) is only available in a limited number of licensed establishments in Pécs (the most locally known is Cellárium).

External links

Official website
* Hungarian Wikipedia * Sör (beer)

References

A Sörfőzde (The Brewery)
- Pécsi Sörfőzde Rt.

- Magyar Sörgyártók Szövetsége (Federation of Hungarian Breweries) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pecs Brewery Beer in Hungary 1848 establishments in Hungary Hungarian brands

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 bee ...