Radeberger started in 1872 when the brewery was founded as ''Zum Bergkeller'', in

Radeberg Radeberg is a small town in the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen, Saxony, Germany. It is located approximately 20 kilometres north-east of Dresden. The town has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, and an old castle. History Rade ...

, a town in the vicinity of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. Radeberger ranks No. 9 among Germany's best selling beers.

History

This beer was also brewed for a period for the

King of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast ...

. It was the first brewery in Germany to brew beer exclusively in the Pilsner style that still exists today. Radeberger elected to change its name to the present name of Radeberger Exportbierbrauerei. This change came in 1885 when they began shipping across borders. By the late 1880s, the brewer's numbers had risen to 300,000 cases per year. The first German chancellor,

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

elevated Radeberger Pilsner to "Kanzler-Bräu" (chancellor brew) in 1887. The brewery takes pride in the fact that in 1905, Radeberger Pilsner became the favourite drink of king

Frederick Augustus III of Saxony Frederick Augustus III (; 25 May 1865 – 18 February 1932) was the last King of Saxony (1904–1918). Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the eldest son of King George of Saxony and his wife, Maria Anna of Portugal. Frederick Augustus ...

. Also that same year, Radeberger began to export to the USA and Canada. In 1946, the communist

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

government took control of the brewery. In 1954, the company began to export worldwide. In 1990, after the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

, Binding Brauerei purchased the company and returned its sales to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. After the purchase, the brewery underwent comprehensive renovations to bring the brewery up to speed with modern brewing. By 1994, it expanded to 1 million Hectoliter production rate. In 2004, Oetker Gruppe purchased the company and removed them from the stock market, thus making Radeberger a private company. Radeberger was the favourite beer of the character Charlie Harper in the TV series

Two and a Half Men Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn that aired on CBS for 12 seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. The series originally starred Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, a hedonis ...

due to a cooperation with the brewery.

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, assigned by the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

to their office in

, DDR, in the 1980s, assisting the East German

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

and also supervising them, acquired a taste for Radeberger, which remains his preferred

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 ...

, in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and when he travels to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Truscott, Peter. Putin's Progress, page 58, Pocket Books, 2004. They also brew 'Uberbrau' for

Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...

in the Australian market. File:Radeberger.jpg, Glass of Radeberger Pilsner File:RadebergerOldBrewhouse.jpg, Radeberger Brewery - old main brewery building File:RadebergerBierinSaintPetersburgFlorida.JPG,

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

/USA File:Madiba Forever.jpg, Bottle of Radeberger Pilsner

Notes

External links

Official Homepage of the Brewery
* {{Authority control Breweries in Germany Beer brands of Germany Saxon Royal Warrant holders 1872 establishments in Germany Food and drink companies established in 1872 Companies based in Saxony

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 ...

Dr. Oetker

History

See also

Notes

External links