Saku Brewery is an Estonian

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 ...

and soft drinks company based in Saku. It was founded in 1820 by the local

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

landlord

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

. Since 2008

Carlsberg Group Carlsberg A/S (; ) is a Danish multinational brewer. Founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the company's headquarters is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. ...

has been the sole owner of Saku Brewery.

History

The history of Saku Brewery begins in early 19th century, when the owner of Saku

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

at that time, – a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

descent – decided to build a distillery and a brewery on his land. The brewery was first documented in October 1820. It is believed that the production of beer, for the purpose of sale to pubs and taverns, began in the autumn of that year. From the end of 19th century onward, Saku has remained among the leading breweries in Estonia.

Currently

In 1991, joint venture Saku Õlletehas was established. Since January 27, 1998, the shares of Saku Brewery were traded in the list on the

Tallinn Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Tallinn AS, formerly known as the Tallinn Stock Exchange, is a stock exchange operating in Tallinn, Estonia. Nasdaq Tallinn is the only regulated secondary securities market in Estonia. The major stock market index is Nasdaq Tallinn, fo ...

. On 20 September 2008, the shares of Saku Õlletehase AS were delisted from Tallinn Stock Exchange. Through large investments, Saku Brewery has become the market leader on the Estonian beer market. According to market research by

Nielsen Corporation The Nielsen Corporation, self-referentially known as The Nielsen Company, and formerly known as ACNielsen or AC Nielsen, is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City, United States. Regional headquarters for ...

in March 2009, Saku Brewery held 38.7% of the local market share. The total sales of beer by Saku amounted to 59 million litres in 2007. Beverages of Saku Brewery are exported amongst other countries to Sweden (the only Estonian beer in the

Systembolaget (, "the System Company"), colloquially known as ("the system") or ("the company"), is a government-owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. It is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% alcohol by v ...

is Saku Kuld), Finland, Netherlands, England, Germany, Ireland and Canada. Saku's exports during the first five months of 2009 amounted to 3.12 million litres. The interests of Estonia's three largest breweries are represented by the Estonian Beer Brewers Association: Saku Brewery, A. Le Coq Brewery and Viru Brewery. The sales turnover of Saku Brewery in 2021 was 69.35 million and the net profit was 8.1 million euros.

Products

Saku Originaal is the flagship product of Saku Brewery and is made of yeast, water and selected malt and hops. Brewing of Saku Originaal started in 1993, making it the first Estonian beer to be sold after Estonia regained its independence. According to market research conducted by Emor in 2002, Saku Originaal is the most recognised and popular Estonian beer. In April 2009, Saku Brewery invested over 70 million kroons into a new crystal-filtering technology, the first brewery to employ this technology in Estonia. Saku Originaal was the first beer to be brewed using this technology. Crystal-filtering helps remove bacteria from the beer during brewing, giving the beer a longer lifetime and stronger taste. Besides beers, Saku Brewery also produces mineral water (Vichy), cider, long drinks (Saku GN), and energy drinks ( Battery, Super Manki). ;Beers Saku Originaal, Saku Kuld, Rock, Karl Friedrich, Saku Hele, Saku Tume, Saku Pilsner, Saku Porter, Saku Antvärk, Saku On Ice, Saku Dublin, Saku Manchester, Taurus, Presidendi 8 ;Ciders * Somersby (Apple, Pear, Blackberry, Citrus Fruit, Apple 0.0%) * Saku Antvärk Pilvine õun, Mesine pirn ;Long drinks * GN Long Drink (Grapefruit, Cola and Cactus-Lime) * Seth&Riley's Garage (Hard Lemonade, Hard Ginger) * Star Cocktails (London G&Tonic, Berlin Colameister, Miami Strawberry Margarita) ;Water * Vichy Classique * Vichy Fresh (Raspberry-Rhubarb, Aloe Vera-Apricot, Lemon-Lime, Orange-Mango, Apple, Green tea-Pomegranate) * Vichy Sport * Vichy Vitamin (Daily, Sport, Reload) * Värska Originaal ;Soft drinks * Saku Kali * Lotte Limonaad ;Energy drinks * Battery (Battery, Battery No Calories – Lime) * Super-Manki

Marketing

Among other marketing activities, Saku Brewery sponsors the following events and organizations: *

BC Tartu University of Tartu basketball team ( et, link=no, Tartu Ülikooli korvpallimeeskond ), for sponsorship reasons known as Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits, is a professional basketball team based in Tartu, Estonia. The team plays in the Latvian–Es ...

, an Estonian professional basketball team * Estonian Ski Association * Hard Rock Laager, an Estonian rock music festival * International Summer Competition for Skiers * Rabarock, former Estonian rock music festival * Silverspoon gastronomy award * Saku Suurhall

References

External links