Stein of the Day

This half-liter stein is from the Hacker-Pschorr Brewery in Munich. Yeah, it’s really Hacker-Pschorr, but everyone just calls it Pschorr Bräu.

Here’s the background from the 2010 Munich City Guide:

The history of the Munich brewery can be traced back as far as 1417. It started in Munich, the cradle of the world-famous art of brewing. The year 1793 marked the beginning of a new era in the evolution of the brewing industry when, in that year, the ancestor of the Pschorr dynasty of brewers, Joseph Pschorr, married the pretty brewer's daughter Maria Theresia Hacker.

He bought the Hacker Brewery from his father-in-law and, within a short time, made it the first big brewery in Munich. However, still not satisfied, he purchased a second brewery to which he gave his name. Before developing the second brewery from being a small family brewery into an industrial enterprise, with great foresight he bought a large amount of land just outside the walls of the old town, where the modern brewery of Hacker-Pschorr stood for many years. Unfortunately the site was sold and there is now an office complex.

Well ahead of his time, he there created huge underground storage facilities which were popularly know as "The Beer Fortress". These facilities made it possible for the first time for beer to be brewed all round the year, with consistent quality and long shelf life. These developments were so important that the Prince Regent, Luitpold, decided to have Joseph Pschorr's bust erected in the Hall of Fame. His bust presides over the site where the annual festivities of the famous Munich or München "Oktoberfest" are held. Before dying, he called his two sons to choose, by lottery, which would run either of the two breweries, in order to divide the inheritance into equal shares.

Matthias became the owner of "Hacker" and Georg became the owner of "Pschorr", and they shared the "Beer Fortress" equally between them.

Following generations carried both breweries to world-wide reputations. In 1861 their "Lager-Bockbeer" was already exported to Rio de Janeiro. Among many other distinctions, the Pschorr Brewery attended the 1876 Centennial Exhibition of Philadelphia. In order to supply the "U.S. Branch of Pschorr Bräu München" in New York, the ships had to be specially equipped with refrigerated space, as, for the first time, keg beer was sent to the United States.

The two World Wars however, damaged the international relationships of both breweries with the result that their very survival seemed to be in question. Yet the old spirit of enterprise survived and all the difficulties were overcome. In 1972, after a long period of laborious and successful reconstruction work, the two breweries were reunited and merged into Hacker-Pschorr Bräu AG. At the present time Hacker-Pschorr ranks again amongst the leading and most modern breweries of Germany, exporting all over the world.

There is, however, a special music in the history of the brewery: The most celebrated composer of Munich, Richard Strauss, dedicated his best loved opera, "The Gentleman of the Roses", to his mother's beloved family Pschorr, of which he was particularly fond. The great but humble Joseph Pschorr was his great-grandfather.

Carrying on the centuries old principles of the best brewing tradition, especially respect of the Bavarian Law of Purity which dates back to 1516, continues to be the heart of Hacker- Pschorr's philosophy. As determined by the ducal edict more than 460 years ago, Hacker-Pschorr beers are still brewed exclusively with malt, hops, yeast and water coming from the Bavarian Alps. It is true that this Law of Purity is known in many parts of the world, yet nowhere is it more strictly respected, as much for exports as for domestic purposes, than in Bavaria. It is still a law which is carefully administered and adhered to.

The secret of the excellent quality of the product lies in respect of these old principles and in the ability of the Brewmaster. Furthermore, it can be said that the beers also have a friendly aspect, as they come from the exuberant city of Munich, which is famous for it's jovial atmosphere and the world famous Oktoberfest.

For more information, contact:

Hacker-Pschorr Bräu GmbH
Hochstrasse 75
81541 Munich
Germany