If I were ever asked to organize a Beers and Cameras event I would probably have chosen the brewery of the historic city of Memmingen, Bavaria, to host the event. This Privatbrauerei (Private brewery as opposed to a Ltd.) can trace its roots back to 1886 when brewer Josef Herz bought the brewery and gaststätte zum Schwarzer Ochsen in Memmingen and expanded it.
In 1911 Herz owned the third largest brewery in Memmingen (out of 21) and fused his brewery with the breweries of zum Schwarzen Adler and Weisses Ross to create the Bürgerliches Brauhaus. In 1920 the two biggest breweries in Memmingen joined forming the Bürger- und Engelbräu brewery. This was shortened to B & E and this remained the brand name until 1998. From 1998 onwards this became Memminger. In the 2000s I was introduced to the brand and although all their beers were good I quickly developed a taste for their excellent Memminger Lager Schwarz dark beer. In fact, their Memminger Lager Schwarz is still my benchmark when sampling dunkelbiere from other German breweries.
The brewery struggled heavily in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, having trouble to regain their former market share and went into bankruptcy in the summer of 2023. In January of 2024, the brewery and grounds on the Dr.-Karl-Lenz-Strasse 68 were sold, ending 138 years of beer brewing by the company.
Having learned of the bankruptcy in September 2023 I shot the following as a tribute to the Memminger Brauerei.
Sad to hear about the Memminger brewery, but a fitting tribute! I, too, love the opening shot, that is a nice lens (and beer).
ReplyDeleteThanks Joeri! Yes, that Oreston lens is a hidden gem if you ask me.
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