Mohrenbrauerei

The Mohrenbrauerei Vertriebs KG is a brewery in Dornbirn in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is Vorarlberg's oldest brewery. With a total market share of 47.2 percent in the gastronomy and retail sectors, in 2013, the Mohrenbrauerei was the market leader among the four Vorarlberg breweries.[3][4]

Mohrenbrauerei
LocationDornbirn, Vorarlberg, Austria
Opened1834
Key peopleHeinz Huber, Thomas Pachole (managing directors)
Annual production volume180,000 hectolitres (150,000 US bbl) in 2019[1]
Net income€22.9 million (2016)[2]
EmployeesAbout 120 (2016)[2]
Websitewww.mohrenbrauerei.at/de
Mohren brewery in Dornbirn
Logo of the Mohrenbräu on a sign of a tavern in Dornbirn

History

The origin of the current Mohrenbrauerei is the in "Zum Mohren", licensed to the owner of the inn and brewery Josef Mohr. The oldest found documentation on the new name "Mohrenwirt" dates back to 1784. In 1834, the catering and brewery business was transferred to the Huber family.[5]

Franz Anton Huber, trader and locksmith in Dornbirn-Markt, bought the inn including the estate and associated brewery in 1834 from a farmer from Hohenems. The brewery has been family-owned since that day.[6]

At the turn of the century, an amount 30,000 hl of beer per year has been produced under the East Silesian master brewer Anton Decker.[7]

The end of World War II and declining demand had to stop production eventually. The brewery was temporarily converted into barracks and hosted Moroccan soldiers. The Mohrenbrauerei only recovered from this around 1951.[8]

In 2012, the beverage production amounted to 222,911 hl per year,[9] which sank to 180,000 in 2019.[1]

The name and logo of the Mohrenbrauerei are controversial. The logo has repeatedly been criticized for reproducing racist stereotypes.[10] The logo depicts a heraldic Moor's head, showing an African with bulging lips and curly hair.

Mohr is an outdated term for people of African descent, widely in use during the 18th and 19th centuries.[11] Duden, Germany’s standard dictionary, calls it “archaic” and “discriminatory by contemporary standards.”[12][13]

The company's communication has been described as constructing their own myth about their own „Mohren“ and therefore not considering racial meanings.[14]

In 1834, today's co-owner, the Huber family, took over the Mohr from the family crest of the original brewery founder Josef Mohr, who had the literal depiction of his last name, namely an African, incorporated into the logo. The Mohrenbräu brewery argues that it has been using the logo for almost 200 years.[15][16] The brewery further states that the crest is based on early depictions of Saint Maurice.[17]

Due to the rising awareness of racism in 2020 (see Black Lives Matter), the discussion about the Mohrenbräu's logo has been reignited.[18][19] More than 6,000 people signed a petition to keep the depiction of the African as part of the logo, Mohrenbräu's arguments for keeping the logo being tradition as well as the lack of racist intention.[20][21]

Mohren Biererlebniswelt

The Mohren Biererlebniswelt is a museum about the history of the Mohrenbrauerei and the art of brewing in general. It was opened on 22 October 2016. The museum is located at the headquarters of the Mohrenbrauerei in Dornbirn. There are about 10,000 exhibits on display, from small as beer coasters to a replica of the facade of the former inn "Zum Mohren" or a brewery from the 19th century.[22]

References
  1. "Mohrenbrauerei nach Rassismus-Vorwürfen: 'Die Leute halten zu uns'". Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). 8 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  2. "Mohrenbrauerei index". Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. "Marktführer Mohrenbrauerei". Marktführer Mohrenbrauerei (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  4. "LTW Lösung für die Mohrenbrauerei – LTW Intralogistics GmbH". ltw.at. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  5. "Geschichte der Mohrenbrauerei, Dornbirn" (PDF). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  6. KG, Mohrenbrauerei Vertriebs. "Mohrenbrauerei Vertriebs KG>". Mohrenbrauerei Vertriebs KG (in German). Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  7. "Geschichte der Mohrenbrauerei, Dornbirn" (PDF). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  8. KG, Mohrenbrauerei Vertriebs. "Mohrenbrauerei Vertriebs KG>". Mohrenbrauerei Vertriebs KG (in German). Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  9. . 20 August 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130820070208/http://www.mohrenbrauerei.at/zoolu-website/media/document/2999/Presseinfo+Mohren+Jahresbilanz+2012. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "Mohrenbrauerei überarbeitet Logo nach Rassismusvorwürfen minimal". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  11. "Berlin to rename metro station after racism row". POLITICO. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  12. "Duden | Mohr | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft". www.duden.de (in German). Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  13. "Berlin to rename metro station after racism row". POLITICO. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  14. "Es ist eben mehr als nur ein Logo". utheses.univie.ac.at. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  15. "Mit oder ohne "Mohr": Rassismusstreit ums Vorarlberger Bier – derStandard.at". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  16. Zaunbauer, Wolfgang (9 May 2014). "Hier in Vorarlberg hält es niemand für rassistisch". Chronik – Nachrichten – Wiener Zeitung online (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  17. "Vorarlberger Mohrenbrauerei legt nach Logo-Aufregung Social-Media-Accounts still - derStandard.at". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  18. "Rassismus-Debatte: Mohrenbrauerei will Logo beibehalten". www.kleinezeitung.at (in German). 22 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  19. VN, Zeitungsimport. "Mohrenbräu denkt über Marke und Logo nach". Vorarlberger Nachrichten | VN.at (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  20. Prüss, Tarja; vorarlberg.ORF.at (23 June 2020). "Mohrenbräu als Auslöser für Rassismus-Debatte". vorarlberg.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  21. "Vorarlberger Mohrenbrauerei legt nach Logo-Aufregung Social-Media-Accounts still - derStandard.at". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  22. "Museum der Mohren Biererlebniswelt Dornbirn". Urlaub in Vorarlberg. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
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