Oettinger Brewery
Oettinger Brauerei is a brewery group in Germany. Oettinger was Germany's best selling beer brand between 2004 and 2013 with an annual output of 6.21 million hectolitres (5,290,000 US bbl) in 2011.[2]
Type | Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung |
---|---|
Location | Oettingen in Bayern, Germany |
Opened | 1731 |
Annual production volume | 5.39 million hectolitres (4,590,000 US bbl) in 2015[1] |
Owned by | Dirk Kollmar, Kurt Meyer, Michael Mayer |
Employees | 1100 |
Website | www.oettinger-bier.de |
Oettinger's headquarters are in Oettingen in Bayern but they also have breweries in Mönchengladbach and Braunschweig. They had a brewery in Gotha however this was closed in late 2022.
Affordable beer
Oettinger bought the brewery producing "5,0 Original" beer in Braunschweig, a competitor in the same market segment. Oettinger is rarely found on tap in pubs and bars – most of it is sold bottled in supermarkets.
It is also exported – in Australia Oettinger Pils is directly imported by the Endeavour Group liquor outlets where it is sold in 330 mL bottles, as well as 500 mL cans.[3]
Oettinger uses several ways to keep beer prices low:
- Oettinger does not advertise.[4]
- Oettinger does not involve any intermediaries; brewery-owned trucks deliver directly to stores.
- The brewing process is highly automated and uses few employees to brew vast amounts of beer.
The low price has made this beer brand the most successful one in Germany with an output of 6.21 million hectolitres (5,290,000 US bbl) in 2011.
A stronger version, "Oettinger super forte" (8.9% alcohol by volume), is also available.[5]
History
The "Fürstliche Brauhaus zu Oettingen" (Prince's brewhouse at Oettingen) was bought in 1956 by the Kollmar family and renamed "Oettinger Brauerei GmbH".
Oettinger Group claims that its beer is brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot.
Sponsorship
From 2006 until 2018, Oettinger was the official sponsor of Rockets, a professional basketball club based in Gotha. The Rockets played as "Oettinger Rockets" in Germany's first division, the Basketball Bundesliga.[6]
References
- "Biermarken in Deutschland". aktiongutesbier.de. n.d. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- Die beliebtesten deutschen Biermarken Handelsblatt Online, 23 July 2012
- Dan Murphy's. "Oettinger".
- "Bier vom Billigheimer: Oettinger - Marktführer ohne Werbung". Der Spiegel. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2010., quote: "The term "cheap beer" is actually almost a disqualification. But it's only an attempt. Everything that is marketed well and market adjusted in Germany, is suddenly (called) cheap. Aldi is cheap, IKEA is cheap, the Bild Newspaper is cheap, Oettinger Beer is cheap. Nobody wants it - 'It's dishwater!' But everybody drinks it. (Our) success proves us right."
and he adds with an allusion to advertisements from his competitors Beck's and Licher:
- "Every time when your TV program has become interesting to a degree, you see the ship or the commercial or some kingfisher. We have a low opinion of that."
- "SUPER FORTE". Oettinger Handelspartner. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
- "Thüringer Bundesliga-Basketballer gehen letztmals als "Oettinger Rockets" auf Korbjagd" (in German). Thueringer-allgemeine.de. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.