Brewing at its best

Bremen has a long tradition of brewing, one that stretches back into the 11th century. Varieties such as red beer, porters and ales, brewed the Bremen way, have been exported to places including the Netherlands, England and Scandinavia. But while in 1748 there were 35 active breweries, in 2015 there were only three. Which is why, in December 2015, the Freie Brau Union Bremen [Free Brew Union of Bremen] was opened. Or perhaps we should say re-opened. Because the UNION brewery itself has a long tradition.
The residents of Bremen wanted to associate themselves with this tradition by adopting the name and brewing in the stunning historic building of the Union Brewery. However, they also wanted to link themselves to the Free Hanseatic town of Bremen as a “Free Brewery”. The beers they have, and all of the other activities the Freie Brau Union Bremen is involved in, can be found online at brauerei-bremen.de (website not currently available in English). The refreshed outlook, the founding principle and processes used have been, as far as we are concerned, a complete success and the beer – after several exhaustive tasting sessions – is absolutely to our taste. So, with that in mind: “Cheers!”

Fotos: © Carsten Heidmann