Würzburger Hofbräu

The main brewery for the Unterfranken region, the Hofbräu was founded in 1643. The reason was that it was the middle of the 30 years war, and the drunken Swedish soldiers had emptied all the wine reserves. So a royal brewery was founded in order to meet the demand.

In the 19th century, WH saw a major expansion, and was one of the primary brews on transatlantic passenger ships. There was apprently also a major expansion into the USA, and they claim that WH was "available in all major US cities" as one of the top imports. This lasted until WW-II. (And we can confirm that nobody in the US has ever heard of Wüzburger Hofbräu.) In the tough German market, the brewery maintains a deserved reputation as a premium brew.

The brewery underwent a major technical modernization in 1993, and business was increased through the purchase of some smaller breweries as well, such as Fürstliche Brauerei Wächtersbach, Lohrer Brauerei and Werner Bräu Poppenhausen.