Some breweries in our diverse repertoire specialize in producing a single type of beer. This applies, for example, to our Kölsch breweries like Gaffel and Reissdorf or to breweries like Köstritzer. The traditional brewery from Bad Köstritz in Thuringia focuses its work on producing the finest black beers. This variety is one of the bottom-fermented full beers and owes its strong black color and full-bodied taste to the use of dark malts and roasted malts. The Köstritzer brewery is one of the absolute experts in its field and its tasty black beer is drunk throughout Germany and now in more than 55 other countries.
Excellent taste and impeccable quality are top priorities at Köstritzer. Beers like the fine Köstritzer Schwarzbier impressively represent the brewery's ambition and dedication. However, what must not be neglected in all efforts to improve flavor and raw materials is the sustainable use of the earth's resources. Köstritzer has been committed to sustainable production since 2007 and has developed concepts and strategies that combine ecology, social commitment and economic activity. Using renewable energies, regional raw materials and water-saving processes, the brewery has already significantly reduced its own ecological footprint and is working day after day to become a little better and greener.
Long before sustainability and environmental protection were even an issue, beer was brewed at Köstritzer. The brewery was first mentioned in a document in 1543. Even then, only black beer was brewed there. The brewery experienced its first wedding when the university was founded in neighboring Jena - after hours of studying and carefully listening to lectures and presentations, both the students and the teaching professors wanted a cold beer. Köstritzer quenched her thirst for beer with fortifying black beer, which would later also supply the Counts of Reuss. At the end of the seventeenth century they took over the estate brewery and named it the count's court brewery. When Emperor Franz II later elevated the Counts of Reuss to the rank of prince, the count's court brewery became the Princely Brewery in Köstritz. The company flourished under the princes and soon supplied not only Jena but also more distant places such as Berlin and Frankfurt. The news about the good black beer spread and even convinced well-known greats such as Goethe and Bismarck. The Köstritzer Brewery's streak of success continues to this day, even if the princes no longer hold the scepter in their hands.
What Goethe enjoyed is also what we enjoy - what about you?
Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei GmbH
Heinrich-Schütz-Str. 16
07586 Bad Köstritz/Thüringen
Deutschland 
