Kronenbourg

France is known for its fine wine and refined cuisine. French haute cuisine sets the standard for culinary arts around the world and is a standard that chefs have measured themselves against for centuries. The dishes and the wines that accompany them have given rise to the saying "living like God in France" and are praised for their extraordinary elegance, finesse and quality. Beer has played a minor role in recent centuries, but gained momentum in the wake of the craft beer movement. After the barley juice was able to leave its temporarily bad reputation behind and found recognition as an artisanal, finely seasoned and aromatically diverse alternative to wine, young, modern craft breweries sprouted up like mushrooms and long-established breweries received new attention.

Good and Bad Times

The Alsatian Kronenbourg brewery is one of these more traditional breweries. Its story begins with Geronimus Hatt, a brewer from Strasbourg. He received his brewing diploma in 1649 and opened the Canon brewery in 1664. His descendants continued his legacy and helped the brewery to grow in popularity. The company changed its name and location several times, but the brewing business survived these constant changes unscathed and flourished. Several changes of ownership and the declining beer consumption in Europe meant that the brewery had a difficult time in the early 2000s. Sales figures fell and several locations had to be closed. After being taken over by the Carlsberg brewing empire and a comprehensive modernization of the concept, things started to look up again: today Kronenbourg is back in the black and has blossomed into one of the most popular breweries in France. Thanks to a wide repertoire of different brands, the brewery is currently well positioned and serves the whole of Europe with fine beer.

Kronenbourg 1664

One of the most successful brands from Kronenbourg is 1664. The name of the label refers to the founding of Geronimus' brewery and the year in which the now world-famous Kronenbourg Lager was brewed for the first time. Kronenbourg 1664 was founded in 1952 and since then has pursued the plan to brew the best beer in the world. Their 1664 Blanc comes pretty close to this goal. The French wheat beer is based on the Belgian Wit and, like it, is seasoned with orange peel and coriander seeds. It combines the elegance of France with a playful touch. The gently cloudy, golden beer tastes wonderfully fruity and combines the juicy notes of peach, apricot and ripe citrus fruit with a straightforward bitterness and a hint of herbs. In addition to this classic, there are a number of other beers under the 1664 label, but 1664 Blanc is the undisputed favorite among customers.