The History of BECK’S
HOW IT ALL BEGAN – FROM 1873 TO TODAY
- 1873 – FOUNDATION OF KAISER-BRAUEREI BECK & MAY O.H.G
- 1874 – IMPERIAL HONOURS
- 1875 – FRESH COMBINATION
- 1876 – AND THE WINNER IS...
- 1886 – NO PASSAGE WITHOUT KAISERBIER
- 1888 – ALWAYS ICE COLD, ALWAYS FRESH
- 1921 – REVOLUTION ON THE LABEL
- 1928 – BARREL-FRESH INNOVATION
- 1931 – THE STEP TO BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL BREWER
- 1948 – NEW BEGINNING
- 1953 – DELICIOUS BEERS FOR ON THE GO
- 1955 – BECK’S BEER QUENCHES MEN’S THIRST
- 1968 – BECK’S SIX-PACK
- 1984 – SETTING SAIL
- 1993 – FRESH, FREE AND POPULAR
- 2002 – MILD GOLD
- 2005 – BECK'S GREEN LEMON
- 2008 – BECK'S ICE
- 2012 – FOLLOW YOUR INNER COMPASS
- 2017 – LEGENDARY
- 2018 – GREEN LABELS
- 2019 – BECK’S LEMON BREW
- 2021 – BECK’S UNFILTERED
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1873
FOUNDATION OF KAISER-BRAUEREI BECK & MAY O.H.GKaiser-Brauerei Beck & May o.H.G. was founded by master brewer Lüder Rutenberg from Bremen, master brewer Heinrich Beck and merchant F. G. Thomas May on 27 June.
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1874
IMPERIAL HONOURSFrom the very beginning, the Kaiserbrauerei, or “Imperial Brewery”, bottled its beer in green long-neck bottles. This set the Kaiserbier apart from other beers, which were only sold in brown bottles. At the international agricultural fair in Bremen, the company was awarded a gold medal by the later Emperor Friedrich III. This still adorns the label today.
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1875
FRESH COMBINATIONThe master brewer and partner of the Bremen-based Kaiserbrauerei founded in 1873, Heinrich Beck, created a smooth pilsner beer that retained its fresh taste even when transported over long distances. The beer was already shipped to the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, in its first year.
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1876
AND THE WINNER IS...At the World’s Fair in Philadelphia, Kaiserbier beat competitors from Holland, Denmark and Ireland to the title of best European beer. The BECK’S label still features a reminder of this today.
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1886
NO PASSAGE WITHOUT KAISERBIERThe Kaiserbrauerei exclusively supplied all the ships of Norddeutscher Lloyd. These carried the name of the beer all around the world. It was soon in demand in port cities across the globe.
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1888
ALWAYS ICE COLD, ALWAYS FRESHA Linde ice machine meant that the brewery was no longer dependent on natural ice supplies. Brewing could now continue even in particularly hot summers.
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1921
REVOLUTION ON THE LABELThe company signed a contract with C. H. Haake AG. At the same time, Kaiserbrauerei renamed itself Exportbrauerei Beck & Co. From now on, they only produced beer for export. The Beck & Co. lettering took centre stage on the label.
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1928
BARREL-FRESH INNOVATIONBeck & Co. developed steel barrels to replace the pitch-lined wooden barrels. This meant that owners of beverage establishments received draught beer of the freshest quality and pure pilsner taste.
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1931
THE STEP TO BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL BREWERBreweries in Batavia and Singapore started production under licence: Beck & Co. moved even closer to the traditionally important markets in the Far East. Corporate investments – for example in Colombia – also contributed to international growth.
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1948
NEW BEGINNINGHaving come to a complete standstill during the Second World War, production restarted hesitantly when the war was over. In Bremen, the first boxes were delivered to Thailand as early as 1948. In 1949, BECK’S was sold in its home market for the first time to reduce exposure to the uncertainties of international markets.
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1953
DELICIOUS BEERS FOR ON THE GOFollowing the trend from the USA, BECK’S offered its pilsner in cans for the first time.
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1955
BECK’S BEER QUENCHES MEN’S THIRSTThe first nationwide advertisements were placed in the news magazine “Der Spiegel”. The new slogan was: “BECK’S Bier löscht Männerdurst” (BECK’S Beer Quenches Men’s Thirst).
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1968
BECK’S SIX-PACKThe six-pack with 0.33 l bottles was launched as a compact alternative to the large crate.
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1984
SETTING SAILOne of the most successful advertising campaigns was launched. To this day, the sailing boat “Alexander von Humboldt” and the song “Sail Away” are part of the BECK’S identity.
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1993
FRESH, FREE AND POPULARThanks to the innovative combination of a special mixing process and gentle vacuum distillation, the fresh pilsner taste also came through without alcohol. German retailers rated BECK’S Alkoholfrei the most successful new launch of the year.
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2002
MILD GOLDThe new BECK’S Gold quickly gained popularity with its mild taste. BECK’S Gold was the most successful new product launch in the history of the German beer market and established the first clear glass bottle for beer with UV protection.
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2005
BECK'S GREEN LEMONA new market was discovered for beer mixed drinks, which are loved by consumers. BECK’S Green Lemon offered a deliciously crisp, refreshing, limey taste with just 2.5% alcohol.
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2008
BECK'S ICEBECK’S Ice created a completely new taste experience and an extraordinary transparent look. The new beer mixed drink with the fruity, refreshing taste of lime and mint was produced using an innovative filtration technique. This process filters out the beer colouring while retaining the typical BECK’S taste.
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2012
FOLLOW YOUR INNER COMPASSThe new campaign “Folge Deinem Inneren Kompass” (Follow Your Inner Compass) encouraged independent thinking. Highlights include the unique BECK’S Art Labels 2012: five musicians let their creativity run wild and designed their own labels.
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2017
LEGENDARYBECK’S kicked off a legendary summer in 2017 with the new “Legendary” campaign: lead the way, take life in your hands and show the world what you’re made of. You are what make it legendary.
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2018
GREEN LABELSIn 2018, BECK’S dispensed with its best-known brand feature: the bottle label. Under the motto “Mach’s zu deinem BECK’S” (Make it Your BECK’S), the whole of Germany was called upon to get creative and create new, individual labels with their own designs, texts and pictures. The result was more than 27,000 creative ideas from which 40 winners were chosen.
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2019
BECK’S LEMON BREWThe first “Naturradler” (natural shandy) with naturally brewed lemonade. 50% BECK’S with 50% brewed lemonade and 100% natural taste: less sweet with fermented notes. With BECK’S Lemon Brew, BECK’S fundamentally redefined the natural shandy segment!
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2021
BECK’S UNFILTEREDAnother new launch followed in February 2021: BECK’S Unfiltered. Inspired by the original brewing process dating back to 1873, BECK’S Unfiltered is a BECK’S in its most original and natural form. The result is a naturally cloudy pilsner with a smooth, refreshing taste.
