Hofbroy is a beer whose history dates back not to tens, but to hundreds of years. The German name Hofbräu translates as "court beer." Indeed, Hofbroy was the court brewery of the German Dukes. In the distant 1589 in Munich, it was established by the Duke William V the Pious. Today, a foamy drink under this brand is made by a brewing company called Hofbroy Munich. Every self-respecting German considers it an honor to spend an evening in the company of friends over a bottle of Hofbroi. Well, tourists coming to Germany, the first thing they seek is to purchase this product, treat themselves to it and buy a jar or two as a gift to their loved ones.
History of the drink
Hofbroy is a beer whose short name sounds like HB from the German name Hofbräu. But this is not only called drunk alcohol - it is also the abbreviated name of the two Munich restaurants that once brewed the drink - Hofbräuckeller and Hofbräuhaus. Well, the opening of these institutions and the appearance of the liquor itself was preceded by a beautiful story.
Before the Germans began to brew Hofbroy (beer), they had to drink drinks from other manufacturers. And it was like this: the courtiers of the Bavarian Duke Wilhelm V were distinguished by extraordinary demands and unsatisfied thirst. They did not like the beer that was brewed directly in Munich, so they were delivered a drink from the city of Einbeck in Lower Saxony. But it was too expensive, and the duke instructed the courtiers to think about the problem of balancing pleasure and the costs allocated to it.
At the end of September 1589, the four advisers to William V put forward a tempting idea to build their own brewery. The duke was extremely pleased by such an undertaking, and on the same day he invited Hymeran Pongratz, the chief brewer from the Heisenfeld monastery. He offered the man the position of superintendent, the first master and designer of the new brewery. This was the beginning of a great cause, and the brewers began to brew the most delicious beer.
Wheat beer monopoly
Over time, the brewery of Duke William the Pious was inherited by his son Maximilian I, whose beer addictions differed from his father's preferences. Maximilian did not like the dark heavy drink, which was so popular then. Since he was a great gourmet and cunning in marketing and financial affairs, he quickly fussed over and introduced a monopoly on the production of wheat beer. Thus, all private breweries were forbidden to brew wheat frothy alcohol, and its ducal brewery was provided with monopoly positions. The young Duke has acquired an additional financial source, producing beer Hofbrau.
New brewery
One fine day Maximilian became aware that his wheat beer was popular. And this popularity is so great that the production located in the old courtyard can no longer cope with all incoming orders. The Ducal Court Brewery produced 1,444 hectoliters of a foamy drink during 1605, which was extremely numerous in those days. Maximilian decides to build a new brewery on the Marienplatz square in Munich, where it is today.
Since 1610, Hofbräu beer has been allowed to sell not only to noble people, but also to the general population. So the foamy drink under this brand begins to conquer the world. Such luxury became available due to the fact that Maximilian needed money to build a new enterprise. The duke realized how great potential his product had, and decided to do what was secretly done, and so on, by an official enterprise. That is, selling beer to the ordinary population is not “from under the floor”, but legally.
A modern assortment of beer from Munich
The most delicious HB beer today has the following assortment:
- Hofbräu Original is a very common drink both in Munich and beyond.
- Hofbräu Dunkel is the first frothy drink to be produced in the Hofbräuhaus brewery.
- Münchner Weisse (Hofbroy Münchner Weiss) - unfiltered wheat light beer of the top fermentation. It contains 5.1% alcohol. The Hofbräuhaus for two centuries in Bavaria had the exclusive right to brew a wheat hops drink. This variety has a delicate aroma of yeast and sparkling foam.
- Hofbräu Schwarze Weisse is a dark wheaten top fermentation drink.
- Hofbräu Weisse leicht - light beer, characterized by a typical wheat flavor.
- Hofbräu Maibock - there is one interesting tradition with respect to this variety: the first barrel with such a drink is usually opened in the last week of the second spring month at the Hofbräuhaus.
- Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier is a bottom-fermented holiday light beer with an alcohol content of 6.3%.
Hofbroy Original
Since the most famous drink from the HB line is Hofbrau Original beer, I would like to talk about it a little more. This is Munich's light, hoppy nectar from the bottom of fermentation. It has a creamy, slightly malt flavor with a mild flavor of hop hop bitterness.
Hofbroy Original contains 5.1% alcohol, and its density reaches 11.75 degrees. The drink has a bright golden hue. Its aroma smells of cloves with fruit and lemon accords.
Gift to the world
Hofbroy is a beer that has presented the world with the extremely popular Oktoberfest festival. In 1810, the heir to the founder of the Hofbräuhaus, Kronprinz Ludwig of Bavaria, married Theresa of Saxe-Hildburghaus. In honor of their wedding, horse races were organized, which by this time had already been forgotten a little. The event took place at Theresenwiesen.
Races were accompanied by festivities, distribution of snacks and beer. The people liked all this so much that it was decided to organize such events every year. Later they were reborn into the famous Oktoberfest.