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ESTONIAN BREWING TRADITIONS AND SAKU BREWERY Historically it is known that on geographical area of Estonia the beer was known already on the second half of I millennium, when it was mostly used as sacrificial drink. Breweries were first established in the larger villages in the middle of the 13th century. Beer was brewed at home, in abbeys and castles - it was the main drink together with small beer and milk. Soon the beer became so daily that even fees and penalties were paid with it. Beer has become the main drink for Estonian farmers since the beginning of the 16th century. Beer was always brewed for bigger holidays and family events like wedding, baptisms and funerals. All kind of beer songs and jokes relating to it were very popular among the common people. TODAY Today there are seven breweries in Estonia. The biggest and oldest of them is Saku Brewery. The brewing traditions of Saku Brewery reach back to the beginning of the 19th century. Then the Saku estate was owned by count Karl Friedrich Rehbinder who built a distillery and a brewery on his estate. The brewery was first documented in October 1820. It is believed that the production of beer, for the purpose of sale to pubs and taverns begun during the autumn of that year. From the end of 19th century onward Saku has remained among the leading breweries in Estonia. In 1991 joint venture Saku Õlletehas was established. Today 75% of the shares are owned by Baltic Beverages Holding AB - Pripps Ringnes AB and Oy Hartwall AB company - and 25% by small shareholders. Through big investments Saku Brewery has become the market leader on the Estonian beer market. The market share of Saku in 1999 accounted for 50% of the total market. The total sales of beer and mineral water by Saku amounted to 51.6 million litres in 1999. The main product of Saku Brewery is Saku Originaal - the leader of Estonia´s beer market since 1995. According to the market research by Emor, Saku Originaal is the most recognised and popular Estonian beer. |
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