Family-owned private brewery producing beer, lemonade and mineral water from its own brewhouse in Dingsleben, Thuringia.
Privatbrauerei Metzler GmbH & Co. KG
An der Klinge 1, 98646 DingslebenNew on Amplifa
Family brewery since 1895
The Privatbrauerei Metzler GmbH & Co. KG in Dingsleben (district of Hildburghausen, Thuringia) brews beer using a traditional craft process and also produces lemonades, juice-mix drinks, cola and its own mineral water. The entire brewing process – from malting through mashing and wort boiling to fermentation, maturation, filtration and bottling – takes place at the company's home plant, which is equipped with a malt mill, mash tun and lauter tun, wort kettle with whirlpool, wort cooler as well as fermentation tanks and storage tanks. The product range comprises 11 beer varieties, 5 beer-mix beverages and 15 non-alcoholic drinks. Annual output is 20,000 hl of beer and 20,000 hl of non-alcoholic beverages; 23 employees, including two apprentices, are employed. The products are sold in Thuringia, Berlin/Brandenburg, Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as in Moscow and China. Today the brewery is run by the 5th generation of the Metzler family and, in addition to its own distribution, offers brewery tours and a brewery restaurant.
- Site
- Dingsleben
- Processes
- Brewing (malting, mashing, wort boiling, fermentation, maturation, filtration, bottling), Brewery tours, Hospitality (brewery restaurant), Own distribution/delivery
- Materials
- Barley malt, Hops, Brewer's yeast, Brewing water
- Certificates
- European Beer Star bronze medal
- Founded
- 1895
- Employees
- 23
- Industries
- Beverage industry, Brewing, Hospitality/retail, Hospitality/retail (customers)
Raw materials and brewing process
Barley malt
Malted from the brewery's own barley in the germination box; dark malt is kilned at 105–120 °C.
Hops
Added during wort boiling in the wort kettle.
Brewer's yeast
Top-fermenting and bottom-fermenting yeasts drive the primary fermentation; bottom-fermenting yeasts can be reused up to seven times.
Brewing water
The basis for mash and wort; approximately 200–400 liters per beer variety per 100 kg of malt.
Sites
Dingsleben
DEBrewery/headquarters
- Materials
- Water, barley malt, hops, yeast
- Malt mill
- Mash tun
- Lauter tun
- Wort kettle
- Whirlpool
- Wort cooler
- Fermentation tank
- Storage tank
- Germination box
- Malt silo
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewing (malting, mashing, wort boiling, fermentation, maturation, filtration, bottling)Food/beverage manufacturing (outside the listed categories – | – | – | – | – | Water (brewing water), Barley/malt, Hops, Yeast |
10 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malt mill | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Mash tun | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Lauter tun | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Wort kettle | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Whirlpool | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Wort cooler | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Fermentation tank | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Storage tank | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Germination box | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
| Malt silo | – | – | – | – | Dingsleben |
Additional services
Quality and awards
Product quality has been awarded multiple times at the international European Beer Star, most recently with a bronze medal in the Schwarzbier (black beer) category; the original wort gravity is monitored during the process with the beer spindle.
| Evidence | Dingsleben |
|---|---|
| European Beer Star bronze medal |
History of the brewery
- 1894
August Metzler returns to Dingsleben and acquires the municipal inn
- 1895
Beer brewing begins; a mixed business develops
- 1922/23
Robert Metzler builds an ice cellar at the Klingegarten – the brewery's first construction project
- 1934
Renovation of the inn
- 1952
Ulrich Metzler, together with his brother Ewald, begins hand-bottling beer
- 1956–1958
Reorganization of the company in the GDR: agriculture moved into the LPG collective, the restaurant placed under HO commission contract, only the brewery continued as a trade
- 1958
Entry in the trades register of the Hildburghausen district craftsmen's association; Ulrich Metzler founds a craft brewing operation
- 1961
State license granted for lemonade production as a second business line
- 1968
First use of the coat of arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen on beer glasses and labels
- 1980
Investment of approx. 200,000 East German marks in the state-owned brewhouse
- 1989/1990
Until German reunification, the largest private brewery in the GDR; output increased to 20,000 hl of beer and 20,000 hl of non-alcoholic beverages
- 2004
Bronze medal at the European Beer Star in the Schwarzbier (black beer) category
- 2016
Bronze medal at the European Beer Star
- Heute
Led by the 5th generation of the Metzler family; more than 120 years of family tradition