Saku Brewery - Estonian Brewing Traditions and Saku Brewery

Estonian Brewing Traditions and Saku Brewery

Beer was already known in present-day Estonia between 500 and 1000 A.D., when it was mostly used as a 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 frequently consumed that fees and penalties were added to its cost. Currently, there are five breweries in Estonia, three of which belong into the Estonian Beer Brewers Association: Saku Brewery, A. Le Coq Brewery and Viru Brewery.

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 kinds of beer songs and jokes relating to it were very popular among the common people.

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 von 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.