Saku (beer)

Infobox_Company
company_name = Saku Õlletehase AS
company_
company_type = Brewery / Public BALTIX SKU1T
foundation = 1820
location = Saku, Harju County, Estonia
industry = Food Production
num_employees = 240 (2005)
products = Beer, Cider, Mineral Water, Long Drinks, Soft Drinks
revenue = profit41,222 thousands € (2005)
operating_income = profit5,881 thousands € (2005)
net_income = profit4,790 thousands € (2005)
homepage = [http://www.saku.ee www.saku.ee]

Saku is a type of Estonian beer.

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.

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 six breweries left in Estonia. The oldest established brewery in Estonia 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, which is fully owned by Carlsberg Breweries. The remaining 25% of Saku shares are held by independent shareholders.

Since January 27, 1998 the shares of Saku Brewery were traded in the secondary list on the Tallinn Stock Exchange; earlier, the shares were traded in the free market.

Through large investments, Saku Brewery has become the market leader on the Estonian beer market. The market share of Saku in 2006 accounted for 57% 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.

Products

Beers
Saku Originaal
Rock
Rock Pepper
Saku Kuld
Saku On Ice
DLight Lemon
DLight Cola
DLight Pomegranate
Carlsberg
Saku Hele
Saku Tume
Blond
Blond Ice
Presidendi Pilsner
Presidendi 8
Presidendi 10
Taurus

Mineral Water
Vichy Classique
Vichy VivaFresh

Long Drinks / Cider
KISS Spritzer
KISS Cherry Cider
KISS Cariba
KISS Pear Cider
KISS Wildberry Cider
KISS Light Cider
SIN Long Drink
Saku Gin Long Drink Tonic
Saku GIN Long Drink Greip
Saku GIN Long Drink Kaktus-Sidrun
Saku GIN Long Drink Jõhvikas

References

[http://www.saku.ee/ Official Website]