History

Since 1969, leading regional private breweries have worked together in a co-operation called "Deutsche Braukooperation" (German Brewing Co-operation) - that's the co-operation's original name. First of all, the reason for the foundation of this co-operation was the common development of a national beer brand as a response to the efforts of the big brewery groups to establish their beer brands nationwide on the market. As the co-operation of the breweries in this pilot scheme worked well, new fields of activity were entered. First, the main issue of the co-operation was the common purchase of commodities and services, but little by little, the service offer for the co-operation's members was steadily extended. Up to now, regular exchanges of experiences in workshops and study groups, common projects and technical developments have been supporting the breweries in maintaining and developing their market position.

Due to rapid changes on the beer market, "Die Deutsche Brau-Kooperation" decided in 2005 to concentrate its concerns and aims and to appear before the public. As a result, the initiative "Die Freien Brauer" (Independent Brewers) was founded in 2006. In the following years this co-operation was developed. At first, a common basis of values was formed, namely the so called "Seven Values". Afterwards, many high-publicity activities were carried out, and communications and public relations activities were intensified. Earlier in 2009, the "Deutsche Brau-Kooperations GmbH & Co. KG" was officially renamed as "Brau Kooperation - Die Freien Brauer GmbH & Co. KG".