Saku (beer)

Saku Õlletehase AS

Type	Public (Aktsiaselts)
Industry	Beverage
Founded	1820
Headquarters	Saku, Estonia
Key people	Veli Pekka Tennilä (Chairman) Margus Kastein (Sales director) Enn Kärblane (Brewmaster)
Products	Beers, ciders, bottled water, long drinks, soft drinks, energy drinks
Website	www.saku.ee/en

Saku Brewery is an Estonian brewery and soft drinks company based in Saku. It was founded in 1820 by the local Baltic German landlord Graf Karl Friedrich von Rehbinder.

Beer was already known in present-day Estonia between 500–1000 CE, when it was mostly used as a sacrificial drink. By the middle of the 13th century the first brewweries were established in the more populous villages. 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 kinds of beer songs and jokes relating to it were very popular among the common people.

The history of Saku Brewery begins in early 19th century, when the owner of Saku estate at that time, Karl Friedrich von Rehbinder ()—a nobleman of Baltic German descent—decided to build a distillery and a brewery on his land. 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, began in 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. Since January 27, 1998 the shares of Saku Brewery were traded in the list on the . On 20 September 2008, the shares of Saku Õlletehase AS were delisted from Tallinn Stock Exchange. Today 100% of the shares are owned by Carlsberg Breweries.

Through large investments, Saku Brewery has become the market leader on the Estonian beer market. According to market research by Nielsen Corporation in March 2009, Saku Brewery held 38.7% of the local market share. The total sales of beer by Saku amounted to 59 million litres in 2007.

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Wikipedia