The Honorary Award of the German Beverage Industry 2019 has been awarded to Werner Brombach, owner and president of Erdinger Weissbraeu, the largest family-owned wheat beer brewery in Germany. The prize, which was awarded for the third time, honors personalities who have made an outstanding contribution to the German beverage industry. Once a year leading decision makers of the industry are nominating people from the industry who impressed them most. The person named most often will receive the award.
Brombach was elected because he managed to transform a small local Bavarian brewery to one of the leading breweries in Germany and to make Erdinger beer synonymous for wheat beer in Germany. Erdinger had an output of around 1.8 million hl in 2018 and exports its beers to more than 90 countries.
The laudation was held by Michael Weiss, managing partner of Meckatzer Löwenbräu and former president of the Bavarian Brewers Association. Brombach, who could not attend the ceremony, was broadcasted live from his holiday home in Hawaii, where the 79-year old currently spends his yearly holidays. Christoph Meininger, managing director of Meininger Verlag and Niklas Other, editor in chief and publisher of Inside Getraenke Verlag handed over the prize to Josef Westermeier, managing director in charge of sales at Erdinger during a ceremony held in Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday night.
