An Altomünster beer brewer with an eventful history
Created: 02/26/2022, 06:51
Master brewer Wilhelm Wiedemann in front of a half.
© Christian Chymyn
The Wiedemann family has been running the Kapplerbräu in Altomünster for 100 years.
However, the history of the brew goes back much further.
Altomünster – You see it as your calling to make people happy: with beer, hospitality and good food.
The Wiedemann family has owned the Kappler brewery and the associated brewery inn in Altomünster for 100 years.
The Wiedemanns are probably the prime example of a family business that had its origins exactly a century ago.
Back then, on February 22, 1922, Wilhelm Wiedemann, a master brewer from Engelbräu in Tannhausen, married the brewer's daughter Therese Stanglmaier from Altomünster and the history of the Wiedemanns took its course.
The said Wilhelm Wiedemann was the grandfather of today's senior boss, who bears the same name as his grandfather.
Fourth generation brewer in Altomünster
The 66-year-old Willi Wiedemann took over the brewery in 2002 after the death of his father Hans and is now running the company again with his sons Hans, Anton and Max in the third and fourth generation respectively.
The third and fourth generation of the Wiedemann family now runs a brewery, inn and hotel.
From left: Hans, senior boss Willi, Anton and Max Wiedemann.
© Christian Chymyn
The whole history of the Kapplerbräu goes back much further than 100 years.
Exactly 451 years to the year 1561, when master brewer Johann Schmidt brewed beer locally for the first time.
80 years later, the brewer Anton Hörmann bought the property and ran the brewery from then on.
"Pater Simon Pils" has been brewed since 1999 in honor of his son Simon, who was the most important prior of the monastery in Altomünster at the time.
100 years of the Wiedemann family
1922: Wilhelm Wiedemann marries Therese Wiedemann, nee Stangelmaier vom Kapplerbräu;
1922: Conversion of the brewery from steam operation to an electric motor with seven hp;
1930: Major renovation of the restaurant for the 1200th anniversary of Altomünster;
1938: Opening of the Bräustüberl in the Vogelgarten near the beer cellars (today the brewery);
1939: Beer price for a half a street: 35 pfennigs;
1940: Thin beer served during the war years;
1953: Construction of the Kapplerhof inn in Munich;
1954: Beer price in the inn: 50 Pfennig per pint of beer;
1965: First folk festival in Altomünster, price for a mug: two marks;
1969: Conversion from wooden to plastic beer carriers;
1983: Turbulent folk festival start: During the folk festival parade, the brewery horses shied away from the beer wagon, the team bolted and the beer kegs ended up in the market fountain.
The first Banzen beer was tapped late;
2002: Acquisition of the Markt Indersdorf monastery brewery;
2009: Major renovation of the brewery inn and hotel;
2012: First prize at the European Beerstar for Kapplerbräu Export Hell;
2021: Beer has been brewed at Kapplerbräu for 460 years;
2022: 100 years of the Wiedemann family at Kapplerbräu.
From 1671 Johann Kappler was the owner of the brewery.
In 1707 he rebuilt the inn and the brewery and is still the namesake of the Altomünster private brewery today.
From 1718 to 1882 the property changed hands several times.
Finally, the widow Anna Lusteck marries the master brewer Johann Stangelmaier from Unterneuhausen – this is how the family history of the Wiedemanns begins.
Because in 1922 the said master brewer Wilhelm Wiedemann married his daughter Therese Stangelmaier.
"Back then it was probably sorely needed that there was another Bräu", says Willi Wiedemann today about his grandfather's marriage.
His grandfather carried out important modernizations, such as switching from steam to electric motors, and brought the Kappler brewery back into shape.
"Our family was said to be very frugal, which is probably due to our Swabian origins," reports Willi Wiedemann with a smile.
Almost 20 years before he took over the brewery, together with his wife Irmgard and his sister Ella, he opened the beer mat pub in the former stables of the Kappler estate.
A meeting point that was known in the surrounding districts for many years.
Today, almost 40 years later, his three sons have reopened the pub: as a club - a club with a "K", like Kappler.
Beginning of the Wiedemann era: Wilhelm Wiedemann and Therese Stangelmaier married on February 22, 1922. © Christian Chymyn
For Willi Wiedemann it is very lucky that his three sons joined the company in 2009.
They pull together and present the family business to the public.
Son Hans (39) takes care of the brewery as master brewer, Anton (36) is a trained events manager and runs the inn and hotel, while the youngest, Max (33), is the chef de cuisine and takes care of the well-being of the guests.
In 2009, the Wiedemanns extensively restored the aging brewery inn and the guest rooms.
Since then, the business has been firmly in family hands again.
"It's nice to see how the tavern culture is reviving among young people," says Anton Wiedemann.
"When we talk about us three brothers, we mustn't forget our René," says Anton.
He means René Schnotz.
By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Dachau newsletter.
The 42-year-old has been the master brewer at Kappler-Bräu for almost 20 years.
"It was a stroke of luck that we hired him back then," says Willi Wiedemann.
The outstanding quality of Kappler beer is shown by winning the "European Beerstars" (largest European beer competition) 2012 in the Export Hell category.
"If my father had lived through all that, he wouldn't be going home from the inn.
He would have taken a room here," says senior boss Willi Wiedemann, whose grandchildren are already in the starting blocks and may ensure that the Bräu vom Kappler will still bear the name Wiedemann in 100 years.
