Alex James with a pint of Kronenbourg in Alsace, AKA Farringdon, London
Former Blur member turned cheesemaker Alex James and beer writer Mark Dredge were among those celebrating the 350th anniversary of Heineken-owned Kronenbourg in London this week.
To mark the milestone, the streets of Farringdon were transformed into the town of Alsace, where the original brewery was founded in 1664.
The story began in 1664, when Jérôme Hatt set up a brewery a few steps away from the cathedral in central Strasbourg, capital of the Alsace region of France. By 1850, the brewery was relocated to a village just outside the city, the village of Cronenbourg. Then, in 1952, a premium beer called Kronenbourg 1664 was released in honour of the original brewery.
A lot the beer’s success is down to Alsace, says the brewer — the place where Kronenbourg’s famous Strisselspalt hops are grown — which gets the most summer sun and some of the lowest levels of rainfall in continental Europe.
Alex said: “350 years is a tremendous milestone and it is wonderful that the spirit of Alsace still lives in the beer today. As a cheesemaker, I know only too well the importance of quality and consistency, and Kronenbourg has proved it has reigned supreme in the taste stakes for hundreds of years.”
