# Bitburger Brewery > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bitburger_Brewery > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bitburger_Brewery.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitburger_Brewery > Source revision: 1355669537 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) German brewery founded in 1817 This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bitburger Brewery" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Bitburger Brewery Interactive map of Bitburger Brewery Location Bitburg, Germany Coordinates 49°58′28″N 6°31′18″E / 49.97444°N 6.52167°E / 49.97444; 6.52167 Opened 1817; 209 years ago (1817) Annual production volume 3.84 million hectolitres (3,270,000 US bbl) in 2015[1] Other products September **Bitburger Brewery** (Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon GmbH) is a large [German brewery](/source/Beer_in_Germany) in [Bitburg](/source/Bitburg), [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate). Founded in 1817 by Johann Wallenborn, its [Pilsner](/source/Pilsner) is the [third best-selling](/source/Beer_in_Germany#Breweries) in Germany, and the nation's top-selling [draught beer](/source/Draught_beer).[2] ## History A 5L [mini keg](/source/Mini_keg) of Bitburger Pilsner A Bitburger Pilsner A glass of Bitburger Johann Peter Wallenborn (1784–1839) founded the brewery in [Bitburg](/source/Bitburg) in 1817 at the age of 33. His father owned a brewery in [Kyllburg](/source/Kyllburg). Three years after Wallenborn's death in 1839, Ludwig Bertrand Simon (1813–1869) married Wallenborn's daughter Elisabeth (1819–1891) and became owner of the brewery, naming it Simonbräu. Their son, Theobald Simon (1847–1924), took over the brewery in 1876 at the age of 29.[3] ## Product range Bitburger is a 4.8% [abv](/source/Alcohol_by_volume) [Pilsner](/source/Pilsner)[4] with annual sales of 1.2 million hectolitres (1.0 million US beer barrels).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] It is a popular beer throughout western Germany, and is favored in many areas of [North Rhine Westphalia](/source/North_Rhine_Westphalia) even over [Alt](/source/Altbier) beer or [Kölsch](/source/K%C3%B6lsch_(beer)), which are popular in [Düsseldorf](/source/D%C3%BCsseldorf) and [Cologne](/source/Cologne), respectively. In Germany, there are also variations of the original beer, mostly beermixes, available. "Bit Sun" (a light beer), "Cola Libre" (beer and cola and rum-lemon-flavour), "Bit Copa" (beer and [lime](/source/Lime_(fruit)) and [cachaça](/source/Cacha%C3%A7a)) and "Bit Passion" (beer and [pomegranate](/source/Pomegranate)). There is also a [malzbier](/source/Malzbier) called "Kandimalz" and "Bitburger Alkoholfrei" (sold as Bitburger 'Drive' in [English](/source/English_language)-speaking countries), a non-alcoholic version of the normal "Bitburger."[5] It is exported throughout the world. It is also available in [mini kegs](/source/Mini_keg) in some countries, such as Australia. In the US, it's available in 500 mL (16.9 US fl oz) cans, 330 mL (11.2 US fl oz) bottles, the 5 L (170 US fl oz) mini keg, and on tap in select locations. ## Advertising The company [slogan](/source/Slogan) is, "Bitte ein Bit."[6] This is literally, "Please, a Bit," or "A Bit, please." In the 1970s, a second slogan was introduced, "Abends Bit, morgens fit" ("Bit in the evening, fit in the morning") implying that the consumption would not lead to a hangover. During that time either of the slogans could be found on Bitburger glasses. The brand sponsored the [German Football Association](/source/German_Football_Association) from 1992 until 2018. It also sponsored [Benetton Formula One](/source/Benetton_Formula) in 1994 and 1995, where German driver [Michael Schumacher](/source/Michael_Schumacher) won the [Formula One](/source/Formula_One) championship both seasons. Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Bitburger Brauerei](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bitburger_Brauerei). ## See also - [List of brewing companies in Germany](/source/List_of_brewing_companies_in_Germany) - [Beer portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Beer) - [Companies portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Companies) - [Germany portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Germany) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Biermarken in Deutschland"](http://aktiongutesbier.de/statistik-bier-und-brauereien/). *Aktion Gutes Bier* (in German). n.d. Retrieved 2016-10-12. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Germany: The most successful German beer brands in 2020", Inside Beer](https://www.inside.beer/news/detail/germany-the-most-successful-german-beer-brands-in-2020/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Glaser_3-0)** Glaser, Gregg (26 January 2004). ["Bitte, ein bit: Bitburger sells more draft than any other German brewer"](https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bitte%2c+ein+bit%3a+Bitburger+sells+more+draft+than+any+other+German...-a0113897958). *Modern Brewery Age* – via [The Free Library](/source/The_Free_Library). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Premium Pils"](https://www.bitburger.com/beers/premium-classics/premium-pils). *www.bitburger.com*. Retrieved 2026-02-18. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Product data: Bitburger Drive 0,0% alkoholfreies Pils"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190815092036/https://www2.bitburger-international.com/index.php?id=36493&no_cache=1&L=0&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%255Bnational%255D=0&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%255Bbrand%255D=1&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%255Bproduct%255D=27&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%255Bmedia%255D=-1&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%255Blang%255D=ALL&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%255Bfocus%255D=63). Bitburger Braugruppe. n.d. Archived from [the original](http://www2.bitburger-international.com/index.php?id=36493&no_cache=1&L=0&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%5Bnational%5D=0&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%5Bbrand%5D=1&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%5Bproduct%5D=27&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%5Bmedia%5D=-1&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%5Blang%5D=ALL&tx_wmdbproducts_pi1%5Bfocus%5D=63) on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Bitburger: Germany's favorite brewery"](https://europe.stripes.com/travel/bitburger-germany's-favorite-brewery.html). *Stripes Europe*. Retrieved 2026-02-18. ## External links - [Official site](http://www.bitburger.com/) (English) Authority control databases International VIAF GND National United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bitburger Brewery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitburger_Brewery) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitburger_Brewery?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.