Ownership: AB InBev (Belgium/USA) — ⚠ non-European ownership, but historically essential
Known for: Inventing the modern Helles — the pale Munich lager — in 1894. If Pilsner Urquell created the pale lager concept, Spaten perfected the Munich interpretation.
History: Founded in Munich in 1397. Spaten's defining moment came in 1894 when Gabriel Sedlmayr II used new Bavarian malt-drying technology to brew the world's first Helles — a pale, soft, malt-forward lager that became the template for Munich brewing. One of the most historically significant innovations in European beer. Now AB InBev-owned, but still brewed in Munich and impossible to leave off any serious history of European lager.
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https://www.spatenbraeu.de