The brewery of Lutterbach

The old monastery brewery which would have been founded in 1648 by the monks of Lucelle, reached the industrial stage in the 19th century under the impulse of the Struch family by which it was owned at that time. Between 1861 and 1868, the brewery, then rented to the Thansing brothers from Austria, became a modern company equipped with the last technical innovations.

In 1871 the brewery was purchased by a brewer of Strasbourg, Theodore Boch.  A red star became then the logo of the brewery in memory of the tavern which the family of the new owner held in Strasbourg.  In 1898 the brewery took the name "Société Théodore Boch et compagnie" and became later a limited company.

In 1921 the new logo of the brewery, the famous Alsatian woman with the malicious wink, was created by a student of the "Arts déco" school of Strasbourg, André Stouls.

The Brewery of Sochaux launches in 1930 a merge movement to create the "Société des Brasseries et Malteries Franche-Comté - Alsace" (Company of the Breweries and Malt factories Franche-Comté - Alsace). The brewery of Lutterbach adheres to this group at the same time as five other breweries of the area:  the brewery Arlen from Montbeliard, the brewery Gangloff from Besançon, the brewery Freysz from Strasbourg, the brewery of Mulhouse and the brewery of Sochaux.

   The brewery of Lutterbach at the beginning of 1945

During the heavy fights, which accompanied the liberation of Alsace, Lutterbach was exactly on the front line from the end of November 1944 to the end of January 1945. The town of Lutterbach as well as the brewery were completely destroyed during this period.  However, large was the surprise of the French troops that, while entering in Lutterbach on January 20th 1945, discovered that 1800 people had taken refuge in the deep arched cellars of the brewery remained intact and had spent there nine weeks under unimaginable conditions.

After the war, the brewery was rebuilt and the brewery activities could be taken up again.

In 1966, the SEB (Société Européenne de Brasserie - European Company of Brewery) was created: this group of 23 breweries was at that time the most important brewery company of Europe and produced 6 million Hectoliters of beer. In the year 1968 it absorbs the "Franche Comté  - Alsace" group, which counts then only five breweries, since the brewery Arlen had already closed in the thirties.

The brewery of Lutterbach stopped definitely its activities in 1968, and its buildings were torn off in 1971.

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