Licher Brewery

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Licher Privatbrauerei Ihring-Melchior is a brewery in Lich, Hesse, Germany. It has about 250 employees and is the largest brewery in Lich. The company makes around 780,000 hectoliters of beer each year and uses water from a deep natural spring.

History in brief
- 1854: Johann Heinrich Ihring starts brewing in Lich at J.H. Ihring Brewery, serving beer from his guesthouse Zum goldenen Löwen.
- Early 1900s: Christoph Jakob Melchior runs another guesthouse in Butzbach; both families grow their brewing businesses.
- 1922: The two breweries unite to form Brauerei Ihring-Melchior in Lich.
- 1920s–1930s: Growth despite inflation and crashes; production fluctuates.
- 1948: Exporting is allowed after World War II.
- 1999–2004: Licher buys part of Holstein-Brauerei; later the company joins the Carlsberg Group briefly and then parts ways.
- Since 2004: Licher works with König Brewery, owned by Bitburger.
- 2006: The two bottling plants can produce about 115,000 bottles per hour; the brewery is praised for clean production by the Hessian Environment Ministry.

Today
- Beers and drinks include: Licher Premium Pilsener, Licher Export, Licher Alkoholfrei, Licher Leicht, Licher x² Cola (40% beer, 60% cola), Licher x² Fresh Lemon (half beer, half lemonade), Licher Radler, Licher Weizen Hefe Hell, and the seasonal Doppelbock. Since 2010, Licher x² Energy (40% beer, 60% energy drink) has also been produced.
- The brewery uses water from a natural spring and high-quality wheat, and holds ISO 9001 and IFS certifications.
- In the 1980s, Licher beer was popular with U.S. forces in Hessen and was often served in clubs and PXs.
- Slogans have changed over time, from “From the Heart of Hessen” to “Licher Beer, From the Heart of Nature.”