History & Heritage
1526
Our Founder Cord Broyhan
Cord Broyhan invents a new light, top fermenting beer that was well-hopped and refreshing. This was vastly different than the traditional dark heavy beers that Germans usually drank. Due to the popularity of this new beer many breweries began to copy Broyhan’ s recipe. Therefore to distinguish his beer Cord Broyhan marked every bottle with a “Broyhan Taler” (rooster) which became his trademark.
1546
The Gilde is Formed
The City of Hannover recognized the many breweries copying Broyhan’ s beer and therefore combined all the brewers into one Guild (pronounced “Gilde” in German). The purpose of this was to regulate the quality of the beer and the brewing techniques.
1868
The brewers Guild changes from a cooperative association into a company and now is the oldest commercial enterprise in Hannover. Today we continue to honor Cord Broyhan by placing his symbol on each and every bottle of Gilde.
1768
Queen Charlotte’s Legacy
The City of Charlotte was founded and named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Queen Charlotte was the wife of King George II and the Electress of Hannover, Germany which is also the home of our Gilde Brewery.
2019
Gilde Arrives in the USA
Gilde chooses Charlotte as its North American headquarters for brewing and distribution. Gilde has a unique connection to Charlotte, as the city’s namesake, Queen Charlotte, was also the Electress of Hannover. Centuries later, we honor her by bringing her hometown beer to the city named after her.
