Licorne
Licorne
The Brasserie Licorne is one of the most traditional and characterful breweries in Alsace – founded in 1845 by the Schweickhardt family in Saverne, a small town at the foot of the Vosges in the Bas-Rhin, where the brewing tradition stretches back to Roman times, the town having already been nicknamed Tres Tabernae in antiquity, and where the unicorn has adorned the town's coat of arms since the 14th century as a symbol of the purity of the local water. Over the following decades, the Schweickhardt, Gerber, Becker and Weber families successively led the establishment before the German Karlsberg group took over the brewery in 1989 and invested massively in new production facilities, including a new brewhouse inaugurated in 1993 that remains in operation to this day. In 2007, the Brasserie de Saverne was renamed Brasserie Licorne – after the mythical animal that is the emblem of the town – paying homage to its origins while simultaneously launching the national and international commercialisation of Licorne beers.
The flagship of the Licorne portfolio is the Licorne Elsass, launched in 2007 – a 100% Alsatian pure malt blonde beer whose every ingredient, barley, malt and hops, is grown in Alsace through partnerships with local farmers, making it a genuine ambassador of the Alsatian terroir and a beer bearing the «Produit du Terroir» label. Alongside this flagship reference, the range includes Licorne Authentique, Licorne Légende, the seasonal beers Licorne Primeur and Licorne Noël as well as the bold Slash range, with its Wildcornes and Slash IPA, which since 2018 have embodied the brewery's spirit of innovation and determination to position itself fully within the revolution of characterful craft-style beers.
Today, Brasserie Licorne employs around 190 people and produces over 750,000 hectolitres of beverages annually, establishing itself as one of the key players in France's leading brewing region – Alsace, whose four major breweries alone account for 60% of national beer production. Awarded the Alsace Excellence label in 2022 and achieving a 17% increase in supermarket sales in 2023, Brasserie Licorne demonstrates in the most compelling way that tradition, local roots and creative boldness can form a unity as natural as it is irresistible.