G. Melde, Cottbus

History

Company was established in 1748.

The G. Melde grain distillery was founded in 1748 by cloth maker Mattheus Melde. Over the next 127 years, the family business became the largest distillery in the region. In 1875, the company was sold to brewery leaseholder Otto Schnitter and merchant Richard Kies. The new owners expanded the product range to include liqueur and yeast. In 1883, the company name was changed from Schnitter & Kiess, grain distillery, compressed yeast factory, and distillation, to G. Melde. In 1907, the Melde trademark was registered. By 1914, the G. Melde grain distillery had developed into one of the largest privately owned companies in the industry in Germany. After the outbreak of the First World War, the drinking brandy business was temporarily suspended due to the confiscation of grain; the company now produced glycerin, yeast, and spirit.

In 1933, the Cottbus-based company Gustav Kniepf acquired the then-dormant grain distillery business from G. Melde, along with the grain distilling license, as well as the associated brandy, liqueur, and other spirits business, along with the associated recipes, working processes, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights. Kniepf was also granted permission to use the legally protected name "Melde." The former company, G. Melde, ceased the production and trade of grain brandy within the German Reich and changed its name to G. Melde, Hefefabrik GmbH in Cottbus. In return, Kniepf deregistered its yeast factory and changed its name to Gustav Kniepf – Melde. Until the Second World War, the business areas were expanded to include wine trading, fruit juice pressing, and fruit wine pressing.

After the end of the Second World War, the company "Gustav Kniepf – Melde" in Cottbus briefly came under Soviet administration. After expropriation in the GDR, the company continued to operate as Konsum Kornbrand- und Likörfabrik Melde. In 1992, the company was purchased by Underberg, which continued to operate the distillery under the name Cottbuser Kornbrennerei und Likörfabrik GmbH. The site was then closed in 1996.

The distillery buildings were converted into apartments and studios starting in 2013.