| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Pierre Celis |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, USA |
| Products | Beer |
| Owner(s) | Michigan Brewing Company |
Celis is a beer brand. Originally an independent based in Austin, Texas, it is now owned by Michigan Brewing Company.
History In 1966, a milkman named Pierre Celis in the town of Hoegaarden (about an hour’s drive east of Brussels) decided to revive witbier, a regional beer style that had become extinct almost a decade earlier when the town’s last brewery closed.
Pierre Celis’s first brewery was in his father’s stable. In 1972, he relocated to an abandoned soft drink factory, and by 1985, he was brewing 300,000 barrels a year. But Celis never had luck in business. His Hoegaarden Brewery burned to the ground that year, and Celis, who was underinsured, wound up selling his Hoegaarden brand to Belgian giant Interbrew. That company, now known as Anheuser-Busch InBev, continues to make Hoegaarden to this day.
Celis, at the age of 67, founded a microbrewery in the Hill Country outside Austin in 1992. (At a Brickskeller tasting, Celis, who spoke English haltingly, remarked that he chose Texas because its inhabitants speak with a slow drawl, making them easier to understand.) Celis White received a perfect four-star rating from the late British beer writer Michael Jackson in his “Pocket Guide to Beer” (Running Press, 2000). Celis Brewery also made several other varieties of beer in addition to the celebrated White.
Celis Brewery floundered after ownership was purchased Miller Brewing Company, and the plant was shuttered on the final day of 2000. In 2002, Celis White and other brands were acquired by Michigan Brewing Company in Webberville, Michigan, which continues to produce.
Pierre Celis died on April 9, 2011, at the age of 86.[1]
♦ 1992 Celis White – GABF /Gold ♦ 1993 Celis White – GABF /Gold ♦ 1994 Celis White- GABF /Silver ♦ 1995 Celis White – GABF /Gold, Celis Grand Cru – GABF/ Silver ♦ 1996 Celis Grand Cru – GABF /Bronze, Celis White – World Beer Cup/ Bronze ♦ 1997 Celis Grand Cru – GABF /Silver ♦ 1998 Celis White – GABF /Gold, Celis Grand Cru – GABF /Gold, Celis Grand Cru – World Beer Cup /Silver ♦ 2003 Celis White –GABF /Gold, Celis White- World Expo of Beer/ 1st Place ♦ 2004 Celis White – GABF/ Bronze, Celis White –World Expo of Beer/ 1st Place ♦ 2006 Celis White –World Expo of Beer /1st Place ♦ 2007 Celis Grand Cru – GABF /Gold ♦ 2008 Celis Grand Gru –World Expo of Beer/ 1st Place ♦ 2010 Celis White – World Expo of Beer/ 1st Place