Żywiec

Żywiec Brewery is one of the largest breweries and beer producers in Poland. Founded in 1856 in the town of Żywiec, the brewery manufactures pale lager with a 5.5% alcohol volume. Grupa Żywiec S.A. consists of five main breweries: Żywiec Brewery, Elbrewery, Leżajsk, Warka Brewery and Browar Namysłów. Currently, the Dutch Heineken Group (Heineken International Beheer B.V.), with a 99% shareholding, has control over its major operations. The brewery has the capacity of producing 5 million hls a year, making it the largest brewery in Grupa Żywiec. The brewery started operating in 1856 in the town of Żywiec, which was then part of Austrian Poland. It was owned by the Habsburg Imperial Family until its confiscation by the post-WWII Communist government of Poland. At the beginning of the 1990s a court case was started by the descendants of the original owners, who sued the Polish government demanding $77 million compensation for the nationalisation and the use of the Habsburg family name and coat of arms for marketing purposes. The case was settled out of court on undisclosed terms in December 2005. Żywiec Brewery began distribution to other towns of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1913. In the 1990s, the brewery was acquired and modernized by Heineken International.

Source: Wikipedia