First manufacturing of beer 1627 (≈ 1627)
Start of brewing in Ville-sur-Illon.
1870
Annex of Alsace-Lorraine
Annex of Alsace-Lorraine 1870 (≈ 1870)
Jacques Lobstein left Alsace.
1877
Purchase of local brewery
Purchase of local brewery 1877 (≈ 1877)
Lobstein acquired the Brasserie de L'Hôte*.
1887
Fondation de la Grande Brasserie
Fondation de la Grande Brasserie 1887 (≈ 1887)
Creation of the industrial brewery.
1931
Death of Jacques Lobstein
Death of Jacques Lobstein 1931 (≈ 1931)
His son René succeeds him.
1956
End of beer production
End of beer production 1956 (≈ 1956)
Permanent cessation of brewing.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Jacques Lobstein - Founder of the brewery
Created the Grande Brasserie in 1887.
René Lobstein - Successor of his father
Directs the brewery until 1975.
Origin and history
The Vosges ecomuseum of the brewery was installed in a former brewery founded in 1887 by Jacques Lobstein, an Alsatian who had fled the German annexation of 1870. The site, located in Ville-sur-Illon in the Vosges, was renowned for the quality of its waters, essential to the production of beer. Lobstein, formed in a brewery in Xertigny, first bought a small local brewery in 1877 before creating the Grande Brasserie & Malterie Vosgienne in 1887, marking the transition to industrial beer and malt production.
The architecture of the place, typical of Art Nouveau, reflects the ambition of its founder. Nearby is Lobstein Castle, built by Jacques Lobstein himself. After his death in 1931, his son René took over the company, but the brewery gradually ceased its activities: the production of beer in 1956, malt in 1966, and soft drinks in 1975 ended. The site is now an eco-museum that values this regional brewing heritage.
The history of the brewery is part of a broader context of Alsatian migration after 1870 and industrial development in the Vosges. Ville-sur-Illon, with its pure sources, had already attracted brewers since 1627, the date of the first local beer manufactures. The ecomuseum perpetuates this tradition by exposing ancestral methods and testifying to the technical evolution of brewing from the 19th to the 20th century.
