Taipei Brewery Introduction
The Taipei Brewery's predecessor was the "Kyoto Takasago Brewery Co., Ltd.", founded in 1919, making it the only beer factory in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. After being taken over by the government in 1945, it became part of the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation's "Second Distillery." In 1975, it was renamed "Jian Guo Brewery," during which time improvements in brewing technology and modernization of equipment led to the construction of new buildings, resulting in increased production, with a peak annual output of 12 million dozen beers. On July 1, 1997, Jian Guo Brewery and Fuxing Brewery merged, and Jian Guo became the Jian Guo section of Fuxing Brewery, managed by Fuxing. In June 2000, Taipei City Government designated "Jian Guo Brewery" as the 95th city-designated historical site, preserving one of the most important cultural assets of the beer industry in the country and progressing towards becoming a "beer culture park" for industrial revitalization and preservation. In April 2001, the management of the "Jian Guo section" was transferred to the "Bottle Cap Factory." In 2002, the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation was restructured into Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation, and the "Jian Guo section" was renamed "Taipei Brewery." In November 2003, "Taipei Brewery" came under the jurisdiction of the Zhunan Brewery. On April 30, 2007, Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation independent the Taipei Brewery's operations from the beer division to fulfill its social responsibilities, temporarily establishing the "Taipei Brewery Culture Park Management Office" to specialize in the preservation of Taiwan's beer culture, and on July 1, 2008, it was independently established as the Taipei Brewery. The old address of Taipei Brewery was No. 1407, Zhongzheng Road, Taipei City, and after the city was restructured, it changed to the current address: No. 85, Section 2, Bade Road, Taipei City. The land area is 52,630 square meters. The urban planning designates it as a category-three industrial zone. The facilities of Taipei Brewery include the saccharification building, fermentation building, storage building, packaging factory, finished product warehouse, administrative building, maintenance workshop, and welfare building. The building area is 25,627.71 square meters, with a total floor area of 34,638.91 square meters. Taipei Brewery is the only beer factory in Taiwan with historical value, as beer is a relatively recent arrival among various alcoholic beverages in Taiwan, having a history of just over a hundred years. During the imperial period, foreign beers were imported for consumption by local residents in the colonies and sold on the market. Taiwan first had beer before having breweries. Foreign capitalists began establishing breweries in Taiwan using the country’s cheap raw materials and labor. Looking to the future, the preservation of the industry and the reutilization of old buildings have good examples in advanced countries. For instance, the "Sapporo Beer Museum" in Hokkaido, Japan, originated from a state-owned brewery built in 1890 and was renovated internally in 1966, becoming the Sapporo Beer Garden, which has now become a landmark of the city. The Taipei Brewery occupies a large area, and to preserve and pass on the cultural industry—the birthplace of Taiwan Beer, the Taipei Brewery—while retaining the existing production lines, a systematic plan for its other parts will be developed. This will involve redefining the architectural style and original functions to integrate production, tourism, commerce, culture, and recreation into a multi-purpose zone, aligning with the modern urban development trends to make Taipei a distinctive city. (Text reference: Taipei Brewery official website)
