Ostmann & Sons, Brewers

About us

We are Ostmann & Sons, Brewers, of 40 Vine Lane, Vellhausen, in Kesselhöh, and we have brewed under that name and no other for one hundred and sixty-nine years. Vellhausen counts twelve thousand three hundred and twenty-three souls at the last reckoning, and there is scarcely a public room among them that has not, at one time or another, drawn from our casks. We keep to the old premises on Vine Lane, where the coopers' yard still opens onto the street and the brewhouse clock has not lost a minute since it was hung. Callers are received Monday to Saturday, seven in the morning until six in the evening, and the tasting room adjoining the counting house is open to trade visitors by appointment.

We are a house that has always preferred the slow turn of the mash tun to the quick turn of fashion, and we do not apologise for it. What we brewed in 1857 we brew still, though we have not been too proud to add to it where the times required.

Our founder. Agathe Ostmann, born 11 April 1807 at Tarnmund, a clerk by early training and a brewer by later conviction, established this house on 13 April 1857 and remained its guiding hand until her death on 2 December 1866. Her ledgers, kept in her own close hand, are still consulted by this office when questions of old custom arise.

Officers

None recorded.

Our history

1. 1857 On 13 April, the company was founded at Vellhausen.
2. 1857 On the same day, Ostmann & Sons, Brewers was founded at Vellhausen by Agathe Ostmann. In the press.
3. 1860 On 29 July, at Vellmar, the company listed on the Vellmar Exchange under OTM. In the press.
4. 1985 On 27 September, Tarnmoor Trading House of Tarnmoor was acquired by Ostmann & Sons, Brewers. In the press.

What we do

The heart of the house remains our Vine Lane Pale, brewed to the recipe Agathe Ostmann set down before the mash tuns had cooled on that first brewing day, and our Vellhausen Dark, thicker and slower to pour, which the carters have always favoured on cold mornings. Since the Tarnmoor acquisition we have carried the Tarnmoor Trading range alongside our own, a lighter table beer that has found its own custom among those who find our Dark too much before noon. We also keep a small bottling line for the export trade, principally to houses that have dealt with us since before the Exchange listing.

A litre across the counter runs to 1,002.8 pfen, the same figure the trade has known for some time, and we see no cause to alter it. Casks may be ordered through the counting house on Vine Lane, and delivery within Vellhausen is arranged from our own yard, the drays going out at first light.

Working with us

We take on coopers, draymen, maltsters and clerks as the brewhouse requires, and we have always given first hearing to men who have served with the Marsh Regiment, a custom this house does not intend to drop. A labourer's day with us is paid at 1,426.07 marka, in line with the trade, and several of our hands lodge in rooms at 501.41 marka the month within easy walk of Vine Lane. Applications are received in writing at the counting house, and we ask that a man state plainly what he has done before, and where.

We do not keep long hours of an evening. The brewhouse closes its doors at six, and Sunday is kept entirely, as it has been kept here since 1857.

Investors

Ostmann & Sons, Brewers has stood on the Vellmar Exchange as OTM since 29 July 1860, and we have never seen reason to seek listing elsewhere. The shares closed the year at 4,755.37 marka on 31 December 2025. Enquiries respecting the register or the transfer books should be addressed in writing to the counting house at Vine Lane.

Contact

Registered office as above. Encyclopedia entry: Ostmann & Sons, Brewers.