Ursus Breweries, a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries Europe Ltd., is a Romanian beer producer. The company is based in Bucharest and owns 3 breweries in Timișoara, Buzău and Brașov as well as a craft mini-brewery in Cluj-Napoca and employs around 1,400 people. Ursus Breweries’ brands are: Ursus, Timișoreana, Ciucaș, Grolsch, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Redd's, Stejar, Azuga, Pilsner Urquell, St. Stefanus and cider brand Kingswood.

The company was owned by SABMiller from 1996 until March 2017, and by Asahi Breweries Europe Ltd since March 2017.

"Bear" in the Mug

Brewing in Cluj began in the Monastery Estate – granted by Stephen Báthory in 1581 to the Jesuits of Cluj, later owned by the Transylvanian Roman Catholic Status, and eventually managed by the Transylvanian Catholic Study Fund in 1868. The exact starting date is lost to history, but what is certain is that by the early 1800s, there was already a brewery, a house where beer was brewed. There were even establishments connected to it that sold the fine drink—essentially a pub network. The brewery was operated by tenants. In 1828, one such lease likely expired, as the Transylvanian Gazette announced: “The Monastery Estate’s brewery, with all the necessary good tools and buildings, located on the corner of the square of the Honorable Free Royal City of Cluj, and with the right to free beer sales in the five villages of the Estate, will be leased to the highest bidder on December 20th.” In today’s terms: the lease rights of the brewery and the beer outlets in Cluj and five other villages were auctioned off.

In 1868, the new manager of the estate, the Catholic Study Fund, leased the Monastery Brewery to the highest bidder, who turned out to be Elek Sigmond, a miller and distiller, and Domokos Biasini, owner of hotels, restaurants, and the former Transylvanian express carriage service. The new entrepreneurs promised to build a modern beer hall and improve transportation from the city center with omnibus services. In 1873, Elek Sigmond’s son, Dezső—later president of the Cluj Chamber of Commerce and Industry—took over the management of the breweries, including the Monastery Brewery. In 1876, the Cluj Court registered the company Sigmond Brothers, which carried on the business empire, with Dezső and his brother Ákos as owners. According to the chamber’s records, their brewery in Monastery produced 2,268, 2,058, 1,890, 1,806, 1,680, 3,696, and 4,158 hectoliters annually between 1881 and 1888.

The 1894 Cluj guide published by the Transylvanian Carpathian Association mentioned the Sigmond Brewery among the city’s notable spots, frequently visited by locals.

For unknown reasons, the Sigmond brothers sold their Cluj distillery and brewery at the turn of the century. The buyer was the company Czell Frigyes and Sons.

The Czell family members were notable citizens of one of Brașov’s suburbs. The elder Frigyes Czell moved to the city center and began working in wool weaving. His son, Frigyes, born in 1816, continued his father’s trade, learning the techniques of finer wool weaving in Vienna and Brno. Returning home, he established a workshop and later a factory, amassing significant wealth. During the 1850s, during a crisis in the domestic spinning and weaving industry, he decided to switch to distillation. In 1854, he established a distillery in Keresztényfalva (Brașov County), which by the 1880s had become one of the largest such companies in Hungary. In 1892, he purchased the bankrupt distillery in Dirste (a former independent village, now part of Brașov) and converted it into a brewery. Production began in 1894, as the Brașov Chamber of Commerce registered their trademark that year. On May 23, 1899, the court registered Czell Frigyes and Sons’ brewery branch, marking the beginning of modern industrial beer production in Cluj.