Ožujsko (actually: Ožujsko pivo, German: Märzenbier) is a Croatian beer brand for lager beer. The beer is the main product of Zagrebačka pivovara, the largest Croatian brewery, which has been part of the brewery group Molson Coors Europe since 2013. Ožujsko has been Croatia's leading beer brand in the past 15 years, with a market share of around 40%. The beer brand is also a sponsor of the Croatian football national team.
With more than 120 years of bridal tradition, Ožujsko beer is one of the oldest brands with uninterrupted continuity of production in Croatia. It was first produced in 1892. It is made exclusively from natural raw materials: barley, yeast, hops and water. Ožujsko has a golden color, is refreshing and is slightly bitter. It is best served at 5 ° C with rich and compact foam. It has won numerous gold medals and awards for its quality, which only confirms its excellence. The alcohol content amounts to 5.0%.The beer is named after the month of March (Croatian: Ožujsko). This month the best beer was brewed, today it can be produced with the help of modern technologies at any time of the year.
The brewery Zagrebačka was founded when the brewers from the upper town of Zagreb realized that they were not able to produce enough beer for the ever-growing and developing city. The founding of the brewery as a stock company took place on 19 May 1892. The main initiators for the construction of a new facility were Count Gustav Pongratz and Baron Petar Dragutin Turković.
The opening ceremony took place on July 12, 1893. This special event attracted thousands of citizens to see the new premises. The brewery was equipped with the Habermann cooling system, a 110-volt dynamo machine, two boilers with a volume of 64 cubic meters, and 15 years before the introduction into the rest of the city of electric lights. With good lighting and a large roof, the brewery quickly became one of the most important sights in Zagreb and a place where the citizens felt comfortable. Since June 2012 the Zagrebačka pivovara belongs to the Molson Coors Group in the Molson Coors Europe division. Today the brewery, besides Ožujsko pivo, produces a variety of beer brands.