Geronimus Hatt, who obtained his Master Brewer's certificate in 1649, started up the Canon Brewery in the Place du Corbeau in
Strasbourg. His son Claude (born November 1665), succeeded his father in the trade in 1683. However, the frequent flooding of the River
Ill compelled in 1850 a move to the higher terrain of Cronenbourg, an area of Strasbourg. In 1922, the Hatt Brewery changed its name to Tigre Bock, the most well-known brand of the Tiger Brewery it had acquired to become the leading brewer in
Alsace. Following the
Second World War, Kronenbourg became the name of the company, and began international expansion. In 1970, it was acquired by industrial group BSN (now
Groupe Danone), along with the Société Européenne de Brasseries (Kanterbräu). In 1986, Kronenbourg merged with Kanterbräu. In 1953, Kronenbourg was sold in the
UK for the first time in honour of
the coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II. In 1970, the brewer was acquired by Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel (BSN), a glass-making conglomerate, which added
Evian to its list of mergers in the same year. In 1973 BSN itself would merge and form BSN-Gervais Danone. In 2000, Kronenbourg was acquired from Danone by British company
Scottish & Newcastle for £1.7 billion. In April 2008, Scottish & Newcastle's operations were sold to
Heineken and
Carlsberg, the latter acquiring Kronenbourg. ==Beers==