Veltins

Franz Kramer established the brewery as a small guesthouse operation in Grevenstein, in the Sauerland region of North Rhine-Westphalia. Clemens Veltins acquired it in 1852 after returning to the Sauerland, and the business has been run by the Veltins family across five generations. The brewery took its current name, C. & A. Veltins, in the early 1920s. Susanne Veltins, great-great-granddaughter of Clemens, has directed the company since 1994, overseeing regional and international sports sponsorship that includes the naming rights for the Veltins-Arena, home ground of FC Schalke 04. In 2025, the company acquired the Karamalz brand.

Veltins brews strictly according to the German Purity Law of 1516, using only malt, hops, yeast, and water. The spring water is drawn from a conservation area around Grevenstein. The brewery installed a wastewater treatment plant in 1966, a first in Europe. By 1984 annual output had reached 1.013 million hectolitres; by 2024 that figure had grown to 3.36 million hectolitres, with record revenues of 459 million euros. The brewery employs approximately 500 people and describes itself as one of the most modern private breweries in Europe.

The alcohol-free pilseners in the range are dealcoholised, meaning brewed at full strength using the Pilsener method before the alcohol is removed. Veltins first added an alcohol-free pilsener to its lineup in 2018, also brewed in accordance with the German Purity Law.