Störtebeker Brennerei GmbH

Störtebeker Brennerei GmbH is a distillery in Alt Reddevitz on the Mönchgut peninsula of Rügen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The present company continues the work of the former Mönchguter Hofbrennerei “Zur Strandburg”, established by distiller Thomas Kliesow at the historic Strandburg property. Renovation of the site began in 2005, and handmade spirits have been produced there since 2006. Kliesow formally opened the operation as a Verschlussbrennerei in 2007 after obtaining distilling rights and installing two stills. By 2017 the family-run distillery was making around twenty products, including fruit brandies, fruit spirits, liqueurs, aquavit and whisky, with mashing, distilling, maturation, bottling and labelling carried out on site.

The distillery occupies the historic Strandburg, a building that predates spirits production at the site by more than a century. Opened as a hotel in 1904 by Captain Karl Kliesow, the property was later expropriated in 1953 and used for decades by the Deutsche Reichsbahn as a holiday facility. It eventually returned to private ownership and, after years of disuse, was converted for spirits production beginning in 2005.

Well before the later integration with Störtebeker, Kliesow was already involved in whisky production with Störtebeker Braumanufaktur and had been experimenting with different cask finishes since 2009. In 2020, the former family business became part of the Störtebeker operation, and from January that year the Alt Reddevitz distillery traded as Störtebeker Brennerei. Thomas Kliesow remained at the site as master distiller.

The present legal entity, Störtebeker Brennerei GmbH, was registered in October 2019 at Alt Reddevitz 36, 18586 Mönchgut. Karsten Triebe is managing director, while Thomas Kliesow continues as master distiller.

Today the Alt Reddevitz site combines two closely related identities. Störtebeker is used particularly for its single malt whisky, while Ebbe & Flut covers a wider range of regional spirits, including gin, rum, herbal and fruit liqueurs, Kümmel and aquavit. Production retains a strong craft element: traditional stills are used, bottles are filled and labelled by hand, and the distillery uses natural ingredients, including regional fruits and herbs where possible.