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[[File:Spaten 001.jpg|600px]]
The ownership of the brewery changed hands many times until 1807 when the royal Hofbräu brewmaster, Gabriel Sedlmayr, took over what was then Munich's smallest brewery named Spatenbräu. The still today used logo with a spade symbolising a malt shovel bears his initials. Sedlmayr's sons continue to run the business and in 1867 Spaten became the largest brewery in Munich, as then measured by malt use.
[[File:Waldwirtschaft Grosshesselohe 007.jpg|600px]]
In 1872, Spaten made history by introducing a light-coloured Vienna-style beer at Munich's Oktoberfest. The Märzenbier which was sold in the Schottenhamel Festzelt became an instant success as other beer supplies ran out. The Märzenbier was originally permitted to be brewed only between 29 September (St. Michael's Day(29th September) and 23 April (St. Georg's Day(23rd April) and had to be stored in ice cellars until the Oktoberfest event. Märzenbier, also known as Oktoberfestbier, is a slightly stronger Helles (lager).
In 1922, Spaten, Franziskaner and Löwenbräu unified into one company. In 1972, the group issued public stock for the first time. Through mergers and acquisitions that followed, the German brewery eventually became part of the Belgian-Brazilian Interbrew (Inbew) giant.
