Originally a company dealing in timber, groceries, baking and brewing, the brewery was bought by farmer's son Poul Lauritz Aass in the 1860s. The brewery is still owned by the Aass family, which makes it one of Norway's few remaining independent breweries. As an independent, it has built up a reputation for high quality products and tasty beers, brewing strictly according to the German Purity Law (reinheitsgebot).