About HB Imports

History of HB Imports

The origin of HB Imports began when I studied in Heidelberg, Germany in 2000 for my International Business and German degree at North Central College.  During my studies in Germany, I met Markus Hilsenbeck from Ulm.  He was proud to tell me that the Hilsenbecks had a brewery in Gruibingen, just northwest of Ulm.  We went to the brewery to buy beer, and I was very surprised how good the beer was. At that moment,  I knew that I wanted to bring the beer to the United States.

So years went by and I still had a dream of starting an import company to bring the Hilsenbeck beer to the States.  In 2004, I joined the Business Men’s Flying Club in Naperville, IL and where I met Kris Queen, who would later become my business partner in HB Imports.  In 2012, I took my wife and family to Germany to visit Markus.  Of course we had to make a trip to the brewery to buy beer to bring home.  We met Hans Dieter Hilsenbeck, the brew master of Lammbrauerei Hilsenbeck and over the years I had written Hans Dieter about importing the beer.  This time I was able to talk in person.  He liked the idea of exporting the beer to the USA.

So I began to talk to Kris about starting the import company and he was on board with the idea.  In the summer of 2014, we formed HB Imports, LLC.  Our goal is deliver premium German beer from Lammbrauerei Hilsenbeck and as the brewery says, “To a Beautiful Life!”

Sincerely,

Jeff Hilsenbeck