In the early 1900s, the brewery was the exclusive supplier of Pilsner beer to the court of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

After Soviet Communist take-over at the end of WW II, Elbing became the Polish Elbląg, and the brewery was reopened as a state-owned enterprise.

Following the 1990 collapse of Communism, the brewery's owners Żywiec S.A. and Brewpole BV (Elbląg, Warka, Leżajsk) merged to form Grupa Zywiec S.A.

Harbin B.V., a private investment company and the former owner of Brewpole B.V., owns 36.2% and the remaining shares are publicly traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

EB was the top selling brand in Poland in the late 1990s, but fell into decline and was discontinued in the mid-2000s before being revived a decade later.