Vienna, Austria
Brauerei Schwechat
The Vienna brewery where Anton Dreher produced the first Vienna lager in 1841, and the origin of the amber lager tradition.
Also known as Schwechater, Dreher Brewery.
Why it matters
Vienna lager is named after this brewery’s city and was invented in this brewery. Dreher applied English kilning technique — indirect heat, which made pale and evenly coloured malt possible — to bottom-fermenting Bavarian practice, and the amber lager that resulted travelled with emigrant brewers to Mexico and became more common there than at home. The catalogue anchored the style from Mexico while holding nothing from where it started.
Details
| Founded | 1632 |
|---|---|
| Where | Vienna, Austria |
| Status | Operating |
| Ownership | Part of Heineken via Brau Union since 2003. The site is the original Schwechat brewery, which is the part that matters to the record. Recorded 2026-08-19; ownership changes without announcement. |
Reference beers
BeerHQ carries only the products that anchor something. This is not the brewery’s full range.
Styles it is associated with
- Vienna lager — An amber lager built on gently kilned Vienna malt: toasty and lightly sweet, but finishing clean and dry.
- Munich Helles — Bavaria’s everyday pale lager: soft, bready and malt-forward, with just enough hop to balance and nothing to distract.
Traditions
- Vienna and Mexican amber lager — The amber malt-forward lager tradition begun in Vienna in 1841, which survived more strongly in Mexico than in Austria.
Other breweries in Austria
Last reviewed 2026-08-19.