Happy New Beer! September 30th is the breweries’ annual New Year’s celebration. In earlier times, the biggest holiday in beer culture ushered in the new brewing season, as the temperatures became cooler again from October onwards and were therefore more optimal for beer production. For 183 years now, beer has been brewed all year round, not just in Austria, but all over the world – thanks to a revolutionary invention from Schwechat near Vienna and the most modern brewing technology. The breweries in the Brau Union Austria also celebrate Austrian beer culture on the occasion of Brewing New Year’s Eve.
Until 183 years ago, the beer brewing season in Central Europe was limited to the period between Michaelmas (September 29th) and St. George (April 23rd) – in the warmer months it was difficult to produce good beer. Fortunately, an Austrian master brewer named Anton Dreher was to change all this forever in 1841. The founder of the Schwechat brewery is considered the inventor of the first light, bottom-fermented lager. His beer would bring him worldwide fame and today it is produced and celebrated worldwide as its own beer style called “Wiener Lager”. The unique “Original Wiener Lager”, which triggered this global brewing revolution, is still available in the Schwechat Brewery range today. In addition to this Austrian innovation, the further development of brewing technology and the use of cooling technology have also made a major contribution to the fact that brewing beer is now a year-round affair. Today there are well over 1,000 beer specialties throughout Austria and a relatively high density of breweries in Europe.
From a seasonal product to a sought-after all-year-round drink
The nine breweries and three brewing factories in the Brau Union Austria and their approximately 2,700 employees across the country celebrate their traditional Brewing New Year’s Eve with great pride on September 30th and uphold the country’s strong and diverse beer culture. “In addition to the fascinating tradition of brewing beer, which also includes our New Year’s Eve brewing, beer is also an important economic factor for Austria. The breweries in the Brau Union Austria ensure that many of the most popular beer specialties are available every day and in the best quality throughout Austria. Our particular focus is on the topic of sustainability and the highest possible added value in Austria“, says Daniela Winnicki, Director Corporate Affairs at Brau Union Austria.
According to a recent study (www.brauunion.at/bierkultur), almost 90 percent of Austrians rate beer as “very important” or “important” for the local beverage culture. For more than half of the population (59 percent) who drink beer regularly – i.e. at least several times a month – it is hard to imagine that beer would not be brewed all year round or would only be a seasonally available drink – like it was last year 1841.
Further exciting information about domestic consumer behavior and current trends in the brewing industry can be found at www.brauunion.at/blog/
About the Brau Union Austria
Brau Union Austria sells over 5.0 million HL of beer in a year – with fourteen leading beer brands, over 100 types of beer and ongoing innovations. The company stands for international premium brands such as Heineken and Desperados, the cider brands Strongbow and Stibitzer, top brands that are widespread throughout Austria such as Gösser, Schwechater, the wheat beer brand Edelweiss and the alcohol-free Schlossgold, as well as brands with strong regional significance such as Zipfer, Puntigamer, Wieselburger, Kaiser, Schladminger, Reininghaus, Villacher and Fohrenburger. 2,700 employees across Austria ensure that around 49,000 customers and millions of beer lovers across the country are supplied with beer. Brau Union Austria was awarded the “GREEN BRAND”* label by Green Brands for the first time in 2016 and has been able to confirm the seal of quality through regular revalidations since then. The Brau Union Austria has been part of the international HEINEKEN family since 2003. www.brauunion.at
*: Brau Union Austria once again awarded an independent seal for sustainability commitment – Brau Union | Online press center Revalidation for 2024/2025 is currently underway.
OTS ORIGINAL TEXT PRESS RELEASE UNDER THE EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SENDER FOR CONTENT – WWW.OTS.AT | BRU