Region & History

Order a beer in the Allgäu and you're often drinking one from a house older than some countries. Zötler Brewery in Rettenberg, at the foot of the Grünten, traces its roots back to 1447 and calls itself, by its own account, the oldest active family-owned brewery in the world. That date rests on tradition rather than documented proof of unbroken brewing ever since.

Older than any brewery as a business are the monasteries. Irsee Abbey in the eastern Allgäu dates back to 1182, according to the abbey's own brewery. Monks brewed beer because it counted as food and could be drunk through Lent without breaking the fast. Secularization in 1803 dissolved the monasteries; today Irsee houses an education center, while its brewery lives on.

In Kempten, the region's largest town, stands the Allgäuer Brauhaus. Its archives trace its origins to a monastery brewery in 1394. The Brauerei zum Engel was founded in 1858, and Allgäuer Brauhaus AG was registered in 1911. Today the site belongs to the Radeberger Group and, by its own account, is the largest brewery in the Allgäu.

How many breweries there are depends on where you draw the Allgäu's borders. The region's tourism site cites more than 30. The area spans a state line: Irsee, Kempten and Rettenberg lie in Bavaria, while Leutkirch sits in the Württemberg Allgäu, where Härle has been brewing since 1897.

There's no protected designation of origin for Allgäu beer. The EU register only recognizes "Bayerisches Bier" (PGI, 2001) for the Bavarian part. In Bavaria, even top-fermented beer must be brewed without sugar.