Region & History

The Mühlviertel north of the Danube is considered beer country because hops have grown and been brewed here for centuries. Three private breweries have joined forces in the Bierviertel initiative: the Braucommune in Freistadt, the Hofstetten brewery in St. Martin im Mühlkreis, and the Stiftsbrauerei Schlägl.

In 1363, Freistadt was granted the right by Duke Rudolf IV to brew beer and serve it both in the town and the surrounding countryside. According to tradition, from that point on, any citizen with their own house was allowed to brew.

Over time, the small household breweries grew into a shared brewery. Land was purchased just outside the town walls in 1770, and by 1780 the brewhouse had been built there, a building now protected as a historic monument. The brewery names 1777 as its founding year as the Braucommune.

The ownership structure is remarkable. According to the brewery, it still belongs to around 150 houses owned by Freistadt citizens today, and this cooperative is said to be unique in Europe. With roughly 60,000 hectoliters a year, it describes itself as the largest brewery in the region.

Hofstetten near Rohrbach takes a completely different approach. The brewery traces its roots back to 1229, when a simple inn was established here, and it has belonged to the Krammer family since 1847. Since 1998, Sabine and Peter Krammer have run the business as the fifth generation, producing around 10,000 hectoliters a year.

There is no dedicated EU protected designation of origin for Mühlviertel beer. In fact, the register of protected beer names doesn't include a single Austrian entry. So the origin shows up instead in the ingredients: the barley, hops, and water here often come from the immediate neighborhood.