Region & History

Since when has beer been brewed in Zell am Ziller? According to the brewery, since 1500: that's when the Probstei received the right from the Archbishopric of Salzburg to produce and serve beer and schnapps for the Polsingerhaus. Zillertal Bier therefore sees itself as Tyrol's oldest private brewery.

In 1678, Ludwig Jobst, a direct ancestor of today's family, bought the Polsingerhaus along with its brewing rights and became Tyrol's first "free beer brewer." His grandson Ludwig Anton Hochbichler moved the operation to Gerlosstraße in 1738. Brewing continued there until 2012, when a new brewhouse went into operation.

A bit further west, the Mohrenbrauerei in Dornbirn is counted among Vorarlberg's oldest breweries. Josef Mohr opened an inn with a brewery in 1784 and named it "Zum Mohren." The business has been family-owned since May 1, 1834, when Franz Anton Huber bought the property.

Fohrenburg in Bludenz emerged from a construction project. Ferdinand Gassner founded the brewery in 1881 with eleven partners to supply the workers building the Arlberg railway, acquiring the Gasthaus Fohrenburg along with its healing spring for the purpose. In 1934, the Bludenz textile company Getzner, Mutter & Cie. joined as the largest shareholder. Since November 2019, 74 percent has belonged to Brau Union and thus to the Heineken Group.

Brewing has taken place at Schloss Starkenberg near Tarrenz since 1810. There is no EU protected designation of origin for Tyrolean or Vorarlberg beer; the register lists names from other countries. The Chamber of Commerce's business directory lists 32 breweries for Tyrol, ranging from family businesses to small craft breweries.