History, Tradition and Origin

The success story of Schwechat Brewery began in 1760 when Franz Anton Dreher came to Vienna and took over the brewery Ober-Lanzendorf.

In 1796 Franz Anton Dreher also acquired the brewery Klein-Schwechat

In 1810 Anton Dreher, son of Franz Anton Dreher, was born. He also followed the old custom of master brewers and worked at a foreign brewery.

He collected his extensive knowledge during trips to Munich and England.

In 1839 he bought the brewery Klein-Schwechat from his mother.

In 1841, for the first time, Anton brewed a light, bottom-fermented beer called “Klein-Schwechater Lager”

This was the birth of today’s “Lagerbier”

In 1848, Dreher was the first Austrian brewer to use a steam engine in beer brewing

During the 1850s, the Schwechat brewery became the largest in mainland Europe and the shipments “Klein Schwechater Lager” went far beyond the borders of Austria.

In 1858, Dreher’s lager beer was awarded the golden medal at the exhibition in Vienna.

The biggest award for Dreher was in 1861 when Emperor Franz Josef I visited the brewery Schwechat and honored Anton Dreher

After the death of Anton Dreher sen in 1863, his son Anton Dreher jun took over the management of the brewery group (1870)

Dreher Junior was the first brewer to use a technical cooling system (1877)

In 1897, under Anton Dreher jun., Schwechat Brewery produced the huge amount of 739,639 hectolitres of beer; production had more than doubled since his father took over the brewery.

In 1921, Anton Dreher died. He secured a permanent place in the history of the Austrian brewing industry by continuing his fathers’ work.