Augustiner Beer from Munich

There are many beers in the world and especially in Germany. During my years of working abroad, I tasted and had to drink dozens of local and international beers because there was nothing else available. I grew up in a small community between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb. There are excellent beers from the Hirschbrauerei Honer. But the highlight was even back then - an Augustiner from Munich.

Augustiner-Bräu is a brewery in Munich, Germany, established in 1328. It is Munich's oldest independent brewery.

The Augustiner Brewery was first mentioned by name in 1328, established within an Augustianian Monastery which had been settled just outside the Munich city walls in an area called Haberfeld (or Haferfeld – "oat field") in 1294. The Monastery complex was the largest sacred building in Munich until the completion of the Frauenkirche cathedral in 1494. The Augustinian monks supplied beer to the Bavarian Royal Wittelsbach family until 1589, at which time the Hofbräu brewery was founded.

In 1759, the Augustinian Monks of Munich were among the first members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Meanwhile, during this era, Augustiner's annual output reached 250,000 litres (2,100 US bbl), three times the amount of an average brewery of the time.

In 1803, as part of a secularization movement, the monastery was dissolved, and the brewery was run by the state before passing into private ownership. Then in 1817, as the original building had fallen in great disrepair, the brewery was moved to Neuhauser Straße.

Anton and Therese Wagner, a brewing family from the vicinity of neighboring Freising acquired the enterprise and the brewery has continued to be privately owned since. Around 1840, Anton Wagner acquired a storage facility on Rosenheimer Straße to expand the brewery and after Anton's death in 1845, his widow Therese Wagner ran the business.

Augustiner entered the industrial age in 1852 with the adoption of a steam engine to aid in production. Then in 1857, a further storage facility was acquired on Landsberger Straße, and eventually all production was moved to the new site, while a brewery-sponsored restaurant continued operation at the Neuhauser Straße location.

Joseph Wagner ("JW" as marked on the current label), took on the management role following his mother's death. The brewery further expanded in 1862 with the addition of another storage cellar at Arnulfstraße 52, the current site of the famous Augustiner-Keller and Beer Garden.

In 1880, Joseph Wagner was recognized as a founding member of the Bavarian Beer alliance, and later in 1887, Augustiner's iconic "JW" trademark with the bishop's staff was registered.

As a result of the aerial bombing of Munich during World War II, Augustiner Brewery was destroyed 60%. In 1971, the brew house was completely renovated, adopting the use of stainless-steel tanks.

In 1996, Edith Haberland Wagner, the last of the Wagner dynasty, bequeathed her share in the brewery ownership to the Edith Haberland Wagner Foundation, and the foundation continues to hold 51% of the shares of the brewery to this day.

In 2013, Augustiner opened Klosterwirt, returning to their origins on the site of the original Augustinian Monastery, just next to the Munich Frauenkirche.

Source Text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustiner-Br%C3%A4u

Source Pics: by H. Rufer

All Augustiner′s brands are brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot. This means the ingredients of the beer are just four: water, grain (barley and or wheat), hops and yeast.

Source Text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustiner-Br%C3%A4u

Source Pics: by H. Rufer