Ottakringer Brauerei

The Ottakringer brewery stands in Ottakring, Vienna’s 16th district, and is the last large brewery left in the city. Founded in 1837 by miller Heinrich Plank, it grew under the Kuffner cousins into a major producer by the late 19th century. Moriz von Kuffner expanded output to over 350,000 hectolitres before the First World War. After changing hands during and after the Second World War, the brewery resumed brewing in the 1950s and later broke the city’s beer cartel in 1977. Ottakringer’s history reflects Vienna’s wider changes, from the demolition of the city walls to post-war recovery. The firm pioneered green shoulder bottles in Austria in 1989 and built a non-alcoholic beer plant in Tehran in 2007. Today the parent company, Ottakringer Holding AG, also owns the Vöslauer mineral water brand. The brewery has long supported SK Rapid Wien, one of Austria’s top football clubs. Visitors find a working brewery where several rooms can host events. The site includes modern bottling lines alongside older brewing equipment. Bottled and canned beers carry labels that recall the 16th district, such as the 16er-Blech cans for Ottakringer Helles. Special brews like the strong Bock appear only at Christmas and Easter. The brewery’s varied beers range from the dark Dunkles to the nearly alcohol-free Null Komma Josef.