HOFBRÄU KALTENHAUSEN
ORIGIN & HISTORY
The brewery, Hofbräu* Kaltenhausen, approximately ten miles
south of Salzburg was founded in 1475 by Johann Elsenhaimer, an attorney
and mayor of Salzburg. It is the oldest brewery in the "state"
of Salzburg, and one of the oldest in Austria itself. Some time after Elsenhaimer's
founding, the brewery came into the possession of the Prince Archbishop
of Salzburg, 1498, was named the Court brewery of Kaltenhausen, and remained
under the various Archbishops' control for over 300 years. About that time
the Archbishop decreed that throughout the total state of Salzburg, only
beer from Kaltenhausen could be sold; the annoying competition from Bavaria
was banned.
Nestled in a shoulder of the Alps, 
at the foot of the Barnsteins (the
mountains above Hallein), the location was ideal for a brewery. The clear,
flat land allowed for wind tunnels to be formed from the crevices of the
mountain, providing a natural circulation of the air, and hence a perfect,
natural cooling system. Much later, 1832, Kaltenhausen installed the first
steam machine in Land Salzburg, and significantly expanded the natural cooling
capacity of their cellars for the lagering of their beers. Between 1855
and 1859 the brewery was rebuilt from the ground up. At that time they tapped
five new springs, built a new ice-cellar, and expanded the daily output
of beer by 1,000 Eimers. (1 Eimer = ca. 56 Liters).
With the absorption of many small principalities, monarchies, and bishoprics,
within the past century or more, Hofbräu Kaltenhausen also fell
into private hands, but always continued to survive and preserve its tradition
for quality beers. Hofbräu Kaltenhausen has risen to eighth place among
the ca. sixty breweries in Austria, and is today one of the major breweries
of the Austrian Brewing Association (Österreichische Brau Aktiengesellschaft,
simply the Brau A.G.) which was founded in 1921. The Brau A.G. itself, with
its five breweries, is the largest producer of beer in Austria, with an
output of ca. 3,650,000 Hectoliters or 34.2 % of the beer productiion in
Austria. Edelweiss , and Kaiser alone represent a portion of this figure,
producing ca. 400,000 hectoliters per year. Additionally the Brau A.G. is
the strongest exporter of beer in Austria, supplying over thirty countries
with its various beers, and the top-selling Weizenbier in the country
is Edelweiss.
"The best quality beer knows no borders."
To reach the brewery, see: Edelweiss
- The Brewery & Gasthaus
*Hofbräu, as the famous Hofbräuhaus in Munich, is
simply the designation for ""Court Brewery" of which many
date from the Middle-ages and Renaissance.