Good, Better, Paulaner.

Brewery History

1634

First recorded mention

The monks in the Neudeck ob der Au Monastery in Munich brew a strong beer, the Paulaner Salvator – naturally according to the Purity Law of 1516. Whatever they don’t drink themselves is given to the poor or sold in the cloister pub.

As ever-larger numbers of people in Munich begin drinking the beer, civilian brewers voice their complaints to the city council on February 24, 1634, about competition from the monastery. This letter is considered the first documented evidence of the Paulaner Brewery and is to this day used as the founding date of the brewery.

1751

Official pub concession

In 1751, the Paulaner monks are officially allowed to serve their beer on the day celebrating the father of their order, Salvator. As a show of gratitude, they invite the Bavarian Electors to enjoy their first sip of the eponymous brew, Salvator.

It is a ritual that still takes place, when the head of the Paulaner Brewery hands the first 1-liter measure of Salvator to the Bavarian minister president at the kick-off of the Munich Starkbierfest (strong beer festival). In 1780 the brewery is granted an unrestricted license to serve its beer.

1773

Barnabas

Valentin Stephan Still, a monk more commonly known as Brother Barnabas, arrives at Neudeck ob der Au monastery. His innovative brewing techniques set new standards for taste, quality, and wholesomeness. Indeed, his recipe from that time still forms the basis for today’s Paulaner Salvator.

1806

Franz Xaver Zacherl takes over

Franz Xaver Zacherl assumes control of the brewery from the monks after secularization, then modernizes and expands it. In the common vernacular, Paulaner is now often called “Zacherlbrew.”

1818

The first beer tents at the Oktoberfest

The first beer tents are built at the “Wiesn,” and Paulaner has one of them. Five years prior there had been a great horse race here on the occasion of the wedding between Ludwig I, heir to the Bavarian throne, and Princess Theresa von Sachsen Hildburghausen. It was the beginning of the world’s largest folk festival.

1881

Innovation for the future

The Paulaner Brewery moves with the times and is always developing new techniques. One of the first Carl von Linde ice machines is used. From that point on, beer can be brewed all year round.

1950

Destruction and reconstruction of the Paulaner Brewery

The Paulaner Brewery is for the most part destroyed during a bombing raid in 1944. Reconstruction is completed by 1950.

1979

Schörghuber takes over the majority of Paulaner Brewery

The Schörghuber family takes over the majority of Paulaner Brewery and the entrepreneurial family maintains that majority to this day.

1986

First non-alcoholic weissbier in the world

The Waitzinger Weissbier is the first non-alcoholic weissbier in the world – today it’s called Hefe-Weißbier Non-Alcoholic.

1987

Thomas Bräu Non-Alcoholic

Another innovation: The Thomas Bräu Non-Alcoholic is one of the first bottom-fermented non-alcoholic beers in the world – today it’s called the Original Münchner Non-Alcoholic.

1989

First brewhouse opened

Paulaner Bräuhaus Consult GmbH opens the first brewhouse on Kapuzinerplatz in Munich as the headquarters of Paulaner taverns with its own in-house brewing operation. More brewhouses follow in Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, and St. Petersburg.

2010

First closed-loop beer pipeline in the world

Paulaner Bräuhaus Consult GmbH opens the first brewhouse on Kapuzinerplatz in Munich as the headquarters of Paulaner taverns with its own in-house brewing operation. More brewhouses follow in Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, and St. Petersburg.

2014

Cornerstone laid for a new brewery

The cornerstone of the new brewery in Landwied is laid. The Paulaner CEO along with the facility’s first master brewer, Christian Dahncke, are accompanied by “Mama Bavaria,” Luise Kinseher, for the ceremony at the location of the future brewhouse.

2015

The new Paulaner Brewery opens

On September 15, 2015, the first beer in Munich Langwied is poured and the new brewery is officially opened. In December 2016, management moves back into the old Zacherlbrau building – the original headquarters in Munich Au.

2016

One million hectoliters

For the first time in its history, Paulaner exports 1 million hectoliters to the rest of the world. Paulaner is consumed in over 70 countries around the globe.