You’ll find Austrian beer in just about every bar, restaurant and supermarket, but how about local varieties from small local breweries? Here’s where to find the best of Vienna’s “Craft Bier” movement.
- City has several microbreweries & specialist bars
- My tip: Vienna Kraft in the Gleis//Garten
- Special mention: Siebzehna Bier
- Book a guided craft beer tour* in Vienna
- See also:
Breweries, bars & brewery-bars
(The Vienna Kraft brewery and bar)
Gone are the days when craft beer meant obscure tastes and expensive varieties that appealed only to dedicated enthusiasts. Though the names of the products retain a creative diversity worthy of its own contemporary art exhibition.
The craft beer scene in Vienna is now just as much about ales, lagers, etc. that distinguish themselves simply through the small-scale production process, handcrafted quality, and brewers interested in more than just their bottom line.
Investigating that scene remains a work in progress, but here my suggested craft beer breweries and locations to date…
All the breweries are based in Vienna, though some may use production facilities outside the city. Check their websites for where best to find their wares, if not mentioned in my text.
Let us begin with my personal favourites: Vienna Kraft and Siebzehna Bier.
Vienna Kraft
(Cofounder Felix Bollen at work)
Wander into the Gleis//Garten in Vienna’s 12th district and you’ll see a former tram depot converted into a food hall lined with greenery and gastronomic booths.
You’ll also see polished steel pipes, gauges and tanks of beer at the rear, as if the building backed onto a microbrewery and someone had removed the shared wall.
In fact, the Vienna Kraft brewery is an integral part of the hall. And for good reason. The attached bar (named best “beer bar” in Vienna in 2024) sells the in-house beers straight from the tanks, and you can’t get much fresher than that.
(This direct on-site approach must make environmental sense, too: no transport required and no bottles, for example.)
It was after tasting a flight of the (excellent) beers that I decided to write this article. So I sought out cofounder Felix Bollen for a chat, who explained that craft beer now marries two approaches: the experimental, but also the “drinkable, accessible and affordable.”
And you have to respect someone who spent “all my money on craft beer” so decided to switch sides and turn provider, beginning in London with the same concept behind Vienna Kraft.
Siebzehna beer
I admit to a soft spot for Siebzehna Bier, too, since they live in my district and have eased my Saturdays with a Lockeres Helles from their stand at the local Alszeilenmarkt open-air market.
Siebzehna also now supply my local pub (the Annemarie next to the Wiener Sport-Club football ground, since you ask).
And many worthy others…
Bräuhaus Ten.Fifty.
Austria’s microbrewery of the year in 2022 has its brewery and taproom in Vienna’s 10th district, which you can visit.
At the time of writing, they had just collaborated with Vienna Kraft on a Bim 6 IPA, which is on my tasting list. Bim is Viennese slang for tram, and line 6 actually connects the two breweries.
Ottakringer Brauwerk
(The brewery lives in the 16th district)
This is the craft beer line of the city’s major brewery, Ottakringer. Despite its size and ubiquitous presence in Vienna, Ottakringer remains a family-owned independent business when many of its national competitors are, um…not.
Although widely available, including at the Ottakringer beer shop at Ottakringer Straße 95, I’ve tasted these craft beers mostly at the on-site events, particularly the summer-long festival.
Beaver Brewing Company
Another brewer that combines craft beer production with its own serving locations: two pubs in the 9th and 5th districts.
The Beaver Brewing Company sells the in-house beers alongside a largely US-style food menu, but the pubs also feature guest craft beers.
1516 Brewing Company
Another joint bar and on-site brewery with the advantage for visitors of being right in the heart of Vienna on Schwarzenbergstraße in the first district.
Incidentally, Flanagan’s Pub (one of my recommendations for watching football matches) is a neighbour.
100 Blumen
I came across 100 Blumen (which translates as 100 Flowers) at Vienna Comic Con. The brewery is known for its creative cooperations with events and festivals.
At home in the outer 23rd district and, as with Ten.Fifty., the taproom opens to the public on selected days.
Muttermilch
Another relatively central microbrewery in the 6th district, Muttermilch lives below one of the major specialist beer stores in Vienna: Beer Lovers at Gumpendorfer Straße 35 has a huge selection of beers.
More to come as I continue my adventures… but let’s finish with some festivals.
Annual craft beer events
(The Super Bier Fest used to go by another name)
I have wider beer festivals in Vienna listed on the main beer page. But three with a strong craft beer flavour to them are:
- Vienna KRAFT Bier Fest: started in 2024 with over 15 Austrian and international breweries and the added advantage of taking place in the Gleis//Garten: the food hall has plenty of seating with a large choice of food booths around its sides.
- Craft Beer & Loop: the previous edition featured eight breweries, live music and more. I’ve not attended yet, though
- Super Bier Fest: large event in the Marx Halle that pulls in 30 or so breweries with a significant international presence. Slightly broader remit than just craft beer but the latter still dominates
As always…cheers!