The Oldest Breweries Ever Made. Bet They Are Still Delicious!

Caveman Jim
Feb 15, 2017
2 min read

Caveman wants to start practicing.

Humanity has been enjoying beer for a really long time, as these still-running establishments can attest.

1. STEPAN RAZIN BREWERY

Founded In: 1795 Location: St. Petersburg, Russia

No extant Russian brewery can claim seniority over this one. For those interested in learning more, its official museum has been entertaining and educating tourists since 1995.

2. ST. JAMES’ GATE BREWERY

Founded In: 1759 Location: Dublin, Ireland

The home of Guinness (of which 13 million pints are consumed every St. Patrick’s Day), this brewery had fallen into disuse when Arthur Guinness acquired it by signing a “9000-year lease.” To commemorate that historic event, the company celebrated five annual “Arthur’s Days” from 2009 to 2013, which saw participants drinking in his honor at 17:59 (5:59 PM).

3. SMITHWICK’S BREWERY

smithwicks.ie

Founded In: 1710 Location: Kilkenny, Ireland

Billed as “Superior Irish Ale,” Smithwick’s has been brewed for over 300 years. For comparison’s sake, America’s best-selling beer brand— Budweiser—has only been in production since 1876. Advantage: Ireland.

4. GROLSCH BREWERY

Wikimedia Commons

Founded In: 1615 Location: Groenlo, Netherlands

Famed for generating what’s arguably the Netherlands’ most iconic lager, Grolsch is also that picturesque nation’s third-largest brewer.

5. STIEGL BREWERY

Stiegl

Founded In: 1492 Location: Salzburg, Austria

Fun fact: When he wasn’t composing or writing about his tuckus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used to love chilling out with a pint of Stiegl.

6. HUBERTUS BREWERY

Beer Coasters

Founded In: 1454 Location: Near Laa an der Thaya, Austria

There’s a pretty cool story behind the Hubertus Brewery logo. Adorning their bottle labels is the “stag of St. Hubertus,” which references a dream this medieval bishop’s said to have had. One night—the story goes—Hubertus envisioned a crucifix nestled above the head of a buck. Taking this as a heavenly sign, he proceeded to live out his remaining days with saintly vigor.

7. AUGUSTINER-BRÄU

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Founded In: 1328 Location: Munich, Germany

Get used to seeing a lot of Deutschland (and religious communities) on this list. Created by an Augustinian monastery, the monks who originally ran Augustiner-Bräu consumed a portion of their beer while selling the rest—tax-free—for profit.

8. PRIVATBRAUEREI GAFFEL BECKER & CO.

Wikimedia Commons

Founded In: 1302 Location: Cologne, Germany

There are reports of a brewery on 41 Eigelstein Street in Cologne from 1302. And though there have been a few wars and brewing stoppages, Gaffel is now among the 10 largest beer keg manufacturers in Germany.

9. BOLTEN BREWERY

Beer Coasters

Founded In: 1266 Location: Korschenbroich, Germany

The good people at Bolten operate the oldest Altbier (a style of traditional German ale) brewery in the world.

10. WELTENBURG ABBEY BREWERY

Roger, Flickr

Founded In: 1050 Location: Kelheim, Germany

Four hundred and thirty-three years separates the founding of this monastery (617) from the founding of the brewery (1050) (433 years is longer ago than the Spanish Armada!). Nearly another millennium later, Weltenburg Abbey’s beloved beers are still going strong.