Brauerei Zipf, Aktiengesellschaft vorm. Wm. Schaup
An Austrian brewery founded in 1858 at Zipf in Upper Austria and now part of Brau Union Österreich and the Heineken Group.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Zipf Brewery is an Austrian brewing operation located in the Zipf district of Neukirchen an der Vöckla in Upper Austria. The brewery takes its name from its locality and developed from a small nineteenth-century brewing business serving nearby inns into one of Austria’s major industrial breweries. Its corporate identity is historically associated with the name Brauerei Zipf, Aktiengesellschaft vorm. Wm. Schaup, reflecting the Schaup family’s role in its expansion and the later conversion of the business into a joint-stock company. The brewery’s origins reach back to 1842, when Friedrich Hofmann began producing beer in a small brewery attached to a public house. The business sold beer locally, but the expansion of Austria’s railway network increased competition from larger urban breweries and widened their distribution reach into rural areas. Financial pressure culminated in a forced auction in 1858. On 20 July of that year, Viennese banker Franz Schaup acquired the brewery premises for 19,500 gulden. The purchase is treated as the formal foundation date of the modern Zipf Brewery. Schaup expanded the property and production system substantially. He commissioned cellars to be excavated into the mountain north of the brewery and installed steam power in the brewhouse and malt house. Within five years, annual output rose from approximately 1,542 hectolitres to 14,206 hectolitres. After Franz Schaup died in 1864, the brewery passed to his son Wilhelm Schaup. Under Wilhelm, it evolved into an industrial-scale operation. Artificial refrigeration, a connection to the western railway network, employee health-insurance arrangements and a company hospital supported the brewery’s growth and modernization. By Wilhelm Schaup’s death in 1899, annual production had reached about 120,000 hectolitres. The First World War sharply disrupted the business. Production fell to around 14,000 hectolitres in 1917. Postwar monetary devaluation and financial pressures led to the company’s conversion into a stock corporation on 1 January 1921 under the name Brauerei Zipf AG vormals Wilhelm Schaup. The predecessor of Creditanstalt and the Göss brewery became financially significant partners, while the Schaup family retained a majority shareholding. Following the 1929 stock-market crash, the banking interest changed hands before being acquired by Braubank AG in 1935. During the period of Nazi rule and the Second World War, the brewery was drawn into the region’s wartime economy. Raw-material controls reduced the strength and volume of beer that could be produced. In 1943, underground cellar facilities, equipment and workshops were confiscated for the construction of the Redl-Zipf subcamp, where prisoners were used in work connected with V-2 rocket engine production. The brewery itself eventually ceased operations completely during the final year of the war. This history is an important part of the site’s modern historical interpretation. After the war, Fritz Kretz, a great-grandson of the founder, assumed responsibility for restarting the closed brewery. The first postwar Zipfer beer was brewed in February 1946. During the 1950s, Kretz and his nephew Gottfried Nüchtern established the commercial and production strategy that drove the brewery’s subsequent expansion. Zipf increasingly emphasized specialty beers, including Zipfer Spezial, Zipfer Urhell and Zipfer Urtyp. According to the cited historical account, production grew from zero hectolitres in 1945 to nearly one million hectolitres by the middle of the 1990s. The brewery became part of a larger Austrian brewing structure in 1970, when it merged with Brau AG. From 1993, Österreichische Brau AG operated alongside Steirerbrau and foreign sister companies within the Brau-Union structure. A 1997 decision led to the merger of Österreichische Brau AG and Steirerbrau into Brau Union Österreich on 1 January 1998. In 2003, Heineken combined with Brau Union, making Zipf part of an international brewing group. The stated operating approach described in the reference material was to preserve brewing locations, local raw materials and established recipes, while applying greater group-level influence to marketing and communications. Zipf therefore remains an Austrian brewing brand with local production heritage inside a multinational ownership structure.
History
Zipf Brewery began in 1842 as a small brewery and adjoining pub established by Friedrich Hofmann in Zipf, Upper Austria. Its early business depended on selling beer to nearby public houses. Railway expansion later enabled larger city breweries to distribute farther into the countryside, increasing competitive pressure on local producers. Financial difficulties led to a forced auction on 20 July 1858, when Viennese banker Franz Schaup purchased the brewery premises for 19,500 gulden. This transaction is regarded as the formal foundation of the modern brewery. Schaup expanded the site by excavating cellars into the mountain north of the brewery and introducing steam power to the brewhouse and malt house. Output increased from about 1,542 hectolitres to 14,206 hectolitres within five years. In 1864, Franz Schaup left the brewery to his son Wilhelm. Wilhelm continued its modernization and turned it into an industrial brewery before the end of the nineteenth century. Artificial cooling, railway access, an employee health-insurance fund and a company hospital were among the developments associated with this period. By Wilhelm’s death in 1899, production had reached approximately 120,000 hectolitres, and management passed to his sons-in-law Richard Kretz and Max Limbeck-Lilienau. The First World War interrupted this expansion. Production fell to about 14,000 hectolitres in 1917. Currency devaluation after the war contributed to the conversion of the enterprise into a joint-stock company on 1 January 1921. The new company, Brauerei Zipf AG vormals Wilhelm Schaup, had the predecessor of Creditanstalt and the Göss brewery as important financial partners, while the Schaup family retained the remaining majority interest. After the 1929 stock-market crash, the banking stake was transferred to Continentale Gesellschaft für Bank-und Industriewerte in Basel and later acquired by Braubank AG in 1935. The Anschluss and the Second World War brought state control of brewing inputs and falling beer quality and volume as raw materials became scarce. In 1943, parts of the brewery’s underground facilities, machinery and workshops were requisitioned for the Redl-Zipf subcamp. Prisoners were forced to work on the construction of engines associated with the V-2 rocket program. The brewing operation ultimately stopped entirely during the final year of the war. Fritz Kretz, a great-grandson of the founder, took charge after the war and restarted production. The first postwar Zipfer beer was brewed in February 1946. Kretz and his nephew Gottfried Nüchtern later pursued a strategy centered on specialty beers, including Zipfer Spezial, Zipfer Urhell and Zipfer Urtyp. The brewery’s output reportedly increased from no production in 1945 to nearly one million hectolitres by the mid-1990s. In 1970, Zipf Brewery merged with Brau AG. Österreichische Brau AG subsequently operated within the wider Brau-Union structure, and in 1998 Österreichische Brau AG and Steirerbrau were combined to form Brau Union Österreich. Heineken merged with Brau Union in 2003, bringing Zipf into the Heineken Group. The brewery is described as retaining its Austrian production base, local raw-material relationships and established recipes, while ownership has placed greater emphasis on group-level marketing and communications.
- 2003
Heineken becomes majority owner of the parent group
[1]Heineken merged with Brau Union, bringing Zipf into the international Heineken Group portfolio.
- 1998
Brau Union Österreich formed
[1]Österreichische Brau AG and Steirerbrau merged on 1 January to create Brau Union Österreich.
- 1970
Merger with Brau AG
[1]Zipf Brewery merged with Brau AG, entering a larger Austrian brewing organization.
- 1946
Postwar brewing restarted
[1]Fritz Kretz restarted the closed brewery, producing the first postwar Zipfer beer in February.
- 1943
Brewery facilities requisitioned for wartime production
[1]Underground cellars, equipment and workshops were confiscated for the Redl-Zipf subcamp and work connected with V-2 rocket engine production.
- 1935
Banking stake acquired by Braubank
[1]After changes following the 1929 stock-market crash, the relevant banking interest was taken over by Braubank AG.
- 1921
Conversion into a stock corporation
[1]The business became Brauerei Zipf AG vormals Wilhelm Schaup on 1 January, with banking and brewery partners joining the capital structure.
- 1917
Wartime production low point
[1]First World War disruption reduced annual output to about 14,000 hectolitres.
- 1899
Industrial brewery reaches major scale
[1]At Wilhelm Schaup’s death, the brewery had reached approximately 120,000 hectolitres of annual output.
- 1864
Wilhelm Schaup inherits the brewery
[1]Ownership passed from Franz Schaup to his son Wilhelm Schaup, who continued the brewery’s industrial expansion.
Products and positioning
An Austrian regional beer brand built around Upper Austrian brewing heritage, specialty-beer development and continuity of local production within the Brau Union Österreich and Heineken portfolios.
Specialty beer
Zipfer Spezial
One of the specialty beers associated with Zipf Brewery’s postwar growth strategy. It represents the brewery’s historical move beyond undifferentiated local production toward a portfolio of branded specialty offerings.
Pale beer
Zipfer Urhell
A Zipfer specialty beer identified in the brewery’s history as part of the product development that supported its expansion during the second half of the twentieth century.
Specialty beer
Zipfer Urtyp
A signature Zipfer beer cited as one of the products through which the brewery built a stronger specialty-beer identity after the Second World War.
Beer
Zipfer Sparkling
A Zipfer product referenced in academic research on beer advertising and changing consumer target groups, including the role of women in beer marketing. Specific formulation and current availability are not established in the supplied sources.
Controversies
1943
Redl-Zipf subcamp and forced wartime labor
During the Second World War, underground brewery facilities, equipment and workshops were confiscated for the Redl-Zipf subcamp. Prisoners were forced to work on engine construction connected with the V-2 rocket program. The brewery’s wartime history has been examined in dedicated historical research.
Brand decisions
2003
Join the Heineken Group through Brau UnionM&ABackground
Brau Union Österreich was integrated into an international brewing group.
Action taken
Heineken merged with Brau Union and became the majority owner of the parent group.
Aftermath
Zipf retained its Austrian brewing identity and production heritage within Heineken’s international portfolio, while group influence was described as being concentrated largely in marketing and communications.
1998
Create Brau Union ÖsterreichM&ABackground
A decision made in 1997 called for the combination of Österreichische Brau AG and Steirerbrau.
Action taken
The two companies merged on 1 January 1998 to form Brau Union Österreich.
Aftermath
Zipf operated within Austria’s enlarged national brewing group.
1970
Merge with Brau AGM&ABackground
The brewery was operating in an increasingly consolidated Austrian brewing sector.
Action taken
Zipf Brewery merged with Brau AG.
Aftermath
Zipf became part of the corporate chain that later formed Brau Union Österreich.
1946
Restart production after the warStrategyBackground
The brewery had stopped operating during the final year of the Second World War and was left inactive after the conflict.
Action taken
Fritz Kretz assumed management and resumed brewing, producing the first postwar Zipfer beer in February.
Aftermath
The restart provided the basis for a later expansion centered on branded specialty beers.
1921
Convert the brewery into a stock corporationStrategyBackground
The First World War, production collapse and currency devaluation created financial pressure on the family-owned brewery.
Action taken
The business was reorganized as Brauerei Zipf AG vormals Wilhelm Schaup, with external banking and brewery partners participating in the capital structure.
Aftermath
The reorganization gave the brewery a broader financial base and placed management under a board influenced by its institutional partners.
Sources2 sources
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