The whole world seems to assume that Austria is a land of wines. That the Austrians actually drink far more beer than wine can be confirmed not only by statistics, but a tour of the many beer establishments and beer gardens.
Not much is said about beer in places where good beer has always been a matter of course. The quality of beer goes without saying and it is rather futile to ask a Viennese what is special about Viennese lager. The truth is that the style of beer brewing that was responsible for the global reputation of the royal capital and seat of government, Vienna, has essentially died out. We are referring to a beer that is prized throughout the world: a bernstein hue with a light aroma of hops, fully flavored but rounded off with a slightly bitter palate of hops. This is Viennese lager as it was intended to be ? and this was the beer that the young brewery owner Anton Dreher cultivated in his small brewery in Schwechat near Vienna at the beginning of the 1840′s. This was the beer that attained worldwide fame.
Source: Austrian National Tourist Office