It was bought by Anton Dreher in 1862 and through three generations his family grew, developed and managed the business. Dreher’s brewery became one of the world’s biggest at the peak of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
In 1993 the business became part of South African Breweries, subsequently SABMiller in 2002.
“A great new era began when we became part of the Asahi Breweries family from Japan,” shares Gábor Békefi, general manager of Dreher Breweries.
“Both Asahi and Dreher each have more than 100 years of brewing tradition and heritage steeped in the pursuit of quality products.”
A great new era began when we became part of the Asahi Breweries family from Japan. Both Asahi and Dreher each have more than 100 years of brewing tradition and heritage steeped in the pursuit of quality products.”
Gábor Békefi, General Manager of Dreher Breweries
The Asahi Group shares its inspiration or ‘Kando’, which brings deliciousness, happiness, and innovation together to create value and a strong bond with society.
The Dreher Beer Museum offers an inspiring tour of the history of beer making in Hungary which culminates in beer tasting. The brewery also hosts beer dinners and shares the Kando with the help of famous Hungarian chefs, beer sommeliers and tap masters.
A significant amount of knowledge transfer has come from the expansion of Asahi Breweries into Europe.
Dreher was the first company in Hungary to recently open a new category of beverages — hard seltzers.
The citrus and blueberry flavours of Viper hard seltzer were developed at the Asahi Breweries R&D centre in Tokyo, Japan, tested in Europe by the regional innovation centre and then launched by Dreher in Hungary earlier this year.
This year Dreher also launched its ANTL microbrewery which is built in one of the brewery’s historical buildings.
“ANTL gives us the opportunity to test and develop formulas with a richer taste profile and ingredients that we can’t translate into larger industrial scales,” explains Békefi.
“We are proud of Dreher’s family legacy and that we are keeping its tradition alive in Asahi today,” he concludes.
