Schwechater

I found this one in a dodgy off license type place near our hotel. I only picked one up to see what it was like, and I was rather surprised with this Austrian brewed beer.
A bit of history. The history of the Schwechater beer started in the year 1632. Peter Descrolier, who was valet and paymaster of archduke Matthias, founded the brewery in Schwechat. But the real success story only began in 1760, when the waiter Franz Anton Dreher moved to Vienna and leased the brewery Ober-Lanzendorf. In 1796 he bought the brewery in Schwechat, and the Schwechater beer was ready to start its triumphant advance.
The next milestone of the success story followed in 1841. Anton Dreher, the son of Franz Anton Dreher, who already collected a lot of beer brewing experiences during his trips to Munich and England, tried to produce for the first time a bottom-fermented beer, and brought it to Vienna.The Viennese people were so excited about it, that they only wanted to drink the Schwechater beer. This was the hour of birth for the nowadays popular "lager beer". Because of the big onrush at the beer, Schwechater had to use machines for the production. Dreher was the first brewer in Austria who used a steam engine to brew his beer. This was in 1848. Nowdays the steam engine is displayed in the technical museum in Vienna.Anton Dreher senior dies in 1863 and his son Anton Dreher junior takes over the company in 1870. In the "iceless winter" 1872 100 million kg of ice had to be brought by railway from Poland to Vienna. Such experience motivated Anton Dreher to learn more about artificial cooling and production of ice. In 1877 Schwechater Beer was the first who invented and used a cool machine for artificial cellar cooling.During the first world war the production reached it's all-time-low. The brewery workers which had to go to war, still received their salary the whole war through. During the war the production was reduced, but never shut down. Anton Dreher died as a very rich man in 1921. After his death the company was handed to his oldest son Anton Eugen Dreher (born 1871). But he died already in 1925. He was the last brewing master of the Schwechater beer, and so this was the end of the long lasting Schwechater beer dynasty. The lead of the brewery was inherited to some relatives of Anton Eugen Dreher. But the relatives were not interested in the brewery, and sold their participations to several banks in 1925. This was how the 130-dynasty of family Dreher and the Schwechater beer ended.
I think it is interesting how this brewing family is related to the Dreher family who also own a Hungarian brewery. I had one of their beers earlier in the year as well. You can read about that here.
http://www.schwechater.at/

Dreher Classic

This says enough (sourced):

It's tough being Hungarian. You like tourists, but they keep showing up in armored tank divisions. The last time you were part of an empire, you played second fiddle to a country that's best known for being the setting of a Julie Andrews movie, and the last time your people actually intimidated anyone, your leader was a psycho named Attila. Plus, smart-asses everywhere think your countrymen are nothing but a bunch of swarthy Gypsies, prone to stealing, palm-reading and high-wire circus tricks. And, you're better known for wine then beer, much like the French. So, when you're sitting in your home, dwelling on your inferiority complex, take heart: Hungarians can indeed brew a good beer. While it's not their bread and butter, it's done with the care and quality that is more often seen across the border in the Czech Republic. If lounging in a spa in Budapest, or chilling along the Danube, you can do so with a quality Hungarian beer, Dreher. It's no Czechvar, but when in Hungary, do as the (mad) Hungarians.

Dreher Bak

As I often do, I went to a dodgy Hungarian supermarket and bought a bunch of local beers. the first cab off the rank was Dreher Bak (7.3% abv) which is a rich dark dunkel bock style beer. I have to say that this beer was delicious! It is a deep brown colour with delicate chocolate and coffee notes, minimal bitterness and a solid roast character. Breweries take note - this is how dark lager is supposed to taste!

The upside of drinking such a strong beer has also got to be the warming effects of the alcohol which surely did help to dry me out after the terrible weather. The Hungarians are a little behind and I couldnt find a kooky website to go with this one, but I urge you all to seek it out.