The beer culture in Austria is a strong tradition (especially around Salzburg). If you travel just a wee bit out of the Salzburg province you’ll find one of the most authentic and historic bits of Austrian beer history to explore. Travel to the small historic riverside spa town of Bad Ischl, and take a tour of Casio Keller where 400 years of fascinating history from beer making to grand parties once reigned in the hidden mountain cellar. Now home to Austria’s smallest brewery & a mushroom farm, the Schmalnauer family has utilized & preserved the history of the property for over 50 years.
A natural cave originally with evidence of Iron Age usage, in the 1600’s it was carved further into the hillside to make community cold storage space, with the debris stones used in construction of its building facade. This space was geological perfection for beer making, limestone sediment crushed with mineral rich salt deposits, a constant 100% humidity making for the most ideal natural yeast creation, a brewers dream!
The Austrians seem to have always lived in realistic harmony with Mother Nature, building beautiful little villages amongst rugged & rough alpine peaks and especially when building next to rivers. This historic cellar was designed with a slanted floor throughout and with a French drain system underneath to allow for constant drainage… the river would always rise here so true subterranean basements were not made and hill cellars like this one hidden away for brewing and storage were common, though almost none remain original as this one does from 1675.
Although at first glance this space looks roughly hewn out by ancient hands & ancient methods, every decision in its design and purpose was intentional and well thought out.
These smart Austrian cellar carvers also installed air vent shafts (for safety), but that would alter the constant temperature, in the summer maybe too warm, so they installed a drainage “stairwells” from their uphill neighbors ice cellar to capture the melting ice water which would further cool the marble slabs. But not just ANY marble slabs, this red marble floor stones were salvaged in the 1700s from a church renovation, this marble known to be iron rich also ingenious because iron naturally captures cool temperatures.
Originally a natural cold storage space for a small village, as the village grew it evolved into brewing space and then by the Hasburgs arrival, into a posh party hangout.
Bad Ischl was the Alp’s first European capital of culture in the 1800’s thanks to Empress Sisi summering here, also where she met her future husband Franz Joseph I. Bad Ischl was a place to be “seen” and party at social houses like Cafe Casino (conveniently located above the brewery cellar!)
Then a day café on the ground floor and at night a lavish restaurant & dance café on the first floor. Once a gathering spot for Bad Ischl’s upper crust, artists, librettists, and publishers.
The famous Viennese composer Franz Lehar who had a villa near by, frequently visited the restaurant and today his music is still played in the cellar to promote better growth in the mushroom beds.
Times changed and the Casio’s heyday came to the end. In 1970 Josef Schmalnauer a travelling musician, was enamored by the historic property and purchased it opening a cafe (Casino Keller) & music house on the ground floor, his goulash soup made according to a secret Hungarian recipe was legendary, and the fun often spilling over into all night party sessions in the old cellars to avoid late night visits from the police.
He also provided the legendary Austrian artist Carlo Battisti with studio space in the old upper restaurant hall, and his paintings can still be found there.
The son Bernhard Schmalnauer now passionately preserves the building’s history with tours and continues the brewing legacy creating some delicious traditional biers. The home to Austria’s smallest brewing (narrowly classified a home brewer) he is STILL utilizing this old cellar to its fullest potential… brewing beer but also growing king oyster mushrooms. Both needing very controlled environments for perfection (and his beer was perfection!) Post-tour you have a chance to sit in the old pub and drink some of his brews.
So next time you are in Austria, make a weekend trip to Bad Ischl. An easy, comfortable bus rider from Salzburg or east train from Vienna. Here you will find a gorgeous small river town surrounded by Alpine peaks, rich in history, home to fabulous & affordable spa resorts like Eurothermen Resort and a short train ride to Hallstatt (possibly the most scenic village in Austria!
(*) The term CASINO is of Italian origin, from the root word casa meaning “house.” Originally, the term referred to a small country villa, summerhouse, or social club where people gathered. During the 19th century, casino came to encompass other public buildings where pleasurable activities took place.
Historic photos & some information from