THE ZIERHOLZ STORY
Established in 2005, Zierholz has supplied the Canberra market and beyond with superbly drinkable beer brewed with loyal adherence to the German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot anno 1516). We pride ourselves in using only the finest ingredients and traditional methods.
INCEPTION
Zierholz Brewery started as the brainchild of former Soil and Water Scientist Christoph Zierholz who took to brewing like it was a calling.
Originally only intent on pleasing his father who had lamented the dearth of authentic German Weizenbier in Australia since emigrating with his wife and five sons in 1984, Christoph set out to quench that drought by learning how to homebrew. Several local and national brewing champion titles later, Christoph set his goals higher and started Zierholz Brewery, Canberra’s first regional scale microbrewery.
GERMAN INSPIRED,
LOCALLY BREWED
Don’t let all this talk about Germany fool you. Zierholz is 100% locally owned, staffed and brewed right here in Canberra. Yes, we do use some imported ingredients to ensure we can achieve the authentic taste profiles we seek. This is because we are proud to earn high praise from many German expats and tourists recently-returned from Europe: "Your beer tastes just like it does in Germany!"
In tandem with this German brewing heritage is our proud status as a small, local family business. At the end of the day we’re a local family business.
Like so many before us, we are proud to enrich our community with the taste experience we've brought with us from our country of birth; what better way to show appreciation for Australia than with excellent beer?
MEET THE TEAM
CHRISTOPH ZIERHOLZ
FOUNDER & BREWMASTER
Christoph’s parents had brought the family to Australia in 1984, settling on a farming property near Cooma. They weren't big fans of the standard Australian lagers of that time, with craft beers being rare at the time. Christoph's father's favourite summer tipple - Weizenbier (South German Wheat Beer) - wasn't available locally so so a long period of withdrawal ensued.
Christoph, who had moved to Canberra in 1990 to study environmental science at ANU, attended a brewing demonstration at Brew Your Own at Home in 2001. Coincidentally, Colin Marshall the proprietor of BYOAH was doing a Weizenbier; Christoph had to learn how to brew such a beer to end his parent’s ‘bier drought.'
With the help of Colin and Canberra Brewers Club members, Christoph began mastering the art of brewing, culminating in winning multiple Regional and National Amateur Championships.
CRISTINA ZIERHOLZ
BUSINESS MANAGER
Cristina is the heart of the Zierholz business, being the key organiser and manager of Zierholz Brewery and the Pop-up Bar operations. Her original background and expertise are in Hospitality Management and Business Administration.
Cristina combines a full time job within the Public Service and being a mother of two, Adrian and Liam. She has a passion and affinity for excellence in Customer Service and Operational Management.
Cristina's dedication to the business is invaluable, devoting her organisational prowess to host Zierholz' memorable events and parties, including managing all the events and social media communications.
In the early days our boys Liam and Adrian used to ‘help’ by taking rides on kegs whilst Christoph was doing deliveries but these days they are hands on helping both on the hospitality and brewing front.
We’re also very fortunate to have coaxed our friend Paul out of retirement to help us bed in the cafe operations and ensure everything runs smoothly. His wealth of knowledge and experience is second to none in Canberra.
