[2][3] The Augustiner Brewery was first mentioned by name in 1328, established within an Augustianian Monastery which had been settled just outside the Munich city walls in an area called Haberfeld (or Haferfeld – "oat field") in 1294.

[5] The Augustinian monks supplied beer to the Bavarian Royal Wittelsbach family until 1589, at which time the Hofbräu brewery was founded.

[4] Anton and Therese Wagner, a brewing family from the vicinity of neighboring Freising acquired the enterprise and the brewery has continued to be privately owned since.

The brewery further expanded in 1862 with the addition of another storage cellar at Arnulfstraße 52, the current site of the famous Augustiner-Keller and Beer Garden.

In 1880, Joseph Wagner was recognized as a founding member of the Bavarian Beer alliance, and later in 1887, Augustiner's iconic "JW" trademark with the bishop's staff was registered.

[6] When most German breweries updated their bottles to a slim and more modern design to give their beer a more classy and less old fashioned appearance, Augustiner stuck with its original "classic" form, often nicknamed the "Bauarbeiterhalbe" (construction worker's half litre).

The success of the brand has been attributed to the traditional "retro" image it enjoys as one of the last major breweries in Munich that is not owned by an international beer conglomerate; Augustiner-Bräu is 51%-owned by a charitable foundation.