Firestone Walker buys historic Bay Area brewery — and is moving it to Paso Robles

Firestone Walker has acquired the United States wing of a 400-year-old Austrian brewery — with plans to start serving the award-winning German-style Pilsner in SLO County as soon as this summer.

The brewing company is taking over partial stewardship of Trumer Pils and will move the lauded company’s U.S. operations from Berkeley to its own Paso Robles backyard.

“As a former Bay Area resident — and I went to Berkeley — I have a very deep and profound love for this beer,” Firestone Walker CEO Nick Firestone told The Tribune. “We entered into an agreement, started with a handshake, and then we crossed the Ts and dotted the Is and agreed for us to pick it up and carry this very storied brand into its next chapter.”

Trumer was originally founded in Salzburg, Austria, in 1601 when its brewing rights were first approved, according to the company’s website.

Its U.S. operations started in Berkeley in 2004, when Carlos Alvarez — founder of craft beer business, The Gambrinus Company — started locally brewing the pilsner after importing hops, malt and yeast from Trumer Pils in Europe.

Now, Firestone Walker is set to continue the California brewing legacy of Trumer Pils.

As the Berkeley brewery closes its doors, Firestone is also still in conversation with the eighth generation of Trumer brewing in Austria on how it plans to continue building the brand in the United States.

“I really do think of us as stewards of this brand,” Firestone said. “We’re picking up this next chapter — this small piece in the U.S. — and there have been many before us who have gotten it to this place. We feel a tremendous responsibility to carry it forward in the right way.”

Firestone Walker is set to begin brewing the pilsner in the early summer months, close to mid-June, Firestone said.

“For 22 years, this beautiful beer has tasted and looked the same, and that’s a rare thing in the world of beer where there’s a lot of rotation and there’s a lot of change,” Firestone said. “You just walk into any grocery store, and you’ll see what I mean.”

He added: “We intend to keep the lineup the same.”

For locations where Trumer Pils is currently being poured, visit its website at trumerusa.com for a product locator map.

Beyond its existing retail availability, beer will also be available on pour at the Firestone Walker taproom in Paso Robles.

This story was originally published March 31, 2026 at 10:00 AM.