Nature in a glass: Waldbier 2023 from the heart of Austria

2023-09-13 08:21:20

Federal Forestry and master brewer Axel Kiesbye present Waldbier 2023 “Ausseer Mischwald” – refined with fir tops and rowan berries – limited edition available now

Purkersdorf/Altaussee (OTS) – The mixed forest of the Ausseerland in the Styrian Salzkammergut is the focus of the 2023 forest beer vintage. The special main ingredients come from the fir and the tree of the year 2023, the mountain ash, also better known as rowan berries. “With this year’s forest beer we would like to draw attention to the species-rich forests in the Altaussee region. The fir and rowan, two tree species characteristic of the area, represent the colorful diversity of the Aussee mixed forest and play an important role in climate-friendly forests,” explains Andreas Gruber, Board Member for Forestry and Nature Conservation at the Austrian Federal Forests (ÖBf). The forest beer ingredients were harvested in the Altaussee federal forest district in a mixed forest typical of the region. “It is always enriching for me to see how incredibly many culinary treasures our forests have to offer. With the forest beer we have found a way to make the different forest habitats tangible,” said ÖBf board spokesman Georg Schöppl. The 2023 forest beer “Ausseer Mischwald” was presented. Rowanberry/Fir” in the cozy rooms of the “brick-15” in one of the most multicultural districts of Vienna. The multi-course forest beer menu was created by the Aussee three-hat chef Stefan Haas.

Intense aromatic forest notes

The young fir shoots – also called May shoots or fir tree tops – with which this year’s forest beer was refined contain a particularly high number of nutrients, are strongly aromatic and provide the typical forest note thanks to the light, tart, resinous nuances. Added to this is the sweet-sour, tart aroma of rowan berries. “The combination of tartness, distinct sweetness and creamy beer foam forms a very harmonious triangle of pleasure in the mouth,” says master brewer Axel Kiesbye.

The fir tree tops were added to this year’s forest beer brew of the hot beer wort just a few hours after harvesting in order to extract the valuable essential oils. An alcoholic beer brandy extract of rowan berries was then added to the forest beer while it matured in the lager drink. “Rowberries are particularly rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. This means that the natural, unfiltered beer specialty has a long shelf life and can mature in the cellar for many years,” explains Kiesbye.

Ausseerland: hotspot of biodiversity

There is hardly any other region in Austria where so many different natural habitats can be found in such a small area as in Ausseerland. “The Ausseerland is a true hotspot of biodiversity. In view of climate change and global species extinction, we are doing everything we can to preserve these irreplaceable habitats for future generations,” emphasizes Gruber. In a climate-friendly forest of the future, fir and mountain ash, among others, also play an important role. The fir tree in particular copes well with drought thanks to its deep taproots, which supply it with nutrients. This makes it an important tree for the future. Rowan makes a significant contribution to maintaining and promoting biodiversity in the forest. It is also a favorite of birds with its nutritious, tasty fruits. This can even be seen from its Latin name, Sorbus aucuparia. Aucuparia means something like bird-catching, and reminds us that the red-orange rowan berries were once used to catch birds. But foxes, badgers and rodents as well as numerous insects also use them as a food source.

Limited edition

The 2023 forest beer vintage “Ausseer Mischwald. Like its predecessors, Rowanberry/Fir is offered in a limited edition in gourmet bottles of 0.75 l and 0.33 l and is now available in selected specialist retailers and through the Kiesbye Naturbrauerei shop. The beer has excellent shelf life and can be kept for several years before being enjoyed.

Vintage beer in thirteen varieties

While in the first five years conifers – fir, pine, larch, black pine, spruce – provided the ingredients from nature, the focus thereafter was on forest shrubs and wild fruits such as alpine juniper, bird cherry, wood pear and serviceberry. The 2020 “Oak” anniversary edition was matured in an oak barrel from the Vienna Woods. With the forest beer 2021 “Edition Tyrolean Mountain Forest. Blackberry/Swiss Pine” began a new cycle in which the focus is on the origin. This was followed by the 2022 forest beer “Edition Wachauer Auwald. Real meadowsweet/silver willow” and now the forest beer 2023 “Edition Ausseer Mischwald. Rowanberry/Fir”.

To the history of the Waldbier

On the occasion of the International Year of Forests 2011, the Austrian Federal Forests released a forest beer for the first time with master brewer Axel Kiesbye. Originally planned as a one-off special edition, further vintages followed due to the high level of popularity, and the annually released forest beer soon became a fixture in the culinary forest year. The principle always remains the same: ingredients, harvest locations and forest knowledge come from the federal forests, the recipe for the beers comes from master brewer Axel Kiesbye and is brewed in the Trumer brewery in Obertrum (Salzburg).

Fact sheet – Forest beer vintage 2023 below www.bundesforste.at

Press photos under www.bundesforste.at

To the Waldbier video 2023

Questions & Contact:

Austrian federal forests
Andrea Kaltenegger, company spokeswoman
Pummergasse 10-12, 3002 Purkersdorf
T [phone]
[e-mail]
www.bundesforste.at
www.facebook.com/bundesforste
www.instagram.at/bundesforste

Kiesbye natural brewery
Dipl.-Brau-Ing. Axel Kiesbye
Tel. + 43 664 253 41 62
E-Mail: [e-mail]
www.waldbier.com

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