Brewery Overview
Schloss Eggenberg is one of Europe’s oldest breweries. Eight generations have kept it an independent brewery since the Stöhr family took over in 1803, though the brewery has been in operation since 1681. It is based in the region known as Salzkammergut in Austria, north of the Alps. Beer is deeply rooted in tradition here. The barley malt used in Eggenberg beers are local. They use summer barley from the Weinviertel and winter barley from Upper Austria, which are malted into the various types of malt after each harvest and then stored. Different kilning temperatures result in light and dark malt, which have different effects on the color, aroma and body of the beers. The malt used include Pilsner, Münchner, caramel and roasted malt. The hops are also local and come from farmers in Mühlviertel, a region close to the brewery with which they have long-standing contacts and good relationships. Only a few meters away from the brewhouse, three crystal clear springs emerge from a glacial foothill from the Ice Age. The purity of this water has been known for many centuries and is an important base of the Eggenberg beers. Today, Master Brewer and Sommelier Thomas Lugmayr leads brewing at Eggenberg. Together with his brewing colleagues, new recipes are tested, raw materials are selected, and constant quality controls are carried out with the latest technology. The Schloss Eggenberg brewery works with sustainability organization ARA to ensure that the packaging for the beer is collected and recycled in an environmentally friendly manner. Through this partnership, the separate collection and recycling of packaging waste in the ARA system results in annual savings of around 500,000 tons of CO2 throughout Austria.