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Privatdestillerie Hermann Pfanner – The art of distilling since 1856

A love of fruit and the passion for producing high-quality products from the treasures of nature is the motto of this traditional family business. The company was founded by Max Hermann Pfanner, who purchased the “Landgasthaus zum Hirschen” guesthouse in Lauterach in 1856. In addition to a small beer brewery, brandies and liqueurs have been produced here for the catering industry from the outset. Williams pear brandy was launched onto the market for the first time in the early 1950s – a speciality of the day which remains a flagship product of the company even today, accounting for 80% of the overall production. Pfanner is Austria’s largest producer of genuine Williams pear brandy.

The goal of Walter Pfanner is to produce elegant and pure brandies, a distinct intensity and refined balance with a character typical of the fruit in question. The ripe fruits are selected with care and some 500,000 kilograms are refined each year using a professional approach and the latest production techniques. The name “Pfanner – der Edle” (Pfanner – the exquisite) is no coincidence.

The range of varieties on offer – Williams pear, Williams pear with honey, Subirer pear, raspberry, apricot, fruit brandy, plum, cherry, gentian and rowanberry – are presented in a confident modern design, defined by their long-standing tradition. The first Vorarlberg single malt whisky was distilled in 2005 and presented in 2009 following three years of storage in wooden barrels. This addition to the product variety was a great success. New to the range is an elegant cigar brandy creation made from Golden Delicious apples and stored in Limousin oak barrels.

Pfanner ranked 16th among the fruit brandies at the World-Spirits Award as a “Master-Class Distillery”, winning two golds and three silvers. The innovative whisky was also awarded gold by the discerning jury.

Salm Bräu: Brewing and distilling in Vienna

One of the most beautiful brewery inns in the country can be found in a tract in the over 450-year-old baroque Salesian monastery next to the Lower Belvedere Palace. The company also has its own distillery and an inn that serves traditional dishes.

Company founder Walter Welledits discovered the property in 1993, revitalised the historical building, had a brewery built and matched the furnishings of the restaurant to the style of the building with solid dark wood and copper lamps. Beer of the best quality is brewed following century-old recipes, from bottom-fermented, typical Viennese beers to top-fermented wheat beers – making Salm Bräu the most easterly wheat beer brewery in Europe. Also following old recipes, two to three times a week, specialities are distilled from the best beer in the on-site distillery next to the brewhouse. Anyone who wants to know how beer brandies are made can make an appointment with the master brewer.

The beer is decarbonised and distilled in a two-hour process, whereby about two litres of distillate are obtained from 50 litres of beer. The addition of specially prepared water brings this to a drinking strength of about 40 percent alcohol by volume. During the subsequent long storage period, the spirit loses its edge, and becomes mild and aromatic with a pleasantly rounded finish.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Salm Bräu Bierschnaps and Salm Bräu Whisky.