Stiegl to go green
Stiegl has revealed ambitions to become a “sustainable” brewery in the coming years.The Salzburg-based enterprise said today (Thurs) it aimed to use waste materials of its production to generate energy at the facilities. Speaking to the Kurier newspaper, the brewery also presented plans to switch to solar electricity production at the site.Stiegl, which produces around one million hectolitres of beer per year, pointed out that the majority of its resources such as yeast, hop and water were already coming from Austria.The brewery was founded in 1492. Stiegl has been owned and managed by the Kiener family for more than 120 years. Its museum and restaurant complex which also gives guests the chance to brew their own beer recorded around 55,000 visitors last year.Stiegl is neck and neck with Lower Austrias Egger brewery on claiming the title of the countrys busiest private brewery.News that Stiegl wants to make its production process more eco-friendly comes on the heels of figures revealing that Austrians thirst for beer may be drying up.Around 8.3 million hectolitres of all types of the brew were sold in Austria last year, down by 0.3 per cent compared to 2009.Long-term surveys position Austria as second in the world when it comes to the amount of beer people are guzzling each year. Only residents of the Czech Republic consume more of the brew with 154 litres, while Germans make third place with around 105 litres per capita a year.