Italy gets a taste of PEFC-certified beer

24 June 2009 News

PEFC Italy has announced the first beer eligible to carry a PEFC label. The label indicates that the product is linked to sustainably managed forests.

The beer, brewed by the Italian-based Gino Perisutti company, contains spruce bark ('Blonde PEFC Mountain Pale Lager'), mountain pine buds ('Grand Cru Mountain Amber Ale'), and Scotch pine needles from PEFC certified forests.

The beer was officially launched at the PEFC's National Member's Meeting in Geneva at the end of May. Antonio Brunori, Secretary General of PEFC Italia, said, "While non-wood forest products play only a minor role in forest certification, they are testimony to the passion of alpine forest owners, who also distil PEFC certified Mugolio oil (from dwarf pine). Moreover, such products offer great potential to communicate the value of responsible forestry to the public."

The two beers are brewed with yeast, pure spring water, pale and aromatic barley malts and wheat, noble European and American hops, fair-trade spices, and needles and spruce bark or pine buds from PEFC certified forest in the Dolomiti Friulane Nature Park, located in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy.