No bottles, no distribution, and zero online sales. To taste Ga.Beer, you have to hike up to the Rifugio Lavarella, in the heart of the Dolomites, over two thousand metres above sea level on the Fanes plateau in South Tyrol. It’s here that Gábor Sogorka, the hut’s cook and now also its brewer, founded a small alpine brewery — the highest in Europe — where craft beer is made with spring water flowing directly from the mountain.
The story of the microbrewery
"My husband has always had an interest in everything homemade," says Anna Frenner, Gábor’s wife, whose family has managed the hut since 1912. "After taking a beer sommelier course, he began brewing beer for our family, and it was a great success. So he thought it might make sense to brew a bit more."
The turning point came in 2018: a particularly harsh winter forced the family to replace the old pipes that channel water from the spring to the hut, and tests revealed the water was of perfect quality for brewing. It was the sign they needed to take the leap: after purchasing a semi-professional setup, Gábor began designing the microbrewery together with his father-in-law.
Logistics
Space is minimal — just 25 square metres in the basement — and logistics are far from simple. The hut is not accessible by car, so the entire setup, from vats to fermenters, was flown in by helicopter and assembled on site, while the ingredients are ordered in large quantities and stockpiled before the start of the season.
Despite the challenges, the first beer was tapped in January 2019, and in 2022 a new 500-litre brewing system was installed, boosting capacity to a few dozen hectolitres per year. Now production follows the rhythm of the seasons: it intensifies in the weeks leading up to peak season to build stock and continues weekly throughout the summer to ensure they never run out of beer.
Production
The name Ga.Beer is a play on words between “Gábor” and “beer”. From the outset, the choice was clear: no bottling, no distribution. Only draught beer, poured directly from kegs, and served at the hut. “To drink it, you have to come up here,” they say. “And it’s worth it.”
Today, four beers are brewed: three staples — a light unfiltered Helles/Pils-style lager, a dark Dunkel-style, and a wheat Weizen — plus a seasonal India Pale Ale, more bitter and aromatic, made with hops grown by the Sogorka family themselves. The other ingredients follow a traceable supply chain: malt and barley from Germany, yeast and (except for the IPA) hops from Italy. All in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, the German purity law that allows only water, malt, hops, and yeast in beer.
Water, however, is the game-changer. It’s the same water that powers the hut’s hydroelectric generator, making the entire brewing process self-sufficient and sustainable. A beer made at high altitude, with local resources and clean energy.
Of course, technical difficulties abound. At 2,000 metres, water boils at a lower temperature than at sea level, and it takes time to fine-tune procedures. But through trial, error, and adjustments, Ga.Beer has now found its balance: a small-scale production with a clear identity, deeply rooted in the territory and the context in which it is made.
To enjoy it, you have to climb. But once you do, it’s not something you’ll easily forget.
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