Home is where good things are created.
Oberkirch celebrates its homeland - be part of it!

Oberkirch is the Brenner capital
No. 1! With around 700 distilleries
with 21,000 inhabitants
inhabitants, the small town
pearl with its eight districts
the highest burner density in
throughout Europe. The year
Hundreds of years of distilling tradition
goes back to a decree of the bishop
of Strasbourg from the year
1726: In order to give the farmers a
additional income
enable - and themselves
tax revenues -,
he authorized the burning of the
since time immemorial in the fertile
cherries growing in the region,
Plums, civets and much more

Copper craftsmanship from the Ortenau region on television on Sunday

The SWR film team visited the coppersmiths Müller Brennereianlagen in Oberkirch-Tiergarten and filmed for a week for the series "SWR-Handwerkskunst".

The coppersmiths Müller Brennereianlagen, known for their handmade distillery equipment, will be featured in the upcoming episode of the SWR series "Handwerkskunst". The episode will be broadcast on Sunday, Sunday August 11, 2024, at 6:15 pm aired.

In Tiergarten near Oberkirch, the equipment for producing brandies such as kirsch, gin and whisky is produced. In the Black Forest, copper has been shaped, hammered and welded by hand by a team of coppersmiths, fitters and mechanics for four generations. In this special episode, the SWR series "Craftsmanship" sheds light on the skill and dedication of this exciting and particularly varied profession. Viewers can look forward to fascinating insights into the manufacturing process.

The show is hosted by the three brothers Sebastian, Lukas and Clemens Müller, who all grew up between copper and kettles. Their family has been building distilleries by hand for almost 100 years. This provides a unique insight into a great craft and gives the viewer an idea of how much tradition and passion it takes to be able to enjoy such fine spirits as Black Forest kirsch. The Stuttgart-based film crew led by director Lidija Covic filmed for over a week in late 2023 in order to show every step of the production process. The film shows the shaping, annealing and fire-hammering of the still, right through to the so-called marriage of still and water bath and the final assembly of cap, column and cooler. The series is accompanied by experienced distillers such as Klaus Zink (Obsthof Zink, Renchen) and Ludwig Hettig (Durbach-Ebersweier).

SWR's "Handwerkskunst" series regularly showcases impressive craftsmanship skills and traditions. Each episode presents a different craft, focusing on the unique skills and passion of the craftspeople. This Sunday at 6:15 p.m. on SWR television, this can once again be seen live by anyone interested. Genuine Black Forest craftsmanship that is one of a kind.

Turning bread into alcohol: Webers Backstube in Friedrichshafen opens a bread distillery.

A sustainability project by: Webers Backstube in cooperation with Müller Brennereianlagen, the University of Hohenheim and TTZ Bremerhaven.

The bakery of the future not only smells of delicious bread - but also of bread brandy, whisky and co. The first bread distillery attached to Weber's bakery in Friedrichshafen went into operation in 2024. Here, baked goods are given a new lease of life, as they are among the most frequently thrown away foods in the world. With the newly developed MÜLLER capping distillery, the old baked goods can be processed into either a particularly aromatic rye bread spirit or bioethanol for industrial purposes, depending on requirements.

Many other products such as fine whiskeys and aromatic fruit brandies are also distilled in the Müller AROMAT Still by Hannes, a famous German TV-baker, and his wife Blandina who is an experienced spirit sommelier.

The new Müller CONTROLS is being used to choose the preferred distilling recipe just by the push of a button. The fractioning of heads, heart and tail run is done completely automatically in combination with the decision on distillation speed and dephlegmator control. Using integrated mash and fermentation control, the entire value creation process can be mapped out in a central control system. 

The distillate is recorded in accordance with customs regulations using the official Müller VERITAS spirit counter and then collected in stainless steel tanks.

The fine spirits are sold in the shop or processed into cakes and pies in the bakery and confectionery. The alcohol from returned baked goods is used as bioethanol in the pharmaceutical industry or as biofuel.

The slop is sold on as cattle feed and the cooling water is reused. 

State-of-the-art technology, a sophisticated energy and heat recovery concept and the aim of counteracting food waste make this distillery one of the most sustainable distilleries in the world!

Press release: BSI News 17/2023

The new video from the "Maßvoll genießen" initiative is a cinematic journey through Baden's distilling culture. It presents all facets of the regional distilling culture: Sebastian Müller, junior manager of Müller Brennereianlagen GmbH in Oberkirch in the Black Forest, shows in the film how a still is made from a piece of sheet copper and how modern and aesthetic stills are manufactured with great craftsmanship and exported from the Black Forest all over the world. A few kilometers away from the distillery plant manufactory, master distiller Müller-Herold has such a plant in operation at the Grüner Baum distillery. 

Johannes Müller-Herold, tenth-generation master distiller in Oberkirch-Ödsbach, focuses on time in his distillery: "The faster I send a distillate through the still, the less aroma there is in the end product. That means I have to take my time and distil gently." When it comes to the perfect end product, plant manufacturer Sebastian Müller sees his part as modest: "The distiller has the main influence on the end product. We support him with state-of-the-art technology so that he has the opportunity to produce a perfect product. This is how high-quality, indulgent products are created in the region, which involve a lot of craftsmanship and work." The distilling tradition in the Black Forest region has grown historically and goes back to Empress Maria Theresa, who allowed farmers to distil their own fruit up to a certain amount. As a result, orchards have been cultivated for centuries and still characterize the region's attractive tourist landscape today. Distillers and master distillers also agree: enjoyment can only be in moderation, and background knowledge of the production process is an essential part of this.

Many ambassadors have already contributed to the "Enjoy in moderation" initiative, such as ecotrophologist, author, publicist and speaker Uwe Knop, anti-ageing physician Prof. Dr. med. Bernd Kleine-Gunk, MEP Ulrike Müller and star chef Nelson Müller. The video clips and contributions on the website www.massvoll-geniessen.de are intended to encourage consumers to reflect on their own definition of enjoyment. All of the initiative's indulgence messages can also be found on the YouTube channel "Maßvoll genießen".

"The two companies involved in the Genuss-Clip show how tradition, modern technology and innovation complement each other in the craft of distilling. We wish Baden's distillers every success with their application for the intangible cultural heritage - the art of distilling in Germany," says BSI Managing Director Angelika Wiesgen-Pick.

On the website www.massvoll-geniessen.de visitors can find neutral and comprehensive information on the topics of "alcohol, health, enjoyment and youth protection". Around 1 million users use this service every year. Since the beginning of 2020, a nutritional value database has also been integrated on the site, which provides minimum information on nutritional values (in kcal), fats, sugar, protein and salt for the most common types of spirits.