Sommer auf der Bruuchalp

"We are already coming to Bruuchalp for the eighth summer from mid-June to the beginning of September. Life here on the alp is labor-intensive, but beautiful. It's nice that the whole family can be together. In our daily work, every member of the family has his preferences: Patrik and I prefer to collect the cows, Laura enjoys feeding the pigs and my husband Hansjörg finds it wonderful to make products that you can eat yourself. Above all, it is a confirmation if we can bring home a trophy from the cheese awards. In 2015, we won the day's victory with our Alpine cheese."

The Bruuchalp was built in 1983 and got its name from the vegetation cover of the alpine pastures. The Sennalp covers about 220 ha of alpine pasture. About 60 dairy cows and 9 – 15 pigs spend the summer here. The cows are all from Heinzenberg; mostly from Tschappina and some from Flerden and Urmein.

The day on the Bruuchalp starts early, at 3.30 a.m. is day watch. In addition to milking the cows twice a day, cleaning the barn and feeding pigs, cheese making and caring for the cheese is also one of the main tasks of the Älpler.

Bruuchalp products
Alpkäse, Mutschli (semi-hard, full-fat cheese), Ziger (cream cheese), butter, yoghurt and quark are produced. All products are sold from the Alp. In autumn after the alp withdrawal, the remaining products are distributed to the farmers according to a distribution key, calculated according to the number of cows and quantity of milk.

Alpine cheese

An alpine cheese is a cheese that is made from alpine milk and on the alp. Cheese produced from alpine milk in the village may only be described as mountain cheese. The special spice of the alpine cheese is given by the varied food that the cows are allowed to eat on the alp in summer. The variety of herbs and grasses makes the alpine milk tastier and is healthy for the cattle.

If you prefer the one-year-old alpine cheese even more recently, you can store it even further in your cellar, which makes it spicier. On the Bruuchalp, new taste experiments are always being tried. Some cheese variations such as .B herb, garlic, pepper and wine cheese are very popular. Other experiments remain experiments such as .B blueberry, bread clover and caraway cheese.

At the International Cheese Olympiad 2016, the Fiegls won two gold medals with their garlic and olive alpine cheeses and were awarded the silver medal with the Oregano Alpine Cheese. The recipe of the winner's cheese remains a trade secret of the Älpler family.