Labietis Turns Beer Into Musical Instruments With Its Latest Wilding Fermentation Collection

Labietis is pushing the boundaries of craft brewing by transforming spontaneous fermentation, local ingredients, and artistic expression into a one-of-a-kind sensory experience. The brewery’s latest Wilding collection explores the connection between Latvia’s natural landscape and creative culture – featuring unconventional flavors and a collaboration that turns beer into a tool for musical performance. Through this fusion of brewing, sound, and visual storytelling, Labietis offers a fresh perspective on how craft beer can be experienced beyond the glass.

In a press release, Labeitis announced the 2025 spontaneous fermentation beer collection with musician and performance artist Elizabete Balčus.

Using beer as a musical instrument, they have created a unique visual story in which Balčus takes on the role of a Wilding fairy. The video work was created by cinematographer Mārcis Ābele, who joined the European Film Academy in 2026.

Wilding is Labietis’ signature spontaneous fermentation beer series, created using local berries, mushrooms, vegetables and wild yeasts which are captured near the brewery every autumn using the traditional coolship method. Inspired by Latvia’s northern climate and its deep connection with nature, Labietis explores local ingredients and wild fermentation to create beers that reflect the character of the Baltic landscape.

“We have never really wondered whether we are crossing any boundaries. We simply do what feels interesting to us, without thinking too much about what the public might say. Surprising people is not our main goal — what matters most is that we find the process interesting ourselves. This time, we literally dug into the ground, and the result was a chanterelle beer,” says Labietis brewery co-owner Reinis Pļaviņš.

The aroma of Chanterelle Wilding introduces notes of lichen and gentle wild yeast phenols. On the palate, chanterelles reveal their natural character — mossy, earthy and autumnally fungal — while the finish offers a subtle smoky character from the wild yeast.

While mushrooms are rarely used in beer production, Labietis chose chanterelles — one of Latvia’s most treasured wild forest ingredients — as the foundation for this spontaneous fermentation beer. The chanterelles were sourced from local mushroom pickers, turning a traditional Latvian forest ingredient into an unexpected expression of wild fermentation.

The 2025 Wilding collection includes six new beers: Chanterelle Wilding, Cucumber Wilding, Watermelon Wilding, Grape Wilding, Lingonberry Wilding and Hawthorn Wilding. This limited spontaneous fermentation collection is available in 0.375 l glass bottles. Chanterelle Wilding has an alcohol content of 6.7% ABV.

The collaboration with musician and performance artist Elizabete Balčus was born organically. Elizabete is a frequent visitor to Labietis’ taproom at Riga Central Market, where one day she was unexpectedly offered a taste of Chanterelle Wilding before its official release. Her genuine excitement inspired the Labietis team to take the idea further and create a visual story in which Balčus becomes a Wilding fairy.

At the centre of the campaign is a video performance where Elizabete Balčus uses beer as a musical instrument, creating a meeting point between sound and flavour. The video was created by cinematographer Mārcis Ābele, who joined the European Film Academy in 2026. Ābele is also the cinematographer behind the internationally recognized animated film Dog of God.

The 2025 Wilding collection is available on the Labietis website.

About Labietis

Labietis is Latvia’s oldest independent craft brewery, founded in 2013. The brewery is known for bold experimentation, using local plants, berries, honey, mushrooms and other natural ingredients in brewing, as well as creating spontaneous fermentation beers using wild yeasts.