Beer in Switzerland: history, traditions and breweries
A small country with a lot of breweries: relative to its population, Switzerland has one of the highest brewery densities in Europe.
History
The Celts were already brewing beer in what is now Switzerland. In the Middle Ages the Abbey of St. Gall was a centre of brewing: its famous 9th-century monastery plan shows no fewer than three brewhouses.
For a long time Switzerland was above all a land of wine and cider. In the Middle Ages beer was brewed mainly by monasteries and a few town brewers. Only in the 19th century, with German brewmasters, bottom-fermented lager and the railway, did beer become a drink for everyone, and by the end of the century there were several hundred breweries in the country.
In the 19th century hundreds of breweries were founded, including Feldschlösschen in Rheinfelden (1876). From 1935 a beer cartel fixed prices and sales areas. New ideas had a hard time and many small breweries disappeared. When the cartel ended in the early 1990s, a boom began: 81 breweries were registered in 2000, today there are over 1,000.
Since 2000 the number of breweries has risen more than tenfold. Most of them are tiny: many brew only a few hundred litres a year for themselves, their family and friends. Switzerland is therefore considered one of the countries with the highest density of breweries in the world.
Traditions and drinking culture
In a restaurant you order a “Stange”, a slim three-decilitre glass (about 10 fl oz), or “une pression” in the French-speaking part. The classics are pale lagers, the “Lager” and the slightly stronger Spezialbier, “Spez” for short.
Homebrewing has a strong tradition: up to 400 litres (about 106 gal) a year for your own use are tax-free. Many of today’s small breweries started in a kitchen or a cellar.
Fun facts
- Samichlaus beer from Zurich was once considered the strongest beer in the world. It is brewed every year on 6 December and matures for ten months.
- Feldschlösschen still delivers its beer in the old town of Rheinfelden by horse. Its castle stable houses eight Belgian draught horses, each weighing around 900 kg (1,984 lb).
- The Locher brewery in Appenzell also distils whisky: Säntis Malt was matured in old oak beer casks.
- The “Ueli” after whom the Basel beer from the Fischerstube is named is the jester of the Basel carnival.
- In Switzerland a “panaché” is beer mixed with lemonade – what Germans call a Radler.
- Hops are grown in only a few places in Switzerland today, for example in the Stammertal valley in the Zurich wine country. Breweries import most of what they use.
Typical beer styles
- Lager
- Spezialbier (Spez)
- Amber and Märzen
- Wheat beer
- Craft beer of all styles
Beer cities and their stories
St. Gallen
The monastery plan from around 820 shows three brewhouses: for the monks, for distinguished guests and for pilgrims and the poor. The Schützengarten brewery, founded in 1779, is considered the oldest brewery still operating in Switzerland.
Rheinfelden
Feldschlösschen was founded in 1876. Its brick brewery building looks like a castle, and today it is the largest brewery in Switzerland.
Zurich
Large breweries such as Hürlimann and Löwenbräu once brewed here. Hürlimann created Samichlaus beer. The old vaulted cellars of the brewery now house a thermal bath, and the Löwenbräu site is home to art galleries and museums.
Basel
The doctor Hans Jakob Nidecker opened the Fischerstube in 1974. On 13 November 1974 the first “Ueli Bier” flowed from its tap – in the middle of the beer cartel era.
Appenzell
The Locher brewery has been in the hands of the Locher family since 1886 and is known well beyond the region for its Quöllfrisch and many speciality beers.
Chur
The Calanda brewery goes back to the Rhätische Aktienbrauerei, founded in 1902. Since 1971 it has carried the name of the Calanda, Chur’s local mountain.
Saignelégier
In the Franches-Montagnes, the Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes (BFM) has been brewing idiosyncratic, often barrel-aged beers since 1997 that are known internationally.
Lucerne
The Eichhof brewery has been brewing in Lucerne since 1834. It is the largest brewery in central Switzerland and now belongs to Heineken.
Stammheim
Swiss hops grow in the Stammertal valley in the Zurich wine country. In late summer the tall hop trellises shape the look of the villages.
Breweries and their stories
Feldschlösschen
Mathias Wüthrich and Theophil Roniger founded the brewery on an estate near Rheinfelden. The castle-style brewhouse became a landmark, and Feldschlösschen grew into Switzerland’s largest brewery. Today it belongs to the Carlsberg Group and also brews brands such as Cardinal.
Known for: Original, Hopfenperle
Schützengarten
The oldest brewery still operating in Switzerland is independent to this day and deeply rooted in eastern Switzerland.
Known for: Lager Hell, Klosterbräu
Hürlimann
Founded in Feldbach on Lake Zurich, it later became one of Zurich’s big breweries. Its Samichlaus beer became world-famous. In 1996 Hürlimann merged into Feldschlösschen; Samichlaus has been brewed in Austria since 2000.
Known for: Hürlimann Lager
Locher
Family brewery with the well-known Quöllfrisch and many specialities.
Known for: Appenzeller Quöllfrisch
Calanda
Developed from the Rhätische Aktienbrauerei, today part of Heineken.
Known for: Calanda Lager
Fischerstube (Ueli Bier)
One of Switzerland’s first small breweries, founded in the middle of the beer cartel era.
Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes
Small brewery in the Jura with internationally acclaimed barrel-aged beers.
Known for: Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien, La Mandragore
Eichhof
The largest brewery in central Switzerland. Eichhof has belonged to Heineken since 2008 and still brews in Lucerne.
Known for: Eichhof Lager, Braugold, Klosterbräu
Timeline
- around 820St. Gallen
The Plan of Saint Gall shows no fewer than three brewhouses: for the monks, for distinguished guests and for pilgrims and the poor.
- 1779St. Gallen
The Schützengarten brewery is founded in St. Gallen – today the oldest brewery still operating in Switzerland, and independent to this day.
- 1834Lucerne
The Eichhof brewery is founded in Lucerne – today the largest in central Switzerland.
- 1836Zurich
Hürlimann is founded in Feldbach on Lake Zurich. It later becomes one of the big breweries of the city of Zurich.
- 1876Rheinfelden
Mathias Wüthrich and Theophil Roniger found Feldschlösschen. Its castle-style brewhouse becomes the landmark of Rheinfelden.
- 1886Appenzell
The Locher family takes over the brewery in Appenzell. Its Quöllfrisch later becomes known far beyond the region.
- 1902Chur
The Rhätische Aktienbrauerei is founded in Chur. It is later named after the city’s local mountain: Calanda.
- 1935whole country
A beer cartel fixes prices and sales areas. Until the early 1990s, new breweries have a hard time.
- 1974Basel
The first Ueli Bier flows from the tap at the Fischerstube in Basel – in the middle of the cartel era.
- 1996Zurich
Hürlimann merges into Feldschlösschen. Today people bathe in a thermal spa in the old vaulted cellars of the Zurich brewery.
- 1997Saignelégier
The Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes is founded in the Jura mountains. Its barrel-aged beers become known internationally.
- todaywhole country
Over 1,000 breweries are registered in Switzerland. In 2000 there were just 81.