As surely not everyone here is following me on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057098784409), I decided to publish my reviews of the Swiss cantons on this blog too.
Here is the first part.

Geneva – October 7 2022

After many years, it is time again to take a closer look to the registered breweries in each of the 26 cantons of Switzerland.
I had many options for the presentation order and chose finally to do it by the density of breweries, from the lowest to the highest.
But let’s first start with some definitions:

  • client (or gypsy) brewer: any business or brand that does not have their own physical brewery and hires another brewery to produce their beer, participating or not in the brewing process. Note that they don’t have to register themselves at the Federal Customs Administration as the taxes are paid by the producer. There are about 40 to 60 client brewers in Switzerland and the most well-known are Frères Papinot (Calvinus) and Amboss.
  • contract brewer: a production brewery whose part-time activity is to brew beers for client brewers. There are probably 20 to 50 in Switzerland, the most well-known being the brewery Locher from Appenzell.
  • “procrastinator”: a brewery which disappeared from the registration list during the digital migration of the Federal Customs Administration (November 2020 – July 2022), yet still appearing to be active. Some of them may have moved to a gypsy or homebrewer status (which would make the term “procrastinator” inappropriate) or – probably for the majority of them – could be too lazy or badly organized to register themselves until now. There are about 50 of them in the whole country and I do include them to calculate the breweries density.

So let’s go back to our subject.
With 17’500 people for one brewery, Geneva has – and by far – the lowest density in the country.
The explanation can be found in the structure of the 29 registered breweries there: while the proportion of amateur breweries at the level of the whole country is amazingly high with 85-90%, it drops down to about 50% in the canton of Geneva.
So for any reason whatsoever, homebrewers from Geneva are by far not as eager as their fellow citizen to appear on an official list.
There are also 29 breweries in the canton of Geneva (28 registered + one “procrastinator” – Brasserie du Plombier).
As far as I can see, it seems that 3 of them are inactive (or have a highly confidential production): Brasserie Urbaine Genevoise, Brasserie Artisanale de Beaulieu and Brasserie de Plainpalais.
Please note that I have already removed the brewery Totally Beer which very recently announced its closure.
The Google map of the canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1HBrBOeDDRLEnlAcSWjir8MrTwA0&ll=46.196526854884276%2C6.125374500000009&z=12
Twelve breweries are part of a cantonal association (ABIG – Association des brasseries indépendantes de Genève). The criteria for the members are to brew between 150 and 5’000 hectoliters yearly, to be independent, to brew at least 95% of their production on site and to commit themselves to use some ingredients from the local agriculture.

The oldest active brewery in Geneva is les Brasseurs (1997) followed by Brasserie du Molard (2000) and Brasserie des Murailles (2001).
The biggest brewery (this part is always a tough one, as most information can be undisclosed or outdated) is probably Murailles with about 4’000 hectoliters yearly, followed in a supposed order by les Brasseurs, l’Apaisée, Père Jakob, Chien Bleu and Virage. You are welcome to disagree and to tell me why as it will give me more stuff to work with 😉
Geneva hold the record – of course – for the westernmost Swiss brewery: Gotan.
Well-known client breweries include Frères Papinot (brewed by Locher), Minuscule (Cap’taine Mousse) and Vélosophe (Murailles and Hilsenbeck – Germany).
What about the best ones? I suggest trying to answer to this highly subjective question by looking at the two charts attached. One shows the breweries ratings from Untappd and the other one my own ranking.
Based on these, I would say we can agree on l’Apaisée followed by Chien Bleu (as well as we can agree on the worst two ;-)). And it also shows that I really have to put my hands on beers from Hoppy Pug!
Please don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite breweries from Geneva.
cheers!

Schwyz – October 17 2022

With 11’690 people for one brewery, the canton of Schwyz has the second lowest density, far from the country density (7’260).
Unlike for Geneva, the reason here is not the low percentage of amateur breweries as this proportion is in line with the country’s one. Could it be that the population is happy with the offering of the local giant Rosengarten (13th biggest brewery in the country)? I hope not.
There are 14 breweries in the canton of Schwyz, all seeming to be active.
The Google map of the canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1dSGluB-X-tY-q2nPlg_z-iVw6D4&ll=47.096478622209176%2C8.677405000000027&z=11
The oldest active brewery in Schwyz is of course Rosengarten (founded in 1872) followed by VIB (Verein Interessierter Bierbrauer; 1998) and Turpä Bräu (2011).

The biggest brewery is Rosengarten with 23’000 hectoliters yearly far out in front of Horseshoe Braui and Turpä Bräu.
No client breweries are know to me in this canton. Note that Lawinenbräu – offering hemp beers – was in Schwyz between 2004 and 2006 but they restarted their adventure 15 years later in the canton of Zug.
What about the best ones? I attached again two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.
Based on them, it looks like we have a winner with the brewery Ullr. But don’t miss beers from VIB if you got the occasion.
Otherwise, the overall level is not especially amazing, to put it diplomatically…
Please don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what your favorite breweries from the canton of Schwyz is.
cheers!

Ticino – October 30 2022

With 10’670 people for one brewery, the canton of Ticino has the third lowest density in the country, far from the country’s density (7’260).
Like in Geneva, the explanation can be found in the structure of the 33 registered breweries there, with a proportion of professional breweries much higher as the national average.
So here too: for any reason whatsoever, homebrewers from Ticino have less interest than their fellow citizen to appear on an official list.
There are 33 breweries in the canton of Ticino. Two of them seem to be inactive – Muscendro and Polar Beer Factory – and there is one “procrastinator”: Terra Matta (for the definition, please refer to the post on the canton of Geneva.)
The Google map of the canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1G-7EaiBGRUNm-erFce9SK8AJM8U&ll=46.14282534884587%2C8.769563999999995&z=10

The oldest active brewery in Ticino is Officina della Birra (1999) followed by Birra Bozz (2012) and Mómò (2013).
Of course, San Martino has its roots in La Birraria, founded in 2002 and then successively renamed San Martino, then Birrificio Ticinese (or Ticino Brewing Company). But after the bankruptcy of the brewery in 2016 and the take-over by Schützengarten, the owners “reloaded” it under a new name and a new register number.
I frankly do not have much information on the yearly productions of ticinese breweries. There are two candidates for the title of the biggest: Officina della Birra (2’800 hectoliters) or San Martino for which I have no information. So if someone knows more…
Behind those two, the third place should belong to Broken City or Sottobisio.
There is one client brewery in Ticino: Gottardo (2009; brewed by Rosengarten).
Some words about former breweries. The seventies and eighties saw the closures of important breweries in the canton of Ticino: Lugano (1895-1971), Birra Rosian (Faido; 1852-1972), Tognola (Grono; 1882-1973), Birra Bellinzona (1878-1980) and Birra Nazionale (1854-1981). Worth noting also is an early brewery of the new era: Osteria-Birreria della Posta (1999-2002).
What about the best ones? I attached again two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.
While the matching is not quite perfect, we can nevertheless conclude that a list of the best breweries in this canton includes Broken City, Sottobisio, St Salvatore and Officina della Birra.

And we have a clear consensus about the “less favorite” with Mómò leading ahead of Fin and Birra Bozz. Although they all are beaten by the only client brewer of the canton – Gottardo – clearly considered as the worst brewery in Ticino.
This canton holds the record for the southernnmost Swiss brewery with the Birrificio San Martino. [correction: after San Martino moved from Stabio to Bioggio, the southernmost Swiss brewery is Sottobisio]
Please don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

Zurich – December 14 2022

Zurich may be the most crowded canton in the country but with 10’030 people for one brewery, it only appears at place 23 by the density of breweries.
There are 156 officially registered breweries in the canton of Zurich. As many as 28 of them seem to be inactive and there are 8 “procrastinators”: Brasserie Keller, Brewdaz, Culina-Bräu, Full House, Güx-Üdiker, G48, Viking Brew Lab and Zobo getränke (for the definition of “procrastinator”, please refer to the post on the canton of Geneva below on October 7.)
The Google map of the canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1TaQqD2lYrym1om5EXRGnapgBcTM&ll=47.43013650119528%2C8.638152499999983&z=10
The oldest active brewery in Zurich is Wädi Bräu (1992) followed by Turbinenbräu (1997) and Herzbräu (started in 1992 yet registered only later in 1998).
Finding the biggest brewery of this canton is an easy call. Less than 10 years after its creation, Doppelleu Brauwerkstatt is clearly on the top. It is followed by Turbinenbräu and Brauerei Uster. There seems to be in total 11 breweries which each produce more than 1’000 hectoliters yearly.
Zurich counts at least 10 client breweries, the most important being S&A (in fact, registered as brewery), Amboss, tingel tangel, Welcome Stranger and Nubiabrew.
It is worth to mention some former breweries. First, past giants like Hürlimann (1836-1997) and Löwenbräu (1897-1991) – both taken over by Feldschlösschen – or Haldengut (1843-2002; merged with Calanda then closed by Heineken). Then some pioneers of the new beer era: Back&Bräu (in Zürich 1989-2007 and in Winterthur 1998-2001), Felsenkeller (1997-2008), Hirnibräu (1997-2014) and Hugi-Bräu (1998-2010).

What about the best ones? I attached again two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine. The correlation is not bad at all and we can conclude that a list of the best breweries in this canton includes Kwär, CCLXXI, S&A, Hellskitchen, Bierzunft Wehntal as well as two breweries yet unknown to me: einheitsbier and Braugarten. As for the “less favorite” ones, here are the names appearing on both lists: Harbour House, Brauverein Pfäffikon, Budken and Fahrtwind. One of them is the living proof that you can brew professionally for as long as 20 years while offering bad beers since day one… A rather depressive fact if you ask me.

Please don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

Basel-Stadt – January 11 2023

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is Basel-Stadt.
In fact, as things are moving pretty fast in Switzerland, Basel-Stadt is with 10310 people per brewery currently behind Zurich which we reviewed recently.
There are 19 officially registered breweries in the canton of Basel-Stadt. Two of them (Dolphin Dentist and Luusbueb) appear to be inactive and about one third are professionals, so a higher proportion as the national one (10 to 15%).
The Google map of the canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1xrj_fg-ehVXKNILAOAvgcdgLHFk&ll=47.564606471630086%2C7.6061754349999955&z=13
The oldest active brewery in Basel-Stadt is Fischerstube. Founded by Hans Jakob Nidecker in 1974 as a reaction against the cartel, it has been the first brewery to sell Weizen beer on tap (1977). It is followed by Unser Bier (1997) and Käppelijoch (2000).
The biggest brewery of this canton is also Fischerstube with about 8’000 hl yearly (yet about 75% are produced at the German brewery Lasser). Then comes Unser Bier (5’894 hl – I love it when breweries communicate so precisely) and (very probably) Volta Bräu.


The only client brewery known to me in this canton is the excellent Brau Rebel.
One former brewery is worth to mention: Warteck (1856-1991). Taken-over and then closed by Feldschlösschen.
What about the best ones? As always now, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.
The correlation is not so good this time. We first can deduce, that Brau Rebel, Käppelijoch and Matt&Elly are fighting for the titel. And on the other side, that Wirth & Sons, zur Grünen Amsel and Sankt Johanns Bräu should clearly do better.

We can also think that I should probably retry beers from Stadtmauer Brauer, Hopferdammi and Braubude Basel while Untappd users surely missed some good beers from Unser Bier and Volta Bräu.
Please don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!