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 third part.

Thurgau – July 20 2023

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is Thurgau.
With 8170 people per brewery, Thurgau just moved behind Appenzell Innerrhoden, Vaud and Fribourg which I reviewed recently.
There are officially 35 registered breweries in the canton of Thurgau. As many as seven of them appear to be inactive and about 20% are professionals, so a light higher proportion as the national one (10 to 15%).
The Google map of this canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1fl5J_VM4FIqNO7X_UbBlcIEeGDw&femb=1&ll=47.55044405566288%2C9.074580499999962&z=11
The oldest active brewery in Thurgau is Huus-Braui (2002), followed by Brauhaus Sternen (2003) and Schenk’s Brauhüsli (2006). In fact, Frohsinn (in Arbon) – one of the first brewpub in the country – is older (1986) but stopped brewing in 2008 and their beers are since then produced by Huus-Braui.
The biggest brewery of this canton is Brauhaus Sternen with around 1700 hectoliters produced yearly. Then follow Kloster Fischingen and Huus-Braui with outputs near 1000 hl.
Beside Frohsinn, the other client brewery known to me is Komturei Tobel (brewed by Locher).
There are 3 former breweries worth to mention: two historical ones with Brauerei Weinfelder (1864-2006) and the Aktienbrauerei Frauenfeld (1904-1996).


The latter was by the way the producer of the first Swiss Hefeweizen. And the third former brewery I would like to mention has been one of the pioneer of craft beers in the east part of the country: Brauerei BeSte from Stefan Gysel and the late Beat Rohner.
What about the best (and worst) ones? As always, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.


The correlation is in fact quite poor and no clear answers are given. First, the top 2 breweries from Thurgau according to Untappd – Bögli Bräu and Brew your Mind – are unknown to me. And you, did you had their beers? Then, of my top breweries, only Bodensee is doing fine on Untappd.
It is a bit more obvious on the other end of the scale, as Brau-Schüür and Müli Bräu appear close to the bottom of both lists.
Please – as always – don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

St-Gallen – August 23 2023

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is St-Gallen.
With 7420 people per brewery, St-Gallen is the canton the closest to the country average and it is ranked fifth by the number of breweries.
There are 68 officially registered breweries in the canton of St-Gallen to which you should add 2 “procrastinators” (for my definition, please see the first canton review some months ago): biergarage.ch and Rock Story Brew.
As many as 19(!) of them appear to be inactive and about one sixth are professionals.
The Google map of the canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1JrQrs3M8YnpMZ_I-1wEwMs_qSyo&femb=1&ll=47.23756950118022%2C9.212733500000017&z=10
The oldest active brewery in St-Gallen is of course Schützengarten (1779), the oldest brewery in the country! It is followed by Stadtbühl (1858) and Sonnenbräu (1891). Note that there is a big gap until we can find the number 4 (Bier Factory, 2000).
We find the same actors as the biggest breweries with Schützengarten (165’000 hl; number 5 in the country), followed by Sonnenbräu (32’000) and Stadtbühl (6’000).
Two client breweries are known to me: HuM (hopfenundmalz) – brewed at Stadtbühl – and IdéeWil with their Thurbobräu being produced by Sonnenbräu.
There are many former breweries worth to mention in this canton.
Firstly, some historical ones: Löwengarten (1871-2006; taken over and immediately closed by Schützengarten); Burth (in Lichtensteig, 1844-1989); Wiler Hofbräu (1815-1983); Zirfass & Co (in Buchs, 1854-1982); Stocken (in Bruggen, 1784-1973); Bärlocher (Bütschwil, 1866-1973) and Bierbrauerei Gebr. Locher (Buchs, 1883-1973).
Then some pioneers of the new era: the Back & Bräu brewpubs (Lichtensteig 1989-?; Rapperswil, 1995-2005 and St-Gallen, 1997-2002), the Gonzen Restaurant in Sargans (1998-2002) and the Brauclub Altstätten (1999-?).


Anyone here remembering some of them?
What about the best (and worst) ones? As usual, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.


Among the best ones according to Untappd, some are totally unknown to me: Rock Story Brew, Speer-Braui and Brauerei Thurnheer. The ones we have in common are Foxbrew and BCB Bleisch Craft Beer.
We fully disagree on Seegal-Bräu and HuM …
The correlation is better on the ones at the bottom of the list as we agree that Stadtbühl, Sonnenbräu and Schützengarten can be named. Noteworthy is the unusual Untappd bashing of Sankt Josef with an awful rating of 2.54.
More details can be seen on the canton page from https://www.bov.ch/beer/index-Y.html#guide
Please – as always – don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

Neuchâtel

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is Neuchâtel.
With 6520 people per brewery, Neuchâtel is the first canton of our reviews having a higher density than the country’s average.
There are 27 officially registered breweries in this canton.
Only 2 of them appear to be inactive and 40 to 45% are professionals (a high proportion, almost as high as in the canton of Geneva).
The Google map of the canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1J5DrcMSFn0QvwNPINmD9nI9jsZo&femb=1&ll=46.995958170596175%2C6.846259499999974&z=11
No historical breweries exist anymore in Neuchâtel and the oldest is the Brasserie de la Fontaine (2002), followed by Bières de Neuch (2007) and les Brasseurs (2008).
Finding the biggest ones is more tricky, as I frankly do not know many production data. The Brasserie de l’Avenir should be on top, followed by les Brasseurs (~ 700 hl) and the Brasserie de la Fontaine (~400 hl). But I can think of a handful of candidates able to challenge at least the third position.
Since the closure of Bières des Minibulles last year, no client brewers are known to me in this canton.


There are two former breweries I would like to mention here: Muller (1862-1972) in Neuchâtel, taken-over and immediately closed by Feldschlösschen and then, la Comète in la Chaux-de-Fonds (1867-1974).
What about the best (and worst) ones? As usual, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.

We both agree that the Brasserie du Manoir stands above the fray! And further, we agree also that Bières de Neuch is close to the top. Then we each propose different ones (Untappd: Brasserie du Groin, la Vouivre and Bière d’Oz and for my part: Celestial and Littoral Neuchâtelois).
The correlation is quite good at the bottom of the list, where les Brasseurs, Brasserie des Fées, Tonneau Joyeux and Brasserie de la Fontaine can be found.
More details can be seen on the canton page from https://www.bov.ch/beer/index-Y.html#guide
Please – as always – don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

Luzern – October 9 2023

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is Lucerne.
With 6460 people per brewery, Lucerne shows up in 12th position.
There are 64 officially registered breweries in this canton.
As many as 12 appear to be inactive while one fourth are professionals.
The Google map of this canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=13WjPVK_luBYx-rAcyNlfMaFJspk&femb=1&ll=47.08825190474114%2C8.182442000000005&z=10
The oldest brewery in canton Lucerne is of course Eichhof (1834), followed by Ramseier (1963) and the Rathausbrauerei Luzern (1998).
Concerning the biggest breweries, Ramseier – the fourth biggest company in the country with 325’000 hectoliters – should come first, followed by Eichhof (for which I don’t have production numbers) and Brauerei Luzern (2’300 hl).
Two client breweries are known to me. Hochdorfer Bier brewed by Felsenau (the revival of a brand which disappeared with the closure of the Brauerei Hochdorf in 1992) and Stadtkeller Luzern which brewed itself between 2011-2017 and then outsourced the production to the Rathaus Brauerei.
Besides the aforementioned Brauerei Hochdorf (1880-1992) there are two former breweries I would like to mention here.
First, a brewery which was active during a very unusual period (1978 to 1994): Fiz-Bier. I have barely any info on it, not even its register number (61) could be officially confirmed.
Then one of the pioneer of the new era, Brauerei Seetal (1997 – 2022), a recent victim of the now classical combo covid-inflation-local competitors.


What about the best (and worst) ones? As usual, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.
Concerning the best ones, I have to confess that the top 5 from Untappd are totally unknown to me: Heimelig Bier, Maihof Luzern, Mosaic Brew, Rotbach Crafts and Sport Rock. So I have work to do in this canton!


Please note that if Heimelig Bier can maintain its average rating of 4.53 for the next 864 check-ins, then it will rank as second best brewery worldwide…So either this brewery is really world class or it has a bunch of dedicated lobbyists 😉 Or maybe it’s a bit of both.
The correlation is much better for the bottom of the list, where Ramseier, Eichhof and Stadtpfütze Luzern are present.
More details can be seen on the canton page from https://www.bov.ch/beer/index-Y.html#guide
Please – as always – don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

Uri – October 12 2023

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is Uri.
With 6170 people per brewery, Uri shows up in 11th position by density and is third last by the number of breweries (only Appenzell Innerhoden and Glarus count less)
There are 5 officially registered breweries in this canton to which one can add one “procrastinator” (Brutus Brew). Maybe, should I write, because it is well possible that this brewery is no more active nowadays.
The Google map of this canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1W-InMVf4LI2Kl9FobYV3pyms-T0&femb=1&ll=46.868106935631964%2C8.606172000000027&z=12
The oldest brewery in canton Uri is Stiär Biär (2005), followed by AnderThaler (2016) and BIERURI (2017).
Stiär Biär is also the biggest brewery (943 hectoliters per year – what a precision ;-)) followed probably by AnderThaler and BIERURI (no clue in which order and with how many hl)
No client breweries are known to me in this canton.


There are also no former breweries to mention, as Uri had apparently during a very long period (1911 to 2005) no breweries at all.
What about the best (and worst) ones? As usual, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.


The #1 on Untappd (Boge) is unknown to me but we both agree that Brutus Brew is near to the top. And we also agree that Stiär Biär is on the bottom.
More details can be seen on the canton page from https://www.bov.ch/beer/index-Y.html#guide
Please – as always – don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

Aargau – November 7 2023

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is Aargau.
With 5960 people per brewery, Aargau shows up in 10th position. And with 118 registered breweries, it is the third Swiss canton with the most breweries behind Bern and Zurich.
As many as 25 (21% !) appear to be inactive while about one fifth are professionals.
The Google map of this canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1zknCCfw7bFHnY8YVrwxUDvEkaeM&femb=1&ll=47.433674356036384%2C8.057540499999982&z=10
The oldest brewery in canton Aargau is Feldschlösschen (1876), followed by Müller (1897) and Biberbräu (1996 – by the way, the oldest Swiss brewery in activity from which I never had the chance to taste a beer!)
Concerning the biggest breweries, the Swiss giant Feldschlösschen comes of course first. I am not in the secret of the gods, but my estimation for the production in Rheinfelden is about 1’300’000 hectoliters. Feel free to correct me!
The second biggest brewery is Müller. But it must be noted that most of their beers (about 30’000 hl) are brewed at Falken since 2021 while their new brewpub (November 2022) in Baden is probably producing about 2’000 hl. As number 3 comes Erusbacher & Paul with 6’200 hl.
Only one client brewer is known to me: Barkracher, brewed by Rosengarten.
There are some former breweries worth to mention.


First, some historical ones which some of you may have known (provided that you are older than me…): Klosterbrauerei Zofingen (1862-1970), Salmenbräu (1799-1978) and Falkenbräu (1850-1979).
Then three of the pioneers of the new era, Richie Bräu (1995-2012), Husbierbräu Eiken (1997-2015) and Hansibräu (1999-2020).
What about the best (and worst) ones? As usual, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.


Some consensus can be found about the following breweries belonging to the best ones: Reinecke Bräu, Aabachbier (yet inactive), MashBrothers, Degenbier and Malz Maul.
Then, additionaly, Untappd praises the Biermanufaktur Bahnhof Aarau, Super Brew Bros. and Braufabrik Baden, all three breweries being unknown to my palate.
On my side, I would like to add NordSud and Fluid Studies to the list of the best ones (as I have tried only one beer from Hektor Bier and Doppeldrü, it is a bit premature to make any conclusion for now).
At the bottom of both scales, we can meet Feldschlösschen, Müller, Beni’s Bräu and Steinlibräu 24. Moreover, the Untappd users have real problems to appreciate Munk Bräu, Sudkeller and Verein Woogbrauer Aarburg…
More details can be seen on the canton page from https://www.bov.ch/beer/index-Y.html#guide
Please – as always – don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!

Solothurn – December 8 2023

The next canton on our list (sorted by the density of breweries per capita – from the lowest to the highest) is Solothurn.
With 6230 people per brewery, Solothurn shows up in 11th position (just moved behind Aarau and Uri which I reviewed some weeks earlier).
As many as 15 (33% !) appear to be inactive while about only 10% are professionals.
The Google map of this canton can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1YO-VFIMyZEZIUg7WTNs2XxLcp24&femb=1&ll=47.305342031190946%2C7.695019000000025&z=10
The oldest brewery in canton Solothurn is the Bierbrauclub Chlepfimoos (1998 – in fact probably inactive nowadays), followed by Öufi (2000) and Granicum (2005).
Concerning the biggest breweries, Öufi comes first with about 4000 hl yearly, followed by Drei Tannen and Chastelbach (but no clue in which order, as the numbers I have are pretty outdated).
Three client brewers are known to me: Ackermann (a hops producer – the beers are brewed by Locher and Unser Bier); Buechibärgerbier (a former brewpub closed in 2020; the beers are brewed nowadays by Felsenau) and Wyssestei Bier (brewed by Locher).
There are some former breweries worth to mention.

First, an historical one: Karbacher (1886-2009; Schönenwerd). One of their beers – Köhler Bier – is still on the market as the rights are possessed by Barkracher, a client brewer producing in Rosengarten.
Then two of the pioneers of the new era: Altreu (1999-date of closure unknown) and Wittich (one of the main beer import company in the country which has been registered as a brewery between 1998 and 2013).


What about the best (and worst) ones? As usual, I attached two charts, one with the Untappd ratings and the other with mine.
A good consensus can be found about the following breweries belonging to the best ones: 4655 Brewing Company, Bäramsle-Bier and Tucho Brew. The Untappd users are praising also the quality of Hasenbräu, a brewery unknown to my palate for now.


Note that with an amazing rating of 4.4, the 4655 Brewing Company could well become country’s number one on Untappd as soon as they get 302 more check-ins.
At the bottom of both scales, we can find Schöpfli Bräu and Granicum. Additionally, Oberdörfer Chäuerbräu is performing quite badly on Untappd while for my part, I really don’t like Aurum.
More details can be seen on the canton page from https://www.bov.ch/beer/index-Y.html#guide
Please – as always – don’t hesitate to comment, to disagree or just to tell me what is your favorite brewery from this canton.
cheers!