Swiss craft beer boom gives way to brewery closures

More than 200 small breweries have closed in Switzerland over the past five years, a 16 per cent decline, SRF reports, citing data from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.

After a craft beer boom that began in the 2000s, rising raw material and electricity costs, changing consumer trends and lower alcohol consumption have put pressure on brewers. Many must adapt or shut down.

Blackwood, a brewery in Porrentruy in the canton of Jura, is among those closing. After eight years, owner Maël Theubet decided to end the business. Although the brewery had succeeded locally, he said he no longer had the time, energy or passion to devote to it alongside his work as a tradesman.

Jérôme Rebetez, founder of Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes, said running a small brewery is no longer enough: brewers also need to be entrepreneurs. He believes a lack of professionalism contributed to the fall in numbers. Founded in 1997, his brewery now employs about 30 people in Saignelégier and exports around a fifth of its beer, including to the United States.

Large businesses have also failed. Online retailer QoQa launched its Qrew Beer brewery venture in 2022, but its premises in Bussigny, in the canton of Vaud, are now empty. The brand introduced about 100 beers in less than three years and overestimated the market, QoQa chief executive Pascal Meyer said. He cited high electricity and raw material costs and declining alcohol consumption.

New approaches are still emerging. A few months ago, Diane Hostettler and Fabrice Tournelle launched a mobile brewery that makes custom beers with customers, from recipes to labels. The pair describe the process as participatory brewing. Hostettler said they wanted to offer experiences as well as make beer, and to brew with people rather than simply for them.

Most of the roughly 200 closures in the past five years have involved microbreweries, but larger companies have also gone out of business.