Switzerland: Switzerland boasting highest density of breweries than anywhere in Europe

Switzerland now boasts the highest density of breweries than anywhere in Europe, with the Covid crisis a major factor in transforming the country into a beer hub, The Local Switzerland reported.

When it comes to food and drink exports, Switzerland is best known for cheese and chocolate. While Swiss wine has carved out a niche on the global stage, it is Swiss beer which has recently started to make its mark on the global stage.

In 2020, 80 new breweries were established in Switzerland.

Switzerland now has 1,212 breweries, which gives it a higher ratio of breweries to people than any of the other big brewing nations in Europe, including Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Belgium.

Just ten years ago, Switzerland had only 246 breweries, while in 1990 there were only 32 breweries in the entire country, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports.

The explosion in brewery numbers is a consequence of a change in the Swiss appetite for beer.

In recent years, the classic lager variety has gradually fallen out of favour, with the share of craft varieties growing by 43 percent over the past five years.

The change is a genuine example of quality trumping quality when it comes to beer consumption.

In 2010, the average amount of beer produced by each brewery in Switzerland was 11,000 hectolitres, while that is now less than 3,000.

According to Switzerland’s NZZ, only 14 breweries produced more than 10,000 hectolitres of beer last year, while more than 1,000 breweries produced less than 50 hectolitres.

While the variety of beers being consumed has expanded - particularly those made in Switzerland - the amount of beer each Swiss consumes has fallen slightly in recent years.

In 2008 the average Swiss consumed 58 litres of beer, with 55 litres being consumed in 2019 - the last year for which figures are available.

In 1980, the average Swiss consumed around 70 litres of beer per year.

This pales in comparison with serious beer drinking countries, with the average yearly consumption in Germany being 140 litres.

Wine still leads the way however in Switzerland. Of those who consume alcohol in Switzerland, 32 percent drink beer while just under half (49.4 percent) drink wine.

While anyone bragging of cheap beer in Switzerland might have had a few too many, for people living in Switzerland the costs are relatively affordable.

In addition to the high wages paid in Switzerland, the Swiss VAT rate of 7.7 percent is the lowest in the OECD, a 2021 study found.

Statistics show that Switzerland has an above average consumption of beer per capita when compared to OECD countries.

Just one in five Swiss abstain from alcohol completely, which is low by OECD standards.

The proliferation of new breweries is obviously welcome for the nation’s beer drinkers, but it seems that Switzerland is coming late to the party.

According to the NZZ, a major reason is Switzerland’s alcoholic drinks ‘cartel’, which meant that all alcohol was sold in standardised form nationwide.

The cartel “regulated sales, prices, quality, recipe and range of products for which the whole country was advertised collectively and uniformly,” with the result being bland, mass market beers in each of Switzerland’s 26 cantons.

The rules were so pervasive that even pub owners were in many cases restricted from choosing which beers they wanted to have on tap.

Created in the early 1900s, this cartel survived until 1991, when it finally fell. In typical Swiss fashion, it was even kept in power by a referendum which took place in 1958.

As a consequence of the change, it is now easier than ever to start smaller breweries, which in turn influenced the Swiss palette to move away from the standardised cartel lager and to more adventurous brews.

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