Mikkeller is opening a craft beer bar in Zurich, giving new impulses to a market that has stagnated somewhat in Switzerland over the last two years.
For a long time, there was not much good news to report from the Swiss beer scene. Two much-loved breweries, ‘Trois Dames’ and ‘Blackwell’, closed down and others followed. The high energy and raw material prices lead to hard times for the Swiss microbreweries. In addition, it was and is virtually impossible to break into the catering and gastro sales channels dominated by the large breweries.
Small rays of hope
And yet: on a small scale, there were and still are positive things to report. Certain small breweries that are established on the market can and have held their grounds – I’m thinking of Dr Gabs, La Nebuleuse, White Frontier, Stadtwächter, Brausyndikat, Dr Brauwolf and Bierwerk Zürich, for example – and more and more of these ‘newcomers’ have also been accepted into the Swiss Brewers Association.
The positive development of microbreweries can also be seen in beer contests such as the Brau- und Rauchshop Beer Contest (bierversuche.ch reports annually) or the Swiss Beer Award. In the latter, for example, it was no longer just the large breweries that won the awards.
Mikkeller comes to Zurich
And now Fallstaff reports that Mikkeller, a well-known brewery from Copenhagen and, alongside BrewDog, probably one of the main drivers of the European beer revolution, is planning to open a beer bar in Switzerland, more precisely at Zweierstasse 124 in Zurich. What BrewDog failed to achieve despite several attempts, Mikkeller is now making a reality.
On the one hand, this is good news because Mikkeller will bring high-quality craft beer to Switzerland. On the other hand, Zurich-based craft beer bars such as International, BIERlab, Alehouse, Hafenkneipe and Bierwerk will certainly feel the new competition. Especially as the number of craft beer consumers in Switzerland is nowhere near as large as in England, Belgium or Denmark, for example.
But as the saying goes: competition stimulates the market. And it is to be hoped that Mikkeller’s market entry will give the Swiss craft beer market an additional boost.
Marcel
Mikkeller is far away from Craft Beer nowadays
jan
Thanks, well that depends on the definition of craft beer. As far as I know it‘s still independent. So that‘s the most important rule as per definition of the brewers association. And as far as I can tell the other criterias also apply. But I‘m happy to learn otherwise. Here‘s the definition: https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics-and-data/craft-brewer-definition/
Biit
Looking forward to enjoying great craft beers at that new place! I cherish every place that offers more than Schützengarten / Feldschlösschen / Heineken et al. and I especially like Mikkeller’s places – have never been disappointed (Copenhagen, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, …).