Oldest brewery in Switzerland: brewing beers and beverages in St. Gallen since 1779
Brauerei Schützengarten AG
St. Gallen · Sitter near WittenbachNew on Amplifa
About Brauerei Schützengarten
The Brauerei Schützengarten AG was founded in 1779 by Johann Ulrich Tobler as a beer brewery in the Schützenhaus in St. Gallen and is the oldest brewery in Switzerland. As an independent family business in the legal form of a public limited company (Aktiengesellschaft), the company employs more than 220 staff. It produces a wide range of beer styles – from pale lager to wheat and specialty beers to non-alcoholic products – using a traditional, gentle brewing process without accelerated methods. The value chain comprises the fully automated brewing process in the brewhouse, fermentation and maturation, filtration, and filling into bottles, cans, kegs and containers, including packaging and logistics with its own vehicle fleet. The raw materials – brewing water, barley malt, aroma hops (among others from Stammheim) and house-cultivated brewer's yeast – come predominantly from the region. On the Sitter river near Wittenbach, the brewery has operated its own hydroelectric power plant since 1895 with up to 470 kW of output. Sales cover Eastern Switzerland, the Rhine Valley and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
- Site
- CH-9004 St. Gallen
- Processes
- Beer brewing (beer brewery, traditional, gentle brewing without accelerated brewing methods), Fully automated brewing process in the brewhouse (mashing, wort boiling), Fermentation and maturation in the fermentation cellar (main fermentation, malt sugar into alcohol, Bottle filling and packaging (fully renewed packaging lines in the dry area 2022), Can filling (new can filling line installed 2023), Beer filtration (filtration plant), Power plant electricity generation (own hydroelectric power plant on the Sitter, 470 kW active, Yeast breeding and cultivation (brewer's yeasts in own cellars)
- Materials
- Brewing water, Brewing barley malt, Hops (aroma hops, e.g. from Stammheim), Brewer's yeast (in-house production), Stainless steel (vats in the fermentation cellar), Edelweiss extract (panaché), Aroma hops, Stainless steel
- Certificates
- ISO 9001
- Founded
- 1779
- Employees
- 220
- Industries
- Brewery, Beverages, Gastronomy, Retail trade
- 01
Raw material procurement (malt, hops, water, yeast)
- 02
Fully automated brewhouse (mashing, wort boiling)
- 03
Yeast cultivation and fermentation in the fermentation cellar
- 04
Maturation in the storage cellar
- 05
Filtration
- 06
Filling of bottles/cans/kegs/containers
- 07
Packaging
- 08
Logistics with own vehicle fleet
Raw Materials and Brewing Process
Brewing water
Low-lime, soft water is the main ingredient of beer at 90%.
Brewing barley malt
Selected brewing barleys from regional farmers provide flavor and color.
Aroma hops
Various aroma hops, among others from Stammheim, give the beers their character.
Brewer's yeast (in-house production)
Yeast bred and cultivated in the company's own cellars ferments the malt sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Stainless steel
Cooled, closed vats in the fermentation cellar made of stainless steel ensure the fermentation process.
Aluminum (cans)
Can material for the can filling line installed in 2023.
Glass (bottles)
Filling of the beers into bottles on the packaging lines.
Sites
St. Gallen
CHBrewery and headquarters
- Materials
- Brewing water, brewing barley malt, aroma hops, brewer's yeast
- Fully automated brewhouse (1994)
- Fermentation and storage tanks (2014)
- Filtration plant
- Filling and packaging lines (renewed 2022)
- Can filling line (2023)
- Automated high-bay warehouse (over 700 trade articles)
- Creative brewery in the Brauwerk restaurant
Sitter near Wittenbach
CHOwn hydroelectric power plant
- Materials
- Water
- Hydroelectric power plant with turbines (1895, fully renewed 2003)
Beer Styles
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beer brewing (beer brewery, traditional, gentle brewing without accelerated brewing methods)Other | – | – | – | – | Water (brewing water, low in lime), Barley malt, Hops (aroma hops), Yeast (in-house production), Edelweiss extract |
| Fully automated brewing process in the brewhouse (mashing, wort boiling)Other | – | – | – | – | Water, Malt, Hops, Yeast |
| Fermentation and maturation in the fermentation cellar (main fermentation, malt sugar into alcoholOther | – | – | – | – | Wort, Brewer's yeast (own breeding) |
| Bottle filling and packaging (fully renewed packaging lines in the dry area 2022)Other | – | – | – | – | Glass (bottles) |
| Can filling (new can filling line installed 2023)Other | – | – | – | – | Aluminum (cans) |
| Beer filtration (filtration plant)Other | – | – | – | – | Beer |
| Power plant electricity generation (own hydroelectric power plant on the Sitter, 470 kW activeOther | – | – | – | – | Water |
| Yeast breeding and cultivation (brewer's yeasts in own cellars)Other | – | – | – | – | Brewer's yeast |
11 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fully automated brewhouse | – | – | – | 1994 | St. Gallen |
| Fermentation and storage tanks | – | – | – | 2014 | St. Gallen |
| Filtration plant | – | – | – | – | St. Gallen |
| Filling and packaging lines | – | – | – | 2022 (Gesa | St. Gallen |
| Can filling line | – | – | – | 2023 | St. Gallen |
| Bottle washing machine | – | – | – | 1911 | St. Gallen |
| Hydroelectric power plant with turbines | – | – | Head of 13.5 m, water throughput 4.0 m3/s, active output up to 470 kW | 1895 (Tota | Sitter near Wittenbach |
| Refrigeration machine / refrigeration system | – | – | – | 1880 (erne | St. Gallen |
| Automated high-bay warehouse | – | – | over 700 trade articles | 1997 | St. Gallen |
| Vats in the fermentation cellar (cooled, closed, stainless steel) | – | – | – | 1954 | St. Gallen |
| Creative brewery (trial laboratory) in the Brauwerk restaurant | – | – | – | – | St. Gallen |
Additional services
Quality
The company has been certified to ISO 9001 since 1997. The beers regularly win gold medals at international competitions; since 2012, Schützengarten has been the first and only Swiss brewery in the club of premium breweries of Slow Brewing.
| Evidence | St. Gallen |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 1779
Founded by Johann Ulrich Tobler as a beer brewery in the Schützenhaus
- 1880
First refrigeration machine installed (renewed system 1896)
- 1895
Construction of an own hydroelectric power plant on the Sitter
- 1898
Renewal of the refrigeration machine
- 1902
Beer delivery with a steam vehicle
- 1911
First large bottle washing machine
- 1939
Foundation of the Arnold Billwiller Foundation
- 1954
Vats made of stainless steel in the fermentation cellar
- 1979
Commissioning of the new stacking building with modern packaging line
- 1986
New brewhouse with fully automated brewing process
- 1994
Construction of the high-bay warehouse for over 700 trade articles
- 1997
ISO 9001 certification
- 2001
Opening of the beer bottle museum in St. Gallen
- 2009
Introduction of the hefeweizen beer Weisser Engel
- 2012
First and only Swiss brewery in the club of premium breweries of Slow Brewing
- 2014
Installation of new fermentation and storage tanks
- 2022
Complete renewal of the packaging lines in the dry area; Brauwerk among the three best brewery restaurants in Switzerland (Gault & Millau)
- 2023
Installation of the new can filling line; Swiss Beer Award for Weisser Engel
- 2029
250 years of Schützengarten planned