Business · Companies · 18 hrs ago
More than 200 small breweries have closed in Switzerland in five years
More than 200 small breweries have closed in Switzerland over the past five years, a decline of 16%.
The closures follow a craft-beer boom that began in the 2000s, with the number of breweries falling since a record high in 2021.
Rising ingredient and electricity costs, changing trends and lower alcohol consumption are among the reasons businesses are struggling.
In Porrentruy, Blackwood owner Maël Theubet is closing his brewery after eight years, saying he no longer had enough time and energy alongside his other job.
Even a well-backed brewing venture can fail: QoQa’s Qrew Beer launched around 100 beers in under three years, but its brewery premises in Bussigny are now empty.
BFM, a brewery founded in 1997 that employs around 30 people, has adapted by exporting about a fifth of its beer, including to the United States.
Some new brewers are trying different business models, such as a mobile brewery that makes custom beers with customers; the sources do not say what will happen next to the sector overall.
More than 200 small breweries have disappeared in Switzerland in the five years since the 2021 peak, a decline of 16 percent.
Rising raw-material and electricity costs, changing trends and lower alcohol consumption are among the reasons for the decline.
Some brewers are closing, while others are adapting their business models.
Blackwood brewery owner Maël Theubet is ending his brewery venture after eight years.
QoQa’s Qrew Beer also closed after launching around 100 beer varieties in less than three years.
- Who
- More than 200 small breweries in Switzerland have disappeared; the article also describes the closures of Blackwood and Qrew Beer.
- What
- Switzerland’s small-brewery sector has declined by 16 percent in five years.
- When
- In the five years since the 2021 record year. The article was published on 9 November 2026.
- Where
- Switzerland.
- Why
- Reasons include higher raw-material and electricity costs, changing trends and lower alcohol consumption.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Switzerland experienced a golden age for craft beer.
The number of breweries reached a record year.
Online trading platform QoQa launched its own brewery business, Qrew Beer.
Qrew Beer launched around 100 beer varieties before closing.
- Decline
- More than 200 small breweries disappeared in five years
- Rate
- 16 percent
- Data source
- Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security
- Blackwood
- Maël Theubet ended the venture after eight years
- Qrew Beer
- Launched around 100 beer varieties in less than three years
What people are saying
Heute reicht es nicht mehr, Kleinbrauer zu sein. Man muss ein Unternehmer sein
Wir hätten kein Gleichgewicht erreichen können zwischen den hohen Strompreisen, den Rohstoffpreisen und dem Rückgang des Alkoholkonsums
Es schmerzt ein wenig, aber ich bin froh, dass wir das Ganze positiv abschliessen
Nicht für die Menschen brauen, sondern mit ihnen