We were fortunate enough to visit the Ziegelhof brewery in Liestal, Switzerland. With demolition and apartments planned for the site in the near future, these are probably the last photos to be taken of the buildings.
In the words of the Ziegelhof beer website [translated]:
The name “Ziegelhof” goes back to the old brick factory on Zeughausplatz in Liestal, in the burned during 400 years bricks for the construction and maintenance of the Walls of Basel. Must as this mid-19th century give way to the growth of the city, it lacks the “Ziegelhof” sometime soon at work – it is up for sale. Karl Wilhelm Gysin acquires it, it builds the brewery around and starts on 1 May 1850 the production of beer, which should remain to this day the most popular in the Basel area: Ziegelhof is his name, the characteristic facade with the distinctive Cambrinus turret which received the “Ziegelhof” with the conversion, his trademark.
After the acquisition in 2006 by the Eichhof brewery, which in turn was sold to Heineken in 2007, this brand stands for quality, brewing tradition and identity of Ziegelhof. Because under his new owner Ziegelhof is always brewed still the proven original recipe in Lucerne and continued to write on its over 160-year history.
The explore
So, it started badly. Three weeks before, my DSLR broke the shutter and I was reduced to a backup DSLR that was almost 10 years old and severely lacking a wide angle lens. But we had arranged access months before so I wasn’t about to let this opportunity go. After gaining permission, and a set of keys, to mooch around the site, we started in the office area, with paperwork and photos still left behind. Moving in the fermentation area, the tanks and control room were immaculate in its retro styling. Across the air bridge to the older building, we stumbled on some old brewing tools and equipment, before returning via an underground passage, with makeshift bars and empty rooms where chemical tanks used to be.
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