In 2001 was built up the highest situated beer brewery of Europe and the first show brewery of canton grison. It is located in the old alpine dairy of Monstein, a little mountain village near Davos. From springwater in Monstein, swiss hop and malt it is produced on a innovative tradition several types of "Monsteiner Beer". The beer is distributed in the whole region of Davos and Prättigau (60%), in rest of canton Grison (30%) and in the rest of Switzerland (10%). Hotels and Restaurants, Bars and Shops sell the beer in the region. In the brewery there are produced other specialities like spent grains bread, meet of Monsteiner porks and cattles (who eat the spent grains also),spirituous beverage (like egg liqueur) and a special fondue. Together with the dairy of Davos it is produced a special beer cheese, which gained in 2001 the "Prix d'innovation agricole Suisse». Together with Davos- and Grison Tourism, the dairy of Davos, the RhB (Rhaetic Railway) and the mining museum, BeerVision Monstein is offering a lot of different program for tourists. Also seminars about beer brewing and visitation program.In the little village of Monstein, the little shop and the hotel/restaurant in Monstein can profit from the brewery.For brewing beer, especially clean water which is poor in minerals is an important resource for the production. The envolved economic sectors are: beer brewery, tourism Davos, tourism Grison, dairy davos, butchery in Davos, spirit merchant in Davos, baker in Davos, Hotel/restaurant in Monstein, little village shop in Monstein and farmers
Brewery, farmers, hotel in Monstein, Davos tourism, Grison tourism, dairy of Davos, butchery of Davos, baker of Davos, spirit merchant in Davos, community Monstein/Davos. Key person:Andreas Aegeter is a very innovative businessman from the lowlands, who likes the village Monstein a lot and decided to live there. The idea of the brewery resulted with 4 friends from Monstein to brew a beer for the Monsteiner party.It was just an idea, than a hobby and out of it resulted the brewery...
Objectives
Using the very clean water which is poor of minerals to produce local beer. Network with dairy, butchery, farmers and tourism in davos and Monstein. Appreciate monsteiner village
Activities
Producing Monsteiner beer. Developing product concepts with dairy, butchery, baker and farmers of davos. Sale strategies. Promotion and tourism. New programm: production of a beer and sale it to COOP, a big supermarket chain in Switzerland. The brewery stand up for the little school in Monstein by selling a monsteiner beer product with part revenue for the school
Process
Idea to produce a local monsteiner beer --> hobby: use of the monsteiner water to produce beer (at the beginning, beer production took place in the lowland with the water of Monstein). --> idea "our water, our beer" --> new water conditions in Monstein (no cows near the water...) --> election in the monsteiner village --> new brewery --> since then: marketing, promotion, networking, new innovative ideas with partners (e.g farmer has idea to produce with his eggs liqueur from the "beerbrand" in Monstein, baker produce praliné from beerbrand...)
Results
local niche production. Cross sector activities with dairy, butchery, baker, spirits merchant farmers and tourism in Monstein and Davos. Good promotion and public relation. A lot of sale possibilities in the region --> sustainable, traditional beer production. Name recognition of the mountain village Monstein increase.There is produced a sale volume of 903'225 Euro with a value added for the whole region Davos. 6 new added jobs results from the brewery. The project shows that innovative activites with a creative, traditional niche production creates a potential for regional sale possibilities, tourism attraction, attractiveness. It is just a little project, but makes it possible to increase the name recognition of a little mountain village. From the project profits also the shop, the school and the hotel/restaurant of the village.
Evaluation
Not directly, but it seems that Andreas Aegeter reflect and discuss critical the development of the project all the time. He also speaks with visitants and village inhabitants. Every Friday, there is free brewery visitation and a lot of discussion not only with the tourists but also with the inhabitants, who come for a beer to the brewery
Difficulties
The project was not hailed from everybody in the village. Some people were fear of noise, of too much tourism, of a new idea...! The problem is that sometimes now arrives postbuses with tourists who wants to visit the village. They like the little village and sometimes they sit down on a "private lawn seat" in front of a door. They make picknick in the village and feel very soon "domestic" in the little nice village. For some of the inhabitants, this is like a restriction to freedom. Andreas Aegeter has a lot of innovative ideas (e.g. production of sirup with alpine herbs). When he search the cooperation with the farmers in the village, they are sometimes very lazy and not interested in producing and cultivating a new product. For personal reasons some of the farmers don't like cross sectoral cooperations with butchery or baker etc.
Budget
950000 (Euro)
Financial backer
The project was budgeted with 950000 Euros. The brewery is a corporation. The shareholder are young and old people: some of the region Davos, but most of them from the lowlands in Switzerland or foreigners (tourists who know the region Davos)
