Hürlimannbad & Spa

This guide to Hürlimannbad & Spa in Zurich traces a strange brewing rule kept in this same vault for nearly two decades: Samichlaus beer could only be brewed once a year, on December 6th, Saint Nicholas's feast day, using a hardy yeast strain bred by founder Albert Hürlimann. You'll hear why that single brew day set the rhythm for the whole cellar, what happened when rival brewer Feldschlösschen bought out Hürlimann in 1996, and where the recipe went next. The old sand-lime brick that once cooled beer barrels now frames the spa's own ten-station bathing ritual.