We are carrying out various remodelling and renovation work this year. Among other things, the beer garden will have a cellar. Therefore it will unfortunately be closed the whole summer. For all those interested, you can find regular updates on the progress of the work here.

After 25 years of peak operation, it is time to modernise the Trämlis building technology and make it more sustainable. The following work is scheduled for this year:

Fun Fact: As we would have disturbed the hibernation of our bear friends in winter, the work will be carried out over the summer.

The centrepiece of our new systems has been installed over the last four weeks. The new CO2 booster was installed with the crane. This powerful booster will be part of the ultra-modern refrigeration system, which will be used as a heat pump, cold water system for the brewery as well as for plus and deep-freeze systems.

With the refrigeration system, energy storage and cold water storage, the most important and largest components are in place and nothing stands in the way of a cool beer in the future.

The floor was then poured. Now the structural work is slowly coming to an end, which also means that the huge crane will soon be dismantled.

A lot has happened this month. The foundations and walls were first boarded and then poured. The formwork for the ceiling is currently being completed, recognisable by the yellow panels.

In the next few days, reinforcing bars will be laid on top, into which pipes for power cables and water pipes will be pulled. As soon as the floor has been poured, the shell construction phase will slowly come to an end and the interior work will take over.

For anyone who would like more details, a fortnight ago the Bärner Bär conducted an interview with Benjamin Kobel, the foreman of our construction site.

Two months have passed since the start of construction. The pit has been excavated and it's time to start building the cellar.

First, a layer of gravel is applied. This layer is 40-50 cm thick and serves to improve the stability of the ground. The gravel also ensures that water can drain easily and that no water deposits form under the concrete.

The concrete is then poured on top of the gravel layer, which takes about a week. This concrete layer is 25 cm thick and forms the floor of the cellar. The next step is to build the walls. These are also made of concrete and, like the floor, are 25 cm thick.

The hole that can be seen in the picture is intended for the heat storage tank, as otherwise it would not fit.

Construction work really got underway exactly one month ago. Since then, the construction workers have braved the rain and tirelessly lifted material from our beer garden.

The excavation is being carried out in two stages. In between, the walls are being underpinned on three sides (i.e. secured against slipping). The first stage is now complete and the securing of the walls is in full swing.

At the deepest point, we are digging almost six metres into the ground. A total of around 1,350 cubic metres of material is being excavated. That corresponds to 2,700,000 half-litre beer glasses 😉

During these three weeks, the construction site was prepared for the ‘real’ start of construction. All safety precautions for traffic and pedestrians are now in place. In addition, the necessary infrastructure for the construction site has been set up and the necessary equipment and machines have been moved to the beer garden.

Most importantly, a temporary cooler was installed on the roof of the Kesselhaus and put into operation so that our brewery can continue brewing seamlessly.

Now the excavation work can definitely begin next week.

Due to the hillside location and the difficult access to the beer garden, all the work had to be carried out from above. A concrete platform was first erected to give the crane a secure footing.

In the meantime, we have cleared the beer garden and prepared everything.

Three of our large umbrellas will continue to be used at the front of the Bäre Balkon. We have sold the remaining three.

Fun fact: the large wooden table in the centre of the beer garden has seen its best days and we are giving it to the bears to play with. It will be lifted from the beer garden into the Bärengraben by crane.

During the first six weeks of the construction phase, a photovoltaic system was installed on the roof of the tram depot and put into operation. We are proud that we can now cover around 10% of our electricity requirements with our own system.