Not sure in which activity category this fits – walking, dining, culture(?), or a new and separate activity – just drinking?
After yours truly had availed himself of a BuyClub voucher, back in the autumn, for a private group guided visit to the Calvinus brewery in Carouge plus beer tasting, he set about fixing a date for interested members. This proved far more difficult than he would have imagined, given the attractiveness of the offer. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that five beer lovers were able to finally settle on a mutually agreed date – February 26th.
That evening saw four of us, Peter D, Peter T, Stephen and myself assemble at Coppet station to catch the 17:41 Leman Express to Lancy Pont Rouge, the nearest station to the brewery at 51 Route des Jeunes near La Praille. Not having these beer lovers behind a steering wheel that evening was considered a prudent decision! A fifth member, who shall remain nameless, having forgotten the date, drove to the venue, arrived late, missed most of the brewery tour, passed on the substantive tasting (he did sip them all) and drank only the non-alcoholic beer.
Calvinus, the latinisation of Jean Calvin, one of Geneva’s most famous residents, was chosen as the name of the only brewery in the canton of Geneva in 1999. Although not exactly known for his riotous or even pleasurable life-style, but instead for his strict religious teachings, Calvin was apparently experimenting with the brewing process in later life:
In Birae Predestinas
“Shortly before his death in 1564, Calvin, who was already unwell, would spend many hours cloistered in his house at rue des Chanoines in Geneva. Strange odours would emerge from his laboratory and percolate right up to the foot of the ramparts. He was even suspected by his enemies of practising alchemy – a pursuit forbidden by the Inquisition. In fact, assisted by a former Trappist monk, he was learning the art of brewing beer. His doctors had forbidden him to consume any communion wine, so terribly did its abysmal quality affect his complexion and gnaw away at his internal organs.
Alas, one fine Sunday in May, a dreadful bilious attack put a premature end to his life and his work. In memory of Calvin, we, Les Frères Papinot, have resumed his valuable research. After countless efforts, we have finally succeeded and the Calvinus beers have been born.”
Our guide for the visit, Arthur Papinot, son of one of the founders, showed us round the small brewing plant and explained the process.
He emphasised the attention paid to using quality raw materials – malted organic barley, hop concentrate in pellet form, yeast and spring water – and the absence of artificial preservatives, stabilisers, or pasteurisation. The ancient brewing traditions are respected, although the equipment used is stainless steel and ultra-modern. Calvinus produces about 100,000(?) litres of beer of various types annually – blonde, blanche, ambrée, IPA, noir(stout). It is sent to Appenzell for bottling and sold to restaurants and shops and at festivals in and around Geneva.
The tour concluded with a tasting of five of the beers produced accompanied by a cheese and cold meat platter. The consensus was that all the beers were indeed pleasant but not outstanding. The stout was characterised by its distinct coffee aroma and taste. The price of beers has gone up during the past couple of years due to the Ukraine war forcing a steep rise in the price of raw materials and energy. After a rapid expansion in the number of small artisanal breweries in Switzerland during the past decade some are now proving uneconomic and are closing. We hope Calvinus will not be amongst them and so to show our support we stayed on and sank several additional glasses.
Poor old Calvin. He never got to drink Calvinus! (Neither did Mark…(Ed.)).
For more information, go to https://calvinus.ch/
Mervyn Powell, 27/02/2025
(Ed – PeterT)
I’m sure the idiot, whoever he is, who forgot about this and then had to drive to arrive half an hour late, will thank you for not mentioning his name. He’s a very sensitive type as you know.