Hürlimann Brewery was a Zurich, Switzerland-based brewery founded in 1836. The brewery was of little note or importance, however, until it was passed down to Albert Hürlimann, a scientist and yeast specialist. Born in 1857, Albert had worked in several other breweries and took a particular interest in the yeasts used for production. By 1914, he expanded the Hürlimann Brewery to include a dozen breweries. The success of the brewery was primarily the result of Albert’s discovery of a strain of lager yeast that has a significantly higher resistance to alcohol than other brewing yeasts. Dubbed the Hürlimann strain, this yeast allowed the brewery to develop more potent beers in the years to come, including its signature beer, Samichlaus (Santa Claus), first brewed in 1979. The beer boasted a then-distinctive 14% alcohol by volume—at one time it was the strongest beer in the world. Hürlimann spent over 20 years working to perfect this powerfully malty doppelbock, which was brewed once a year on December 6, St. Nicholas’ Day. In addition to its beer, the brewery sold strains of yeast commercially to other breweries.

Although Albert died in 1934, production continued and the Hürlimann Brewery remained in the Hürlimann family for five generations before ultimately merging with the Swiss company Feldschlosschen in 1996. The Hürlimann Brewery closed its doors for good in 1997, the same year in which they produced their last kegs of Samichlaus beer. In 2000, Feldschlosschen was bought by Carlsberg Group, the Danish brewing giant. Also in 2000, the original Hürlimann Samichlaus brewers teamed up with the Schloss Eggenberg brewery to produce a batch of Samichlaus beer, and today they continue to do so annually.