Mützig, Historic brewery in Mutzig, France

The former Brasserie Mutzig occupies a long brick building with a yellow-brown facade, divided by vertical pilasters into bays of tall dark windows, the upper ones with arched brick tops. A taller square tower with a crenellated top stands at the right end. The building, nicknamed "the castle" for its architecture, now houses a business incubator.

Antoine Wagner started this brewery in 1810 as a small operation that grew into a major facility over several generations under family ownership. Production stopped in 1989 after Heineken took over through Alsacienne de Brasserie.

The name comes from the town of Mutzig, at the entrance of the Bruche valley in Bas-Rhin. Five generations of the Wagner family ran the brewery, from Antoine in 1810 to Roland, who died in 1997. The beer was sold from Madagascar to the Antilles, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, and many drinkers did not know Mutzig was also a town.

The former brewery is reached from the town centre of Mutzig, in the Bas-Rhin; the brick building with the crenellated tower stands at the western entrance to the town. Two buildings were rehabilitated in 2009, one nicknamed "le château" for its architecture, and now hold a business incubator and public services; a hotel occupies a newer annex. The remaining halls are not all open, so ask at the incubator before walking the grounds.

The brewery's name comes from the town of Mutzig itself, and an umlaut was added for marketing when the brand launched in Africa in 1987. Many drinkers of the beer do not know that Mutzig is also a French town in the Bruche valley.