Finding farmhouse ale in Norway

<< 2019-07-14 10:39 >>

Mug of vossaøl, in Voss

Quite a few people write to me, saying they're planning to visit Norway, and want to know where they can experience Norwegian farmhouse ale culture. Probably there are more people who are interested, but who don't write email, so it seemed like a good idea to just publish everything here.

The first thing to note is that farmhouse brewers are home brewers. They're not selling their beers, they don't have tasting rooms, and if you're going to see the brewery or taste the beer you need to visit them at home. That rather limits the tourist potential, unfortunately, which is why this list is as short as it is. Norway basically isn't ready for beer tourism, and farmhouse-style beer is not easily available here.

The second thing to note is that farmhouse brewing for the most part survived in remote regions where it was difficult to buy beer. That means you pretty much have to have a car to visit these places, and the most interesting sights are far away from Oslo.

Voss

Brewing equipment exhibition at Mølstertunet Museum

Smalahovetunet is a farm that produces the local specialty smalahove, smoked, steamed sheep's head. It's possible to order a dinner there, and be served local Voss-style farmhouse ale with it. (Web site.)

Voss Bryggeri is a modern craft brewery, but they brew several beers with kveik, and also a version of the local farmhouse ale. The brewery is sometimes open and serving beer, but it's a good bit outside Voss itself. An alternative is to visit Tre Brør, a pub owned by the brewery that always has beers with kveik on draft.

Mølstertunet Museum is the local history museum. Most summers they have an exhibition on the local farmhouse brewing, showing off a brewhouse with kettle, yeast logs, etc, and a collection of wooden drinking bowls. The museum is a really impressive old farm, preserved exactly as it was, in a beautiful location above the center of Voss town. I recommend dropping by there.

Nordfjord/Sunnmøre

Old house at Sandane Museum

The farmhouse ale festival in October is really your best bet for tasting authentic farmhouse ale and getting to meet the brewers. You can also get kveik directly from the owners. The downside is you have to come that specific weekend. (Web site.)

Kveik Training in Sykkylven is a business started by farmhouse brewer Sigurd Johan Saure, owner of kveik #8. They give courses in real farmhouse brewing of raw ale with kveik and juniper. There's also a tasting room where you can try their beers, and you can even stay the night. I recommend contacting them to make an appointment.

Sandane Museum has malt houses and drinking vessels, but without a guide I'm not sure how much sense you can make of what you see. It may be worth contacting the museum to ask what they can do for you.

Stjørdal

Morten Granås's malt kiln, with himself in the door

Morten Granås has a licence to sell his stjørdalsøl, so you can try calling him to see if he has any available. He might also show you his såinnhus (malt kiln) and brewery, if you are lucky. (Contact info.)

It's not, strictly speaking, in Stjørdal, but very much worth a visit anyway: Klostergården. This is actually an inn where you can eat, drink, and stay the night, on the island of Tautra. It's worth visiting just for the site, but the food is also good, and they have a brewery that makes their own takes on stjørdalsøl. They even have a såinnhus that they'll probably let you see. (Web site.)

(Update: Alstadberg was added 2019-08-10.)

Roar Sandodden receives visitors and groups on his farm. Roar has his own såinnhus, and brews traditional stjørdalsøl. He gives tours where you get to see the såinnhus and brewery, get a short talk on stjørdalsøl, taste the beer, and eat some home-made snacks. The whole thing takes 1-2 hours. Contact info.

Oslo

Brewing demonstration at Norsk Folkemuseum

The easiest way to find beers with kveik in Oslo is actually to go to the wine monopoly stores. The wine monopoly always has beer with kveik. This applies in most Norwegian towns, and not just Oslo.

Eik & Tid is not a farmhouse brewery, but they're a sour ale brewery that uses techniques and ingredients from farmhouse brewing, such as juniper infusion, raw ale, and kveik. Their tasting room is open on Fridays and very much worth a visit, because their beers are really quite unique. (More info.)

Norsk Folkemuseum is a large open-air museum that has several old brewhouses and malt kilns, and they also exhibit old beer bowls and other drinking vessels. It's a beautiful place, and gives clear sense of just how different the lives farmers led just 150 years ago were from today.

Elsewhere

In Stavanger I recommend visiting the Cardinal bar, which is still probably the best beer bar in Norway. They know what they're doing, so you can be pretty sure they'll have some farmhouse-inspired beers on.

Conclusion

It's not a lot, is it, for a country with such a strong culture of farmhouse brewing as Norway? Unfortunately, Norwegians still haven't really woken up to the importance of their own national beer culture, and so we're not really doing that much to make it available. At least not yet. Things are improving, so I'm hoping this will look rather better in a few years.

Did I forget anything? If so, please don't hesitate to tell me in the comments.

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