There are countries in the world that have long historic traditions when it comes to alcohol. A good example is Denmark where there is a standing reputation for drinking and partying. However, when you get into more specifics like beer, Sweden and Norway definitely take the day. So we here explore the general beer industry in general and craft beer space in specific.
Farm brewing in Sweden can be traced back a longer way compared to other countries in the world. During these times, most Scandinavians preferred beer and mead, with the latter being the most popular. Most breweries in the country before the 19th century industrialization were family run.
During feasts and holidays, people would go for the strongest beers such as mead. On the other hand, normal occasions were reserved for low ABV beers. Subsequently, commercial lagers appeared followed by a few medium sized breweries. Within no time, most Swedish towns had their own brewery.
You may catch your next bottle of craft beer at Grand Malmö Restaurant
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Sweden’s Beer Market in the 20th Century
The 20th century beer market in Sweden was made up of only a few beer brands. The lack of liberalization was linked to Sweden’s strict rules for selling alcohol. Only the state-owned monopoly Systembolaget was allowed to sell drinks above 3.5% alcohol. As a result, the market remained fairly dull for the longest time.
Fast forward to the 21st century and the market became completely revolutionized by the emergence of the craft beer revolution. However, other Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Denmark had already experienced this movement in a large part.
In Sweden, the revolution began with acclaimed brewery Omnipollo from Stockholm. Later, other breweries such as Brewski, Beerbliotek and Brekeriet picked up the new trend in the country. Today, craft beer is a popular concept in the country with many breweries existing in the market. Each brewery is focused on producing innovative products to cope with the stiff competition in the beer industry.
Swedish Beer Brands
The beer industry in Sweden has grown significantly since the 20th century. Swedish people value their historic culture when it comes to beer. Hence, it is not a surprise that there are many small breweries in the country today. While in the country you will come across different beer brands. Here are a few common ones.
Stigbergets
The Stigbergets beer brand was founded in 2013 and is located in Göteborg. The brewery was formed as a beer supplier to a local restaurant. The founder is also the owner of this restaurant known as Kino. The brewery experienced a major milestone only three years after it was founded. In 2016, GBG beer week awarded their IPA as one of the best in the world.
Brewski
This microbrewery is located in Sweden’s Helsingborg. Brewski owes its name to a slang word for beer in some parts of Canada. Its founder is Marcus Hjalmarsson whose brewery interest was piqued after attending Borefts Festival. The Borefts beer festival was held in 2013 at Bodegraven, Netherlands by De Molen´s Brewery.
Subsequently, Marcus Hjalmarsson began his brewery journey by brewing fruity beers. He used fruits like mangoes and passion fruits because the brewery could not access quality hops. His mango flavored ale Mango Feber was among his most successful beers. In 2016, he was able to hold his own beer festival known as Brewskival. The festival was attended by approximately fifty different breweries from all over Europe and the US.
Beerbliotek
Beerbliotek was founded by Adam Norman from Australia, Richard Bull from New Zealand, Anders Hedlund from Sweden and Darryl de Necker from South Africa in 2012. They have stated that the brand’s name was inspired by the Latin word bibliotheca. It means a collection of books which also defines their mission. The brewery hoped to brew a huge collection of beers in Sweden and other countries. The company earned a reputation for being the first craft breweries in Europe to consistently use cans for most of their beers.
Brekeriet
Brekeriet was founded in 2012 by three brothers; Fredrik, Christian and André Ek. They initially started a beer import firm in 2010 to raise more money to start a brewery. They started with their headquarters in Djurslöv, in the outskirts of Malmö. The trio later moved to Landskrona in 2015. Their beer is fermented by wild yeast and bacteria, as in the tradition of lambic beers. This brewing strategy makes them unique in Sweden.
Spike Brewery
Spike Brewery was founded in 2014 in Göteborg by Martin Johansson, Mats Wessberg and Marcus Axberg. The three started out as homebrewers, before coming together to brew after their daytime jobs. Today, they own a brewing facility, with a capacity of 250.000 l per year, and a taproom in the Old Slaughterhouse Area. However, they have had regulatory issues in Sweden before. For instance, in 2018, one of their beers, known as Pornographic was banned by the Swedish Alcohol Monopoly (Systembolaget).
Nerdbrewing
Nerdbrewing was founded in 2015 by Hannes Gruber and Karin Carlsson. Using experience as a homebrewer, they started the brand as gypsy brewers. They later established their brewery at Malmö, in conjunction with two other Swedish breweries, Chad Beer and Lilla Ölfabriken.
Two years later, they hit a major milestone by becoming the Swedish brewery with the highest average in Untappd, ahead of Omnipollo. Their most acclaimed beers are Imperial Stouts, like the multi-awarded Indexoutofbounds. They have also developed an open source software for brewers.