Põhjala Brewery

Põhjala Brewing AS
Industry	Brewing
Founded	2011
Founders	Enn Parel; Peeter Keek; Gren Noormets; Tiit Paananen;
Headquarters	Tallinn, Estonia
Key people	Chris Pilkington (head brewer)
Products	Craft beer
Website	pohjalabeer.com

Põhjala Brewery (Estonian: Põhjala pruulikoda) is a craft brewery in Tallinn, Estonia.[1] Its name is Estonian for "northern realm".[2] It is the largest craft brewery in the Baltic states[3] and the only one to be included in the Ratebeer "top 100" list of world breweries.[4][5] In 2019 the company had a turnover of 4.69 million euros.[6] Põhjala has a particular focus on porters, barrel ageing, and ingredients from the forests of Estonia.[1]

Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room

The 50 hl Rolec brewhouse

The Tap Room in January 2019

History

The brewery was founded in 2011 by four Estonian beer enthusiasts, who were soon joined by head brewer Chris Pilkington, formerly of Scottish craft brewery Brewdog.[2] The first Põhjala beer, Öö Imperial Baltic Porter, was contract-brewed before the company's original brewery opened in Tallinn's Nõmme district in April 2014.[1]

In 2015 the company opened its first bar "Speakeasy" near Tallinn's main railway station.[7]

In 2018 nearly 4.9 million euros were invested in moving production to a new brewery in the Noblessner Harbour area of Tallinn.[8] The average capacity of the brewery is 1,200 hectolitres per month, and 6,000 bottles an hour can be filled on a new bottling line.[9] The facility also houses a laboratory, shop, sauna and taproom with 24 taps.[1]

In 2019 Põhjala opened a pop-up bar in the Chinese capital, Beijing.[10]

Põhjala beers

Põhjala's best selling beer is Virmalised, an India pale ale which accounts for over a quarter of total production.[11] In addition to a core range of ten beers, the brewery produces numerous specials and has collaborated with craft brewers such as To Øl, Lervig, De Struise, Jester King and Jing-A Brewing Co.[1]

The Cellar Series is a range of dark, barrel-aged beers while the Forest Series uses rare botanicals and forest ingredients.[1] 70% of Põhjala's production is exported to over 30 countries, with the largest markets being Finland, France, the Netherlands, China and Italy.[8]

The brewery has been criticised for producing its Baltic porters using top fermentation, rather than the bottom- or cold fermentation often used for the beer style.[3] In 2020 Põhjala collaborated with Polish brewers Pinta to produce Baltic Pride. It is an imperial Baltic porter, featuring a blend of fresh bottom-fermented Baltic porter and barrel aged top-fermented Baltic porter.[12]

Core range of Põhjala beers

Name	Style	ABV	IBU	Hops
Tundra	Non-alcoholic IPA	0.5	20	Citra, Yellow sub, Spruce tips
Rye River	Rye Ale	4.5	35	Columbus, Yellow Sub, Hüll Melon
Uus Maailm (The New World)	San Diego Session IPA	4.7	25	Magnum, Galaxy, Mosaic
Pilky	Pilsner	5.0	25	Tettnang, Saphir, Spalter Select
Orange Gose	Gose	5.5	10	Hallertau Blanc, HBC 431
Kosmos	India Pale Ale	5.5	25	Mosaic, Citra, El Dorado, Vic Secret
Õhtu (Evening)	Porter	5.5	40	Magnum, First Gold
Virmalised (The Northern Lights)	India Pale Ale	6.5	50	Magnum, Amarillo, Centennial, Citra
Must Kuld (Black Gold)	Porter	7.8	45	Magnum, Goldings
Öö (Night)	Imperial Baltic Porter	10.5	60	Magnum, Northern brewer [1]

'Forest Series' of Põhjala beers

Name	Style	ABV	IBU	Hops
Nõmme	Birch and Juniper Ale	6.5	15	Eureka, Bramling X, birch bark, juniper branches, spruce tips
Routa 2.0	Lingonberry IPA	6.7	45	Magnum, Citra, Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Yellow Sub
Mets	Black IPA	7.0	40	Magnum, Amarillo, Columbus, Mosaic, Yellow Sub, spruce tips, forest blueberries
Kalana	Brown ale with vanilla and pine needles	8.0	35	Magnum, Centennial, Simcoe, Pine needles, Vanilla pods
Torm	Imperial Gose	8.0	10	HBC 431, Coriander seeds, Lingonberries, Honey, Heather tips, Himalayan pink salt
Porcini	Salted porcini porter	9.0	45	Columbus, Chinook, Porcini mushrooms, Himalayan pink rock salt
Port Over Easy	Port Wine BA Imperial Baltic Porter	10.5	35	Northern Brewer, caramelised Estonian birch syrup
Laugas	Barrel Aged Imperial Gruit	12.3	0	Estonian herbs, caraway, juniper berries
Forest Bänger	Imperial Stout	12.5	35	Columbus, First Gold, Rowanberries, Juniper wood [1]

Examples from the 'Cellar Series' of Põhjala beers

Name	Style	ABV	IBU	Hops
Sajand	Barrel Aged Imperial Rye Baltic Porter	12.3	40	Centennial
Öö XO	Cognac BA Imperial Baltic Porter	11.5	60	Magnum, Northern Brewer
Talveöö Rum & Bourbon BA	Imperial Baltic Porter	11.5	30	Columbus, Northern Brewer, Chinook, Toasted coconut
Pime Öö PX	Pedro Ximenez Sherry BA Imperial Stout	13.9	60	Magnum, Northern Brewer
Taanilinn Cognac BA (with To Øl)	Spiced Imperial Stout	14.0	70	Magnum, Goldings, Cinnamon, Aniseed, Orange Zest
Early Morning Regrets (with Jing-A)	Bourbon BA Imperial Stout	12.6	35	Warrior, Chinook
Rukkivein	Barrel Aged Rye Wine	12.9	45	Magnum, First Gold, Northern Brewer
Cowboy Breakfast	Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout	12.5	50	Magnum, Fuggles, Ancho Mulato chilli, Blackcurrant, Coffee
Porridge Bullet	Barrel Aged Multigrain Breakfast Ale	11.9	55	Magnum, Columbus, First Gold, Northern Brewer [1]

Tallinn Craft Beer Weekend

Tallinn Craft Beer Weekend is an annual craft beer festival organised by Põhjala Brewery, which first took place in 2015. It features over 40 Estonian and international breweries showcasing over 200 of their beers.[13][14]

Images of Põhjala Brewery

Põhjala Brewery in August 2019
Põhjala's first bar, "Speakeasy"
Noblessner Harbour
(Põhjala is to the bottom right)
Barrel ageing
Põhjala bottle cap

References

External links

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[pohjala-1] Pohjalabeer.com. (Official website).

[herald-2] Heraldscotland.com. Scot leading Estonia's beer revolution.

[gbh-3] Goodbeerhunting.com. The Baltic Exchange...

[4] Ratebeer.com. Best Brewers in the World.

[5] Estonian World. Estonia’s Põhjala brewery rated 57th in the world by beer connoisseurs.

[6] Creditreports.ee. PÕHJALA BREWING AS.

[7] Bestbarseurope.com. SPEAKEASY BY PÕHJALA.

[noblessner-8] Noblessner.ee. Põhjala Brewery moves to Noblessner. (in Estonian)

[uudised-9] ERR Uudised. Põhjala väikepruulikoda alustas õlle villimist uues tootmishoones. (in Estonian)

[10] ERR News. Estonian craft beer brewer opens pop-up bar in Beijing.

[11] Flavours of Estonia. PÕHJALA ON TÄITSA PÕHJAS! (in Estonian)

[12] Ratebeer.com. Põhjala / Pinta Baltic Pride.

[13] Tallinn Craft Beer Weekend (Official website).

[14] Culture.ee. Tallinn Craft Beer Weekend 2015.