Brewed within the Lofoten Islands, Lofotpils is one among many small brewery operations in Norway. When taking the coastal ferry, it’s attainable to go to the brewery on an organised journey.
The Lofoten Islands are identified for his or her magnificence, and are thought-about by many to be the best of Norway’s pure points of interest. Bathed within the midnight solar, or with the northern lights dancing overhead, there are few locations I might reasonably be.
This magnificence has drawn travellers from all internationally, and impressed artists and photographers for generations.
Traditionally, the pure assets of Lofoten have contributed drastically to Norway’s economic system and cultural profile, most famously by way of the export of dried fish. However one other of Lofoten’s pure assets has solely begun to be utilised in recent times.
The freshwater from the mountains is a key ingredient within the German-style beer brewed by Lofotpils in Svolvær, the largest city in Lofoten.
Introducing Lofotpils
It is from essentially the most well-known Norwegian beer, however Lofotpils has its following particularly in and across the Lofoten Islands.
Simply as you discover Hansa whenever you’re in Bergen and Dahls whenever you’re in Trondheim, Lofotpils is out there all through Lofoten. The sunshine pilsner is the best-known product, however there are a number of others out there too.
Lofotpils has a brief however thrilling historical past. The primary brew came about in November 2014, with the primary bottling a number of weeks later, and the primary canning in January 2015. The primary kegging was for the World Cod Fishing Championships, in March 2015.
Lofotpils Brewery Tour in Svolvær
On my latest winter journey on the Norwegian coastal route, I booked myself on the organized tour to go to Lofotpils throughout the southbound Svolvær port name.
I visited the brewery again in 2019 once I travelled on Hurtigruten’s MS Vesterålen. Again then the tour came about on the northbound leg, however now it has been switched to the longer southbound keep.
I used to be eager to see how issues had modified. The tour makes the a lot of the comparatively brief keep in Svolvær as a result of the brewery is correct on the dock!
A gaggle of round 15 of us have been met instantly off the ship by Lofotpils basic supervisor Andreas. He took us round to the power and commenced a tour of the location, explaining a little bit of historical past and the way the corporate got here to be.
The power is small however spectacular, particularly the canning line, which has a capability effectively past what the brewery presently produces. Due to this, they will for different breweries when the road is free.
The tour ends with a tasting session of assorted beers produced by the brewery, from the lightest to darkest. That is, in fact, what everybody had been ready for!
Total, the tour is an effective mixture of leisure and schooling. The beer tasting is carried out with a very good clarification of the completely different traits of the completely different beers, and the explanation why they style as they do.
Andreas additionally shared the story of this curious bottle opener. It is modelled on a conventional fishing device used within the Lofoten space! How true that’s I don’t know, however it works nice as a bottle opener, a lot in order that I purchased one as a memento.
As for whether or not the tour is value it, I might say sure. I am a eager beer drinker and occasional homebrewer. So, studying how a small brewery has gone from energy to energy is actually fascinating.
In the event you’re planning a visit on the coastal route with Hurtigruten or Havila, look out for the tour on the southbound leg of the voyage. You probably have different plans, be careful for Lofotpils in a Lofoten bar or restaurant, or presumably on board!
Have you ever taken the Lofotpils brewery tour? Or maybe you are a fan of the beer? I might love to listen to your ideas down within the feedback.