{"id":6677,"date":"2019-11-17T21:58:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T03:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planesintheair.com\/?p=6677"},"modified":"2019-11-17T21:58:43","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T03:58:43","slug":"a-brewery-tour-of-iceland-30-years-after-the-end-of-the-beer-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/?p=6677","title":{"rendered":"A brewery Tour of Iceland, 30 Years After the End of the Beer Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From horseback riding to cave diving, puffin watching to hot spring soaking, Iceland has turned itself into a popular vacation destination. Until fairly recently however, beer tourists didn\u2019t have much to entice them to this island nation in the North Atlantic. In fact, 2019 marks only 30 years since Iceland legalized the sale and consumption of beer with over 2.25% alcohol, ending nearly eight decades of a curious and narrowly defined type of prohibition. Things have changed considerably however, particularly in the last few years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first Icelandic craft brewery,\u00a0Bruggsmi\u00f0jan<\/a>, which produces the popular Kaldi, didn\u2019t open until 2006, and as recently as 2015 there were only seven small breweries nationwide. Today, nearly 30 beer companies dot the countryside, with the highest concentration in greater Reykjav\u00edk. There\u2019s trendy\u00a0KEX Brewing<\/a>\u00a0in the capital city, which just opened its second location in Portland, Oregon;\u00a0\u00d6lverk Pizza and Brewery<\/a>\u00a0in the South, where the brewhouse is powered by geothermal energy;\u00a0Bruggh\u00fas Ste\u00f0ja<\/a>, which gained publicity by making beers with unusual ingredients including smoked whale testicles; and\u00a0Lady Brewery<\/a>, one of the newer brands in Iceland, started by two young women in a home kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00d6lverk Pizza and Brewery in Hverager\u00f0i.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe culture has changed so fast,\u201d says Valgeir Valgeirsson, head brewer at RVK Brewing Company<\/a> in central Reykjav\u00edk. \u201c[Craft beer] is quite a new concept. We\u2019re just trying to build it up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten taps greet visitors to RVK, along with a British beer engine, traditionally used to serve cask ales. Here, in an unassuming taproom overlooking the brewery\u2019s stainless steel fermentation tanks, those with adventurous palates can try everything from a juicy, easy-drinking pale ale with notes of tropical fruit, to a boldly flavored, high-alcohol stout made with coffee and coconut. Creativity is king in this new era of brewing, with the sky as the limit. Valgeir and a number of other brewers around the country have even made sour beers by incorporating skyr<\/em>, an Icelandic cultured dairy product, into their recipes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, more than 230 miles (370 km) away in the small but scenic fishing village of Siglufj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, Marteinn Haraldsson is the proud owner of the country\u2019s northernmost brewery,\u00a0Segull 67<\/a>. Marteinn, a computer scientist who grew up in town but lives in Akureyri, learned the basics one homebrew recipe at a time, but now produces much larger batches in a former fish-freezing factory a short distance from the popular Herring Era Museum. An amber lager simply called Original and Sigl\u00f3, an India pale ale, sell best, but Marteinn also makes a Belgian-style wheat beer with coriander and lime peel and a pineapple summer ale\u2014not exactly options you would have had in Iceland as recently as a few years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Segull 67’s S\u00f3lstingur, brewed with pineapple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For all of the tourists that arrive in Siglufj\u00f6r\u00f0ur via cruise ship during the summer months, Marteinn talks about the obstacles to being\u00a0 a little business in a remote town of 1,200. \u201cMost of our challenges are getting people to know about us,\u201d he says. \u201cWe just try to take it one day at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East of Reykjav\u00edk, in the town of Hverager\u00f0i, \u00d6lverk Pizza and Brewery has successfully gained attention since opening its doors in 2017, by combining complementary passions: wood-fired pizza, and craft brewing. General manager Laufey Sif L\u00e1rusd\u00f3ttir and her partner head brewer Elvar \u00derastarson don\u2019t currently can or bottle any of the beers they make, preferring to serve them on premise by\u00a0the glass, pitcher, or tasting flight. Working on a small system enables Elvar to keep the draft list varied and interesting, tempting taste buds with a mild, malty, and food-friendly Altbier alongside a hazy, hoppy, party-in-a-glass imperial IPA like Disco Juice. The couple also typically devotes two of their eight taps to other small Icelandic breweries they admire, like\u00a0\u00d6lvisholt<\/a>\u00a0in Selfoss or\u00a0The Brothers Brewery<\/a>\u00a0on Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cheese-stuffed breadsticks at \u00d6lverk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really small and friendly,\u201d says Laufey  of the young Icelandic beer scene. \u201cFor other industries it\u2019s really weird. But if someone else opened up a brewery here I would say \u2018Okay,  I will be better.\u2019\u201d \u00d3lafur \u00c1g\u00fastsson, one of the partners behind KEX Brewing, echoes this sense of camaraderie, and explains how a desire to build and promote interest in craft brewing motivated the company to begin hosting an annual Icelandic Beer Festival<\/a> at KEX\u2019s four-story space in downtown Reykjav\u00edk eight years ago. Last year more than a dozen Icelandic brewers poured their ales and lagers alongside examples from the US and elsewhere in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not brewers at all,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m a chef. We\u2019re just people who like good beer. We wanted to make the scene better. That\u2019s what\u2019s important right now\u2014helping everybody and trying to grow the market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something’s Brewing, All Around Iceland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. KEX Brewing<\/strong> Hosts of the popular annual Icelandic Beer Festival.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. RVK Brewing Company<\/strong> Fruity sours share space with easy- drinking lagers and hazy, hoppy IPAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Bruggh\u00fas Ste\u00f0ja<\/strong> Sleep on the farm in an insulated cabin at this rural brewery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Dokkan Bruggh\u00fas<\/strong> The first brewery in the Westfjords, and possibly the most remote in Iceland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Segull 67 Brewery<\/strong> Fresh beer, fishing history, and views of Siglufj\u00f6r\u00f0ur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Bruggsmi\u00f0jan Kaldi Brewery<\/strong> Soak in a beer spa at the country\u2019s oldest craft brewery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. H\u00fasav\u00edk \u00d6l<\/strong> Expect creative saisons made with birch, rhubarb, juniper, or mint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Beljandi Bruggh\u00fas<\/strong> Approachable beers and a rustic vibe inside a former slaughterhouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Smi\u00f0jan Bruggh\u00fas<\/strong> Try the baby back ribs cooked in Icelandic stout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. The Brothers Brewery<\/strong> Watch for puffins on the ferry ride to this island brewery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. \u00d6lvisholt Brewery<\/strong> Don\u2019t miss the chance to try Lava, a smoked imperial stout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

12.\u00a0\u00d6lverk Pizza and Brewery<\/strong>\u00a0Pair a tasty ale with the surprisingly delicious banana pizza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many more breweries in Iceland, particularly in the greater Reykjav\u00edk area. For a complete map, check out the\u00a0Independent Craft Brewers of Iceland\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00d6lvisholt is on an old dairy farm near Selfoss.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From horseback riding to cave diving, puffin watching to hot spring soaking, Iceland has turned itself into a popular vacation destination. Until fairly recently however, beer tourists didn\u2019t have much to entice them to this island nation in the North Atlantic. In fact, 2019 marks only <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5637,8222,5992,7929,2203,4957,5676,868,1103],"tags":[420,8372,8336,8360,8357,5730,2374,160,4831,4790,8354,3422,8335,8344,8353,624,8346,8338,2390,8355,8330,2286,8361,5537,6684,8377,5090,1344,8367,8366,1774,5716,1661,5413,8358,5966,7653,8345,8386,8373,1170,8328,6145,8382,943,2264,8387,805,2006,8339,8340,5486,8350,8334,6149,8371,1674,3573,412,764,8342,8384,6006,5336,2383,8359,8378,8380,8343,5663,4637,4340,4167,8337,8331,8368,8341,8329,8352,1934,2722,8374,8381,3774,8375,8370,8364,5209,8348,8333,8365,2776,8347,8362,5549,8379,4509,8349,8383,3979,7888,1691,1658,5041,5143,8363,8385,8369,8332,8356,8376,8351],"class_list":["post-6677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news","category-consumer-news","category-economic-news","category-european-news","category-finance-news","category-global-politics","category-international-news","category-transportation-news","category-travel-news","tag-airline","tag-akureyri","tag-alcohol","tag-ale","tag-ales","tag-archipelago","tag-atlantic","tag-aviation","tag-ban","tag-beer","tag-beer-engine","tag-belgian","tag-brewery","tag-brewhouse","tag-brewing","tag-british","tag-brugghus","tag-bruggsmidjan","tag-capital","tag-cask","tag-cave","tag-city","tag-coconut","tag-coffee","tag-consumption","tag-coriander","tag-craft","tag-cruise","tag-cultured","tag-dairy","tag-destination","tag-diving","tag-energy","tag-era","tag-fermentation","tag-fishing","tag-fruit","tag-geothermal","tag-heimaey","tag-herring","tag-home","tag-horseback","tag-hot","tag-hveragerdi","tag-iceland","tag-icelandic","tag-icelandic-beer-festival","tag-india","tag-island","tag-kaldi","tag-kex-brewing","tag-kitchen","tag-lady-brewery","tag-legalized","tag-lime","tag-marteinn-haraldsson","tag-museum","tag-nation","tag-news","tag-north","tag-olverk","tag-olvisholt","tag-oregon","tag-original","tag-owner","tag-pale","tag-peel","tag-pineapple","tag-pizza","tag-popular","tag-portland","tag-powered","tag-product","tag-prohibition","tag-puffin","tag-recipe","tag-reykjavik-2","tag-riding","tag-rvk","tag-sale","tag-scenic","tag-segull-67","tag-selfoss","tag-ship","tag-siglo","tag-siglufjordur","tag-skyr","tag-small","tag-smoked","tag-soaking","tag-sour","tag-spring","tag-stedja","tag-stout","tag-style","tag-summer-ale","tag-tanks","tag-testicles","tag-the-brothers-brewery","tag-tour","tag-tourists","tag-transport","tag-transportation","tag-tropical","tag-vacation","tag-valgeir","tag-vestmannaeyjar","tag-village","tag-watching","tag-whale","tag-wheat","tag-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6677"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6684,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6677\/revisions\/6684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}