WALK ON THE WILD SIDE I STARTING OUT AS AN OUTFIT THAT WANTED TO MAKE BEER FOR DRINKERS IN TALLINN AND SURROUNDING AREAS, PÕHJALA HAS GONE ON TO BECOME THE WORLD’S ESTONIAN BREWERY. PRODUCING A DIVERSE ARRAY OF STYLES THAT EXCITE AND INTRIGUE, THEIR BEERS ARE ENJOYED ACROSS THE GLOBE. AND AS THEY APPROACH THEIR 10TH BIRTHDAY, IT FEELS AS IF THEY’RE ONLY REALLY GETTING STARTED.
t’s good to step out of your comfort
to Tempest, and also where I grew up.
zone. That’s what excites me,” ex-
“We wanted a particular profile and were
plains Chris Pilkington, head brewer
prepared to go the whole nine yards to
at Põhjala. “To find yourself in a
achieve it,” he explains.
position where you’re thinking ‘Wow,
And doing things their own way, while
this like nothing we’ve ever done before’ is
going that little bit further when doing
an important place to be.”
so, is an approach that’s been vindicated over the last nine years.
And it’s a position Pilkington and the team at the Tallinn outfit find themselves
Starting out as a brewery armed with five
in on a regular basis, which is part of the
24HL FVs, to become one that boasts
reason the Estonian brewery has devel-
a 4 vessel, 50HL Rolec brewhouse,
oped such a renowned reputation in its
Framax filing line (with canning to follow
near 10 years making beer.
in the next year), and state of the art lab
The latest project Pilkington references
facilities, is evidence enough. And that’s
is a collaboration with Tempest Brew-
before you even mention the 120 seater
ing, based out of Galashiels in Scotland.
taproom and restaurant complete with
Located on the Scottish borders, the
24 taps.
brewery lies some 200 miles south of
The Põhjala of 2020 calls Noblessner
Fraserburgh, the area where Pilkington
home. The historical shipyard area,
grew up and would also go on to find his
located by the sea in North Tallinn, has
feet in the world of brewing.
housed the brewery since the end of
“We’re producing a beer that replicates
2018.
the old ‘160 Shilling Ale’,” he says. “Edin-
“That first full year here was an expensive
burgh Ale yeast is used for fermentation
one. 2020 was set to be the time where
and we’re also adding heather honey to
we took everything we had learned so far
the mix.”
and improved as a result,” says Pilkington. “Everything was taking shape, until
But the focus point here are the barrels
February…”
being utilised to age the beer, a skillset
10
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SUMMER 2020
that has become part of the brewery’s
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted
calling card, both locally and abroad.
Põhjala as it did every business globally.
“We’ve opted for a blend of Auchentos-
What’s different is the way people react
han and Glengarioch Whisky barrels. It
to, and overcome, these challenges.
seemed somewhat fitting to age this beer
“It’s not been easy,” he says. “We are a
in barrels from distilleries located close
small country of 1.3m people and one
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