Bryggeriet i Mariestad
Mariestad
A proud artisanal beer, with a taste that stands out and challenges the notion of what beer goes with. This is what the enthusiasts behind the Brewery in Mariestad want to achieve with their Esplanad.
The Brewery in Mariestad is located in a quaint old building on the Esplanad – the town’s little promenade that connects the city centre with River Tidan’s outlet into Lake Väneren. The spacious premises have over the centuries functioned as a stable and a hat shop. But since 2014 the full focus has been on artisanal beer.
The beer master Niklas Gustafsson and owner Anneli Johansson describe the production of beer as a hobby that took over. It started when they wanted to serve really good beer to their guests at the Sill & Dynamit restaurant, which they run together down by the guest harbour.
Esplanad, which the beer is appropriately named, quickly became popular and the production took off. Since then both the operation and the assortment have grown continuously.
Authentic ingredients
The driving force behind Esplanad is to produce a really good artisanal beer, with the best ingredients and no compromises. The basis of the production is Swedish ecological corn malt, combined with different types of hops depending on the type of beer. All the tastes come from authentic ingredients – no essences are used – and the honey comes from their own beehives.
All the Esplanad beer is developed based on a taste vision. The beer doesn’t just have to be good in itself but is also required to pair with specific food dishes. That is why many of the Esplanad varieties have that little extra twist of flavour and challenge the accepted ideas of what beer goes with.
A vision of taste combinations
Often the creation of a recipe begins with a vision of a beer that goes with something special. An example is the dark ale, Winter Warmer, with a taste of vanilla, coffee and chocolate. This came about after Anneli had taken a winter walk with the dog and wanted something other than hot chocolate to warm up with. Other more unusual examples are Tropisk (tropical), which goes with mature cheese and fruit marmalade, and the latest Böna (beans), which is brewed with Swedish field beans.
If you want to shop from the Brewery in Mariestad, you can check their website to see the opening times and updates. At the moment there are 24 beer varieties in the recipe bank and the brewery produces around 24 000 litres of beer a year.
The premises at Esplanad house a spacious pub where the Mariestad brewery offers beer tastings, farm sales, regular tap room and other events. Many of their beer varieties can also be bought at the state-run off-licenses in Skaraborg.