Torsöl
Segolstorp, Mariestad
PG Larsson has brewed beer for more than four decades. When he moved to the Torsö area his interest really took off. Now his Torsöl beer is well known among many Skaraborg residents.
Situated by the shore of Lake Vänern with a view over Torsö island is a micro-brewery, but also sheep pastures and various crops. This is where, one step at a time, PG Larson developed his Torsöl in recent years.
His move to Östersundet in 2011 gave PG the right conditions to be able to invest in his long-standing interest – first alongside his work as a doctor and later in 2024, full-time. Today he offers eleven types of beer, grows some of his own hops and brews around 14 000 litres a year.
The taste is key
Most of Torsöl’s assortment are strong beers – lager, IPA and porters. There is also a light beer and a 3.5% variety. The principle behind Torsöl’s flavour choices is simple: PG basis it on his own taste and only sells beers he likes himself.
But to get the perfect taste combination requires both patience and a delicate touch. Artisanal brewing also means that the taste can vary between different batches. Today a touch of homegrown hops of the Mauritz 85 variety is included in all the Torsöl selections. Many believe that this gives the beer a hint of almond.
Beer and other good things
Home on the farm Torsöl offers both beer tastings for private parties and sales during planned visits to the farm shop. Beer tasting takes place during the summer half of the year in a small converted boathouse down by the shore, where guests can taste their favourite variety at the same time as enjoying locally produced cheese. The farm shop lies a few meters away, next door to the brewery. There are beers of course but also a whole lot more here.
PG’s wife Jeanette is building up Torsöl farm’s own oasis: a complimentary business of vegetable and flower cultivation, wool, fruit and berry processing and more. Seasonal cordials from the farm apples, rhubarb and aronia berries are specialities, likewise the hand-weaved woollen blankets and beeswax products. Fresh vegetables and flowers are sold subject to availability. Perhaps there will also be wine-making in the future, if the grapevines on the slope down to the water bed in.
Planned visits
The Larssons think in the round, and wish to create a sustainable whole. What is known as draff, which is the residue from brewing, becomes a popular feed for the farm’s woolly Klövsjö sheep, and when the sun shines, the heat energy is captured by solar cells with battery storage.
If you want to buy from the farm shop and/or try beer, you can ring or SMS to book a visit. Torsöl is also found in many of the state-run off licences in Skaraborg, as well as in some restaurants in and around Mariestad.