The story of Gothenburg – Sweden’s beer capital
The special thing about microbreweries is their passion for the craft and desire to produce a beer that is truly so much more than an insipid every day drink. Because there’s no doubt that there’s something magical about really being able to taste the hops in a perfect India Pale Ale, experience the smooth chocolaty darkness in an Imperial Stout or enjoy the fresh mouthfeel of a genuinely good wheat beer. And happily for us, Gothenburg is the leading place in the country for microbrewed beer.
Brewing and enjoying a beer or two is certainly not a new phenomenon in Gothenburg. Right back when the town was founded in 1621, beer breweries had their rightful place. And so it remained until the end of the 20th century, when the city’s last commercial brewer – Pripps – was taken over by the Danish Carlsberg Group, who moved production to another country. The sorrow felt by Gothenburg’s beer lovers was bottomless. What were they going to do? Were they condemned for the rest of time to drink Danish beer?
The change that everyone was longing for
Happily the devastated Gothenburgers didn’t have to mourn for too long, because in the last few decades there has been a renaissance of small scale artisan brewing, producing what many now call craft beer. Notwithstanding that the microbrewery trend actually started on the west coast of America, Swedes have really taken it to heart, and during 2007-2017 the number of breweries in Sweden grew from around 30 to 300.
So now, after decades of mass production, a change has taken place on the Swedish market. Microbreweries, with their devotion to craftsmanship and feeling for top quality ingredients, have finally got the status they deserve – not a day too soon if you ask us! And Gothenburg’s thriving beer scene means that the city these days is reckoned to be the beer capital of Sweden, with many internationally recognised brands.
