Discover the Surprisingly Vibrant Craft Beer Scene in the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are located in the Nordic region between Norway and Iceland, and perhaps not surprisingly, when it comes to beer, its pure Scandinavian—quality over quantity. The small, 18-island nation’s first and largest brewery, Föroya Bjór, opened in 1888, and today, it produces 20 different beers. But it’s not the only one worthy of a closer look.
Föroya Bjór
“They [the beers] aren’t transported 2,000 miles before drinking. They are fresh,” says Einar Wagg, CEO and the third-generation owner of Föroya Bjór. Brewed with Faroese water, premium-quality malts and hops, and 134 years of experience, their brews are European-style, celebrating malty flavored lagers. Among the 2,000,000 liters of beer made yearly, it's most popular are the Veðr and Gull Export. Wagg says he typically reaches for a Veðr, “It´s a mild pilsner/lager, easy to drink and thirst-quenching.”
Föroya Bjór remained largely unrivaled for over a century until the craft-brewery Okkara opened in 2006. Known for its distinctive brews made with local ingredients and flavors, it quickly became a Faroese favorite. In 2020, when the original owners wanted to sell, Wagg says Föroya Bjór bought the micro-brewery for fear of foreign buyers, thus creating a craft beer monopoly in the tiny island nation.
Oy pilsner photo courtesy of Oy Brewing
“After we bought Okkara, some millionaires in Tórshavn said, ‘Einar is not to decide which beer we drink,’ so they started OY brewery,” says Wagg. A short-slang for “oyggj,” meaning island, this new microbrewery and corresponding brewpub is located in the capital of Tórshavn and recently released their first beers, a pilsner and an IPA. It was established by former Okkara chief executive Petur Petersen and so far, the beers are only available locally.
Biskupkelda beers courtesy of Biskupskelda
On the southern island of Suðuroy, friends Dennis Holm, Bárður G. Nielsen, and Magnus Brattaberg joined the Faroese beer scene after starting the nano-brewery Biskupskelda in 2020. Meaning “the bishops’ fountain,” in Faroese, it's named after a stream north of the town Vágur (the home of the nano-brewery).
Folklore flows freely in the Faroe Islands, and as the story goes, before roads, when people walked the mountain path from Vágur to the village of Fámjin, locals would stop at Biskupskelda stream for a drink. They believed the water would bring them good health. Today, Biskupskelda beer is brewed with the same water.