How Svalbard Brewery Crafts Beer at the North Pole

On the world’s northernmost inhabited island, you’ll find polar bears, glaciers and miles of barren tundra. But you’ll also find local beer.

Svalbard Brewery

In Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the former mining town turned tourism hotspot, Svalbard Brewery (Svalbard Bryggeri in Norwegian) serves craft beer and peanuts near the North Pole. They brew eight different beers using malt from Finland, hops from the US and Czech Republic, yeast from Germany, and water from a nearby glacier. Like Svalbard itself, the brewery is an amalgamation of different countries that make it work. But for its Norwegian owners, Robert Johansen and Anne Grete, it took years to open the brewery of their dreams.

History of Svalbard Brewery

Robert Johansen at Svalbard Bryggeri photo credit Knut Åserud

Johansen first landed in Svalbard as a miner in the 1980s with ambitions of becoming a pilot. After working in Mine 3 for over a decade, he returned to Norway. Then, years later, in the early 2000s, Johansen finally achieved his goal of flying planes in and out of this stark settlement. In his spare time, he started brewing beer in his cabin outside of town. 

After two years, he perfected his recipe and wanted to turn it into something bigger, a product made in Svalbard. But a 1928 law prohibiting the production of alcohol on Svalbard stood in his way. So, for the next five and a half years, he called the Norwegian government every month, asking them to change the law. In June 2014, they finally did, and Svalbard Brewery opened a year later.

Styles of Beer at Svalbard Brewery

Svalbard Bryggeri beers

Glacier water from the 2000-year-old Bogerbreen Glacier nearby is used in each of the beers brewed here, making it one of the world’s freshest beer products. Its two head brewers make an array of classic beers, including a hoppy IPA, a pale ale, a stout, and its most popular, the flavorful Spitsbergen Pilsner — all unfiltered. They also make a handful of limited-edition beers throughout the year, honoring special events or festive holidays.

One such specialty beer that became part of its full-time rotation is Gruve 3 Stiger, an ode to Johansen’s past working in Mine 3. This smokey imperial stout is aged in whiskey barrels stored inside the brewer’s former mine.

In line with the town's sustainability initiatives, the brewery’s warm water and heat are created from the beer's excess mush. And instead of brewing to its capacity of 400,000 liters per year, they brew half that.

Where to try Svalbard Brewery beer

Patrons tasting beer at Svalbard Brewery

Travelers and locals can visit the small brewery on the outskirts of town. It is open every Friday for “brewery night” from 4 to 10 p.m., and tastings and tours are available Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 6 p.m. by appointment only.

If you can’t get a table in its cozy taproom, you can try the beer in nearly every restaurant in town, from the local pub Karlsberger to the multi-course fine-dining restaurant Huset. Norwegian companies like Hurtigruten serve it aboard their ships and in their Svalbard hotels, including Funken Lodge. Johansen plans to export this unique beer from near the North Pole to anywhere and everywhere south.