Brooklyn Brewery co-founder and chairman Steve Hindy jetted to Stockholm, Sweden the other week to meet up with the 2015 Mash Tour for his latest installment of the State of Craft Beer. Our friends at First We Feast recorded the goings-on as part of our continuing State of Craft Beer podcast series, bringing you inside the craft beer scene in cities around the world. Scandinavian beer lovers packed the house at Akkurat to hear Steve pick the brains the leaders of the Swedish scene.
Darren Packman of Beer Studio and BeerSweden.se; Mikael Dugge Engström of Dugges Ale & Porterbryggeri; Mattias Grundström, the Sweden Alcohol Suppliers’ Advertising Scrutineer; and Johan Lenner of Portersteken all stepped up to discuss their practices with Steve. In a first for the State of Craft Beer discussions, Mattias Grundström represented a government body instead of a craft brewery. Mr. Grundström was able to give valuable insight into the world of regulating alcohol advertisements in Sweden, which is a sizable responsibility in a region of the world with many restrictions on how brewers and distillers interact with customers.
Many of the beer fans in attendance chimed in with their own questions for the panel. It is very clear that the passion Swedes and their neighbors hold for their beloved beers is burning stronger than ever, and their energy is infectious throughout the episode. “I promise you can ask a question later, and even give a speech,” Steve is heard to promise one particularly vocal attendee during the session.
So what did that person have to say? What’s it like opening a brewery in the far reaches of Sweden? You can catch the entire discussion right now on the Brooklyn Brewery and First We Feast podcast State of Craft Beer. Listen, subscribe and travel the world of beer along with our 2015 Mash Tour.