Last winter, we went to Oslo, Norway for a long weekend. There, fast friends and key operatives in the craft beer scene introduced us to a beer they loved from Iceland’s only craft brewery, Olvisholt Brugghus. We loved it too. And so began an odyssey to find the brewer and bring back his delicious beer to you. We went to Iceland in September and the combined effect of Iceland’s raw natural beauty and Jon Gunnlauggson’s talent as a farmstead brewer – on a wild and lonely heath facing an active volcano – was utterly stunning and inspiring. And so is the Olvisholt story:
The brewery opened on Jon’s family dairy farm in 2008. The day before the official inauguration, an earthquake, registering 6.1 on the Richter scale, shocked Southern Iceland. The full combi tanks were swayed side to side, but the equipment withstood the tremor. Visitors at the opening said the brewers must be in contact with the Nordic gods since their first beer, Skalfti, means earthquake. Next came Lava… and Eyjafjallajokull – the volcano that erupted and halted all air traffic across Northern Europe. Hmm…
