Beer, mead and meetings in the middle of the Atlantic
When the Danish Mikkeller beer festival returns to the Faroe Islands, three Swedish producers will participate.
On September 18–19, Mikkeller's Faroese Beer Festival will bring together 25 beverage producers in Silon by the harbor in Tórshavn. This year's diverse starting field includes everything from the Czech Budweiser Budvar Brewery and the German Keesmann to the Belgian Bofkont, the British Floc, the Danish To Øl and the Canadian Willibald Farm Brewery.
Three Swedish names are on the festival program for the third edition of Mikkeller Beer Celebration Faroe Islands: Helsingborg breweries Brewski and Crooked Moon Brewing, as well as Attic Meadery from Gothenburg. Brewski has participated in both previous editions, and Crooked Moon has also sent beer and representatives before – but for head brewer Daniel Torisson, this year's trip will be his first to both the Faroe Islands and the festival.
- For me it will be a premiere and I am super excited. I have been to Iceland many times because I am Icelander, but never to the Faroe Islands, says Daniel Torisson.
He hopes the festival's smaller format will allow more space for meetings between producers. Crooked Moon has participated in the Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen, MBCC, every year since 2022, but the large Copenhagen festival leaves less time for longer conversations.
- I think you can connect with people in a completely different way. The big festivals are great fun, but you rarely have time to sit down and talk to colleagues in the industry.
Daniel Torissons believes his Icelandic background could be an asset during his days in Tórshavn. He understands Faroese if the speaker keeps a calm pace and suspects that the nature and landscape will feel familiar.
Crooked Moon started as a tattoo studio. Jacob Pedersen met Mikkeller founder Mikkel Bjergsø through the tattoo business, and the collaboration later led to a beer with the Crooked Moon name. Five or six years ago, Daniel Torisson asked if he and Jacob Pedersen could start a brewery and combine tattoos with beer.
- Our goal is that Crooked Moon will ultimately just be Crooked Moon. We are a creative collective where creativity comes out in different ways. It can be through visual art, music, tattoos or beer, says Daniel Torisson.
Crooked Moon is bringing an export lager to the Faroe Islands that will be on tap during the festival. The brewery also plans to serve two or three different hoppy double IPOs.
Alex Ek is also making his first trip to Mikkeller's Faroese festival. His Attic Meadery, however, has participated in MBCC for five consecutive years.
- "It's a perfect opportunity to explore a place I might not have gone to myself. My expectations are above all to see something very different," says Alex Ek.
The day before the festival, Attic Meadery will be hosting a mead tasting at Mikkeller Bar Tórshavn together with Faroese Galdr Craft Brewery. The meaderies will each bring three meads to the tasting. Galdr is located in Sandavágur, just over half an hour’s drive from Tórshavn, and makes both traditional mead and braggot, a mix of mead and beer.
- "I didn't know there was a commercial mead producer in the Faroe Islands. When the question of a joint event came up, it sounded like a really fun idea," says Alex Ek.
Attic Meadery works with strong and sweet meads where large amounts of berries play a central role. Alex Ek notices a growing interest in mead, not least among Swedish homebrewers, but still sees major obstacles to the commercial market.
- Many people come to festivals, want to try and ask for tips or feedback on their own mead. I notice a growth there. But this kind of full-strength, sweet berry bombs costs a lot to produce. It's one thing to buy a taste sample and another to spend 350 kronor on a bottle.
For Alex Ek, Attic Meadery remains a small-scale project alongside his regular job. The festivals still give him the opportunity to meet other producers and present the mead to an international audience.
- I really enjoy keeping it small-scale. This is more or less my home brewing, but with the opportunity to participate in commercial events and sell a few bottles to pubs.