Craft Beer in Northern Europe Part 2: Sweden

For the second part of this series I am looking at the craft beer scene in:

Sweden

Like in Finland, any beers over roughly 5% are only sold through government run shops. In Sweden, they are known as Systembogalet. They have an online website that allows you to place orders within the country and also check what is in stock in any particular shop but alas it is actually not very accurate. According to their website a shop will have X beer but in actuality it is long sold out. Apparently, there was somewhat of a fiasco when this site was launched & many people complained about functionality issues.

That being said the staff in  some shops were pretty good, fairly knowledgeable and happy to offer advice, however in some shops staff weren't around and you were on your own to figure out what to buy. There was also usually a small shelf where the newest rarities and limited releases were showcased which was a nice touch. Beers were organized by style (dark, lagers, etc.) and they had a nice selection from cheap macrolagers, through Swedish craft beers, European beers & American craft beers. Prices in these shops are fairly reasonable if you're used to prices in Japan. From 15-50 SEK will get you most beers on offer (200-600 yen).

The great thing about Sweden is they have truly world class beer bars: Akkurat and Oliver Twist in Stockholm and O'Connors in Uppsala. 

Akkurat - Stockholm

O’Connor’s - Uppsala

On top of this Brewdog has an outpost in Stockholm plus many top restaurants include decent craft beer menus, like at The Flying Elk.

BrewDog Stockholm

  

The secret behind these great bars isn't their tap lists which are decent but not exceptional (usually about a 12-20 taps) but their jaw dropping bottle lists with incredible rarities & correspondingly high price tags. Often worth it though...

The Flying Elk - Stockholm

A negative is that I really don't remember being impressed at all by the selection in grocery stores which was simply abysmal, really comparable to that in most Japanese supermarkets except in Sweden the beers are often below 4%! The selections on offer in Finland, Norway, Denmark & Estonia were bigger but then again maybe I just find the right supermarket. 

Another nice point was the chain The Bishop Arms, these are scattered all over Stockholm but have widely different levels of quality in terms of the beers on offer. Folungagatan's was great, Vasagatan was alright and Sankt Eriskgatan was disappointing. But it's always worth popping in & take a look.

The Bishops Arms (Folkungagatan)

Verdict: Good to great and definitely moving in the right direction, lots of nice Swedish beers are available but the government over-regulating distribution means it is hard for brewers to expand beyond their local areas to reach the whole country which hinders the growth of Swedish craft beer. All in all though it is a worthwhile beer destination with OK prices in Systembogalet and for draft beers though the bottle lists can be pricey-but that is because they have incredibly rare stuff~! Plus the local beer community are great guys.