Fra Fanø Bryghus har Steve Rold været så venlig, at kaste svar efter årets Q&A.
1: How did Covid-19 affect the brewery in 2021?
Wind can blow you off course but it can also help get you where you’re going. I would like to believe we did our best to treat the shutdowns and other Covid related influences as opportunities rather than obstacles. With production slowing we finally had the tank space to pull the trigger on a few projects that I had long been talking about. We expanded of our barrel program and the relaunch and redesign of our “Imperials Series”. We held numerous online tasting events and put together one hell of homebrewing contest. We, also made our first gin with the help of the fine folks at Njord Gin. Its distilled from our own beer and flavoured with herbs etc, that we picked on Fanø.
2: What was the best thing about 2021 for the brewery?
Even with all the fun stuff we were able to do this year, winning the Årets Danske Bryggeri 2021 from the Danske Ølentusiaster has to be at the top. It’s a genuine thrill for us. I’m so proud of our staff and the work that they did this year; whether it was long hours in production getting the beers ready, or up the taproom, where our staff are always doing their best to make sure our guests are having a positive experience. We have such a great group of people, and it made it really special to see them all recognised in that way.
3: What will be most important for the brewery in 2022?
I think it will be important to continue to look for where the opportunities are hiding and do our best to take advantage of them when they come along. If Pearl Jam albums have taught me anything its that once you get recognised for something, the expectations begin to rise, almost exponentially, often unreasonably. So, we will be to continue to work hard and to be who we are. We’re a very small staff and it took a lot of work from everyone to make 2021 come together the way it did for us. I also know we all excited about continuing down this path and to develop the ideas we’ve put out into the world and to introduce others we’re excited about.
4: What is the biggest challenge that the Danish breweries are facing in 2022?
Let’s hope that it will be meeting the exploding demand for beer as Covid finally becomes a thing of the past and we can get back to life as we all so fondly remember it in the before times.
5: Who deserves a pat on the back?
I have to say that beer-adjacent social media has been a really interesting world this year. I’m seeing instagram accounts, blogs, and other beer related publications working together more and more to create beer related content that continues to grow and improve. Also, those same communication channels have proved pivotal in much larger conversations regarding several aspects of the industry that will hopefully have a permanent, positive influence on the cultural development surrounding beer and brewing.
(Spørgsmålene blev besvaret d. 30. december)