The Revival of Heritage Beers: The Case of Farmhouse Beers from Northern Europe

As the craft beer revolution continues to grow, both commercial brewers and homebrewers have shown considerable interest in rediscovering the beer of the past. Many of these beer styles faced near extinction due to various factors. Some involve changes to brewing, such as the industrialization of the brewing process, the widespread availability of pure commercial yeast cultures, and the popularity of closed fermentation in cylindroconical fermentors. Other societal factors include changes in consumer preference, generational shifts, and urbanization. Lastly, environmental factors, such as climate change and pollution, present persistent challenges. The beer styles that were most endangered often held a strong local association and/or were historically brewed in the farmhouse and largely for private consumption. Their existence has been preserved only due to a continuous tradition maintained by few brewers. This paper focuses on farmhouse beers found in the Scandinavian and Baltic states as these beers are distinctly tied to the culture and the land in which they are produced and represent a valuable link to the past brewing practices now largely forgotten. It examines the unique cultural significance, history, and various methods of production associated with these beers and how these aspects differentiate them from other European and North American farmhouse ales. It compares past and current threats to their existence and outlines the efforts to preserve them. Lastly, it discusses how aspects of their brewing and fermentation processes, such as the use of kveik yeast, have been embraced in contemporary, non-farmhouse beer.