Föroya Bjór
The theme of this year's SEPAC stamp issue is ”Local Beverages” - and in the Faroe Islands there is no mistaking the fact that the leading company in the field is the old brewery Föroya Bjór.
Föroya Bjór has for almost a century and a half supplied the Faroese with beverages, be it beer or soft drinks of various kinds, - and in recent years, more hard hitting drinks.
1888 – Símun í Vági
In 1883, 20-year-old Simon Frederik Hansen, ”Símun í Vági” in colloquial speech, travelled to Denmark to learn to be a baker. In addition to learning professional baking, Símun also learned how to brew beer during his stay in Denmark.
Back in the Faroe Islands in 1888, Símun í Vági started his own bakery - and already that same year he started making beer in the basement of his home in Vági, now Klaksvík. Nothing in his story indicates exactly what kind of beer he brewed was or how it tasted, but it undoubtedly tasted great and the strength must have been reasonable because this is how ”Föroya Bjór” started, a brewery which over time developed into the Faroe Islands’ largest brewery and a leader in the field.
Símun in Vági was an enterprising and creative person. In addition to being a baker and brewer, he was also a farmer and a shipowner. He also designed Föroya Bjór’s iconic logo, the Faroese Ram, which is featured on the stamp issue.
A devastating event
Due to growing problems with alcoholism in the wake of free trade, the abstention movement grew mightily in the Faroe Islands around the turn of the last century. After a referendum in 1907, beer with stronger alcohol content than 2.7 percent was banned in the islands. This meant that Föroya Bjór and other Faroese breweries were only able to produce light lager beer as well as white beer. Paradoxically, the Faroese were allowed to import stronger beer from Denmark - they were just not allowed to brew it themselves - and the same was true of wine and spirits.
As if this was not enough, times changed for the worse. World War I brought harsh conditions to the Faroe Islands as well as to the rest of the world. In 1929, the stock markets crashed on Wall Street, triggering yet another worldwide financial crisis that lasted well into the thirties. Of course, the misfortunes of these times also affected the small brewery in Klaksvík, but Símun managed to cope with the recession and keep the company running fairly well.
Einar the Elder
In 1935, Símun í Vági died. He and his wife Karin had 8 children and their fourth child, Einar Fróvin Waag, took over the management of the brewery. Einar had inherited his father’s visionary and enterprising mind and already the following year, at the age of 36, he bought a soft drink machinery from a company called ”Smæran” in Tórshavn.
The soft drink production gave the necessary kick to Föroya Bjór, which under Einar’s leadership developed from being a small company to a large and modern industrial establishment. In 1952, Einar built a new and larger factory close to the old brewery - the factory being expanded several times during the fifties and sixties.
Einar Junior
In 1968, Einar’s son, Einar Waag Jr. went to Munich in Germany where he underwent training as a brewmaster. Two years later, in 1970, he took over the management of Föroya Bjór. He was only 23 years old. He owned the brewery together with his brother Heini, but in 2008 Einar bought Heini’s share and is now the sole owner of the company. Now a fourth generation descendant, Annika Waag – Einar’s daughter – works as an operations and development manager in the old family brewery.
A desert journey of 74 years finally ends
In 1980, changes were finally made to the bizarre and baffling Faroese alcohol legislation. Breweries were again granted permission to make beer with more than 2.7 percent alcohol content. Föroya Bjór and the competitor Restorffs Bryggjarí (brewery) in Tórshavn did not hesitate. Both breweries soon started marketing real lagers and strong beers and a 74 years’ desert journey with diluted lagers finally came to an end.
Soon the supply of beers became more varied. Both breweries experimented with different beer types and strengths, but while Restorff’s brewery gradually ran into financial difficulties and eventually closed down in 2007, Föroya Bjór continued with product- and production development, offering varied selections of beer and soda.
And the development continues. Today, Föroya Bjór is responsible for 65% of Faroese beer sales and 45% of soft drink sales on the islands.
Export
Föroya Bjór has for some years exported beer to Iceland, gaining excellent market share. The Danish market is growing steadily and Föroya Bjór has just entered the Norwegian market with selected products.
The steady progress at home and abroad is not unfounded. Föroya Bjór’s beer is world class beverage and has won several international awards. This is due to high craftsmanship standards, as well as the unique quality of Faroese water.
Environmental considerations
In 2013, the company started manufacturing its own plastic bottles for soft drink production, instead of importing empty bottles from abroad and sending used bottles back for recycling. As of December 2021, Föroya Bjór commissioned a recently invented plant system which enables the company to capture most of the CO2 emission associated with the beer production, recycling it in soft drink production.
Einar’s Distillery
In recent years, production of distilled alcohol products has also begun under the manufacturer’s name ”Einar’s Distillery”. In 2016, a new pot still was installed at the brewery with the aim of producing Faroese hard liquors such as aquavit, vodka, gin, cask aquavit, bitter and rhubarb liqueur. These products enjoy great success in the domestic market.
In addition, Föroya Bjór also embarked upon whiskey production but according to EU legislation whiskey must be stored for at least 3 years in oak barrels.
In November 2020, the first Single Malt Whiskey was launched. It was a huge success and sold out in less than an hour. During 2021, 5 issues were added, between 500 and 1000 bottles each time and selling out instantaneously. Both local and international experts have given the whiskey extraordinarily high grades - between 87 and 94 out of 100 possible. To meet the high demand, a new Washstill is in the works.
Old Símun í Vági would undoubtedly raise an astonished eyebrow in appreciation if he would be able to see how his small operation in his basement in Klaksvík has evolved.
Anker Eli Petersen
