Hello, I'll be in Stockholm next week and I would like recommendations for breweriers/brewpubs in particular. If any locals would like to meet up for a share or trade, that would also be great. I have lots of Jester King, SARA, and big stouts I can bring along. Thanks! --david
Brewpubs are a bit thin in Stockholm. Nya Carnegiebryggeriet is the best (joint venture between Carlsberg and Brooklyn). Waza Restaurang & Bryggeri is the only other brewpub I've been to (that is still open ) and that was when it was still owned by Monk's and it wasn't all that impressive. Farm Restaurant and Bar acts as a taproom for Stockholm Brewing -- you can see the brewery thru the glass walls. They do tours but I don't know the details. Inside Bierhaus is a tap room for Frequency Beer Works -- just sort of the back bar. Ölbistron no 50 is affiliated with Kungsbryggeriet and acts as a tap room, plus they have other beers. For pubs, must visit are Akkurat and Zum Franziskaner. For more, see my website www.BeerGuideSTHLM.com
Akkurat is the one you cannot miss, and make sure to ask for the cuvee list. Within 5 minutes walking of Akkurat you have Omnipollos Hatt, tiny place, with quickly rotating taps and killer pizza. Also in the neighbourhood is Oliver Twist, a more traditional pub, but always with great variety on the taps. There are also a couple of really good Belgian bars around the Centralstation, Pressklubben, Duvel Cafe and Belgobaren. There are also a ton of pubs in the Bishops Arms chain around town, and they are usually pretty good. Man in the moon is also pretty good. As far as breweries go, not many breweries in Sweden have taprooms or other facilities. One that does is Stockholm Brewing Co, haven't been there myself, but they make decent beer.
Belgobaren is connected to Frey's Hotel (it is their breakfast room in the morning) and I've enjoyed my two stays there -- but I don't go to Stockholm to drink Belgian beer (well, except for Cantillon Soleil De Minuit and a few others at Akkurat) And speaking of Omnipollos Hatt, you can get stuff like this Bruno Raspberry Line Crush Sour. The most frou-frou of frou-frou beers -- but it actually worked. Better than the Ice Cream Pale Ale I had a few years ago. There other beers were also decent. I didn't include them in my "tap list" because there beers aren't brewed anywhere near Stockholm...
I think that Fjäderholmarna has opened for the season, it's about 30 mins by boat to a small island outside Stockholm, well worth it if you've got a few hours to kill. There's also a new taproom for PKLK at the Brisket & Friends BBQ restaurant. Maybe not so special if you're a Texan but their brisket might actually be the best in northern Europe and they only do Stockholm breweries. Katarina Ölkafé also serves mostly Swedish beers, owned by the brewery Költur. Other places not to miss in that neighbourhood are Livs, which have excellent food and occasionally Mariatorget beers on tap (they're amazingly good when they're good) and Babajan which is a world food place with great beers.
I have not visited Stockholm so I can't provide specific recommendations but based upon my visit to Oslo (Norway) the one suggestion I can provide is: bring lots and lots of money. Beer is not cheap in Scandinavia. Cheers!
Stockholm is expensive, but I think pricing now is decent with the extremely low Swedish krona. Also, generally Stockholm is ~30-50% cheaper than Oslo.
I went to both Stockholm and Oslo 3 years ago and I found in Stockholm places tended to offer smaller serving sizes so it is a bit more affordable. Everywhere in Oslo was pints. I know some people don’t like to drink anything other than pints but it helps if you’re got a budget.
You may already know that there is a state alcohol monopoly in Sweden, so you can only buy strong beer in Systembolaget stores. This also means that you can’t buy takeaway beer from bars or breweries.
