When we decided to spend a month in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, we knew that we wanted to check out Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room. Põhjala Brewery is Estonia’s most popular craft brewery and the Baltic’s largest craft brewery, and it is located conveniently in the city center.
Before visiting the brewery, we found their non-alcoholic beers in the supermarkets. Unfortunately, Põhjala Brewery only has two non-alcoholic beers available (at the time of writing) – you can check out our reviews of the Põhjala Prenzlauer 0 and the Pohjala Virmalised 0 IPA).
What is Põhjala Brewery?
Põhjala is the Estonian word for “Northern Realm,” which accurately reflects the love Estonians have for nature. The brewery was founded in 2011 by four Estonian beer enthusiasts and Scottish head brewer Chris Pilkington of BrewDog fame.
The reason why Põhjala Brewery has grown to be Estonia’s largest craft brewery is because of its focus on brewing porters, using barrel ageing, and introducing ingredients sourced from Estonia’s nature.
Estonia is not the only place where you can find Põhjala beers. Today, the brewery exports to countries as near as Finland and as far away as China and Japan, although the domestic Estonian market remains their main customers.
As we entered Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room in the very hip Noblessner neighborhood, we were enthusiastically welcomed by a staff member. The brewery runs daily tours too, but we decided to skip it. Instead, we poked around outside the brewery doors and snapped a few pictures.
Our main purpose was to visit the tap room and have our lunch there, but unfortunately they did not have new non-alcoholic beer flavors on tap. We’ve already tried the two non-alcoholic beers multiple times, Prenzlauer 0 and Virmalised 0 IPA, so there was no point ordering the same drinks again.
Besides the beers, the tap room serves American barbecue food like ribs, burgers, and Mac & Cheese. I won’t bore you with the food details because this is not a food blog.
Põhjala Brewery Non-Alcoholic Beers
As mentioned, Põhjala Brewery has two non-alcoholic beers. Prenzlauer 0 is a Berliner Weisse-style non-alcoholic sour beer brewed with raspberries, while Põhjala Virmalised 0 is the non-alcoholic version of their flagship IPA, Virmalised (6.5% ABV).
With the Põhjala Prenzlauer 0, we enjoyed the complex symphony of sweet and sour flavors and subtle notes of raspberry. The Põhjala Virmalised 0 IPA is more forgettable, with a weaker flavor, body, and mouthfeel.
Where to Buy Põhjala Brewery Non-Alcoholic Beers (UK)
If you’re in the UK, you can find the two Põhjala non-alcoholic beers from online retailer Wise Bartender.