Einstök
Einstök
The story of Einstök – meaning «unique» in Icelandic – begins in 2010 in Akureyri, Iceland's second largest city, situated just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle at the innermost point of Iceland's longest fjord, whose pristine nature, crystal-clear glacial water and extreme Nordic climate conditions formed from the very beginning the unmistakable foundation for a beer brand determined to make Iceland's character tangible in every single beer it produces. At the helm of the brewery stands head brewer Baldur Karason, who was born in the small fishing village of Siglufjörður, travelled to Edinburgh in 1993 to study at the renowned Heriot-Watt University and upon his return as brewmaster of the Akureyri Viking Brewery created the artisanal and technical foundations on which Einstök continues to build to this day. Einstök beers are brewed in the modern brewery facilities of the Viking Brewery in Akureyri – a high-performance facility that draws on naturally filtered Icelandic glacial water from ancient lava fields, using one of the purest and mineralogically softest raw ingredients in the world as the foundation for every single beer.
What set Einstök apart from other breweries from the very beginning was the consistent decision to unite native Icelandic ingredients – angelica root, local coffee, locally smoked barley and other traditional botanicals of the Viking era – with international beer styles, thereby creating a completely independent Icelandic craft beer identity that follows neither North American nor European models but draws its origins consistently from Icelandic nature and history. The range encompasses the Arctic Pale Ale, the White Ale, the Toasted Porter, the Wee Heavy Scotch Ale and the Doppelbock, with each beer developed according to the same principle: to express the unique Icelandic terroir identity within an internationally recognisable and multiply award-winning beer style.
Since its founding, Einstök has undergone a remarkable international expansion and today exports its beers to over 30 countries worldwide – with a particularly strong foothold in the American market, where the brand is represented in the leading craft beer segments and regularly wins national and international awards, including Gold at the L.A. International Beer Competition and Silver at the International Beer Challenge in London. As one of the few Icelandic breweries that consistently upholds international quality standards while never abandoning its deep roots in Iceland's unique nature and Viking heritage, Einstök stands today as a living symbol of the fact that a small Nordic nation with pure glacial water, 2,000 years of Viking heritage and an uncompromising brewing philosophy can enrich the world of beer in an impressive and thoroughly unforgettable way.