Norrlands Guld

Norrlands Guld

Norrlands Guld is one of the best-known Swedish beer brands and bears the name of the northern Swedish regions of Norrland, from whose cold, clear nature the beer aims to draw its character. It was introduced in 1965 by the then Sollefteå Bryggeri under the name Norrlands Öl, and it received its present name in 1976 from the Wårby Bryggerier, which had taken over the brewery in Sollefteå. In 1989 Spendrups bought Wårby Bryggerier and has continued the brand ever since. The original label motif showed a photo of the Ångermanälven river near Sollefteå, and the provincial coat of arms of Ångermanland has accompanied the brand to this day, while the current label is meant to reflect an unspecified landscape in Norrland.

In taste, Norrlands Guld stands for a mild lager of the Dortmunder type with a fresh, malt-aromatic scent and moderate hop aroma, full-bodied and with a certain bitterness, without fuss and without complication. The brand's advertising shapes the image of the relaxed, down-to-earth Norrlander: in the long-running campaign the character Ingemar plays the lead, a very laid-back man leading a simple life with friends, and the central message is that people from Norrland, who naturally drink Norrlands Guld, are unpretentious and free of airs. The motto «inget tjafs, inga konstigheter» sums up this attitude. Outside Sweden the beer is sold, among other places, in IKEA stores.

The range extends from the classic Norrlands Guld Export at 5.3% ABV, the original since 1965, through lighter variants at 2.8 and 3.5% ABV, which are also offered as folköl, to the alcohol-free Norrlands Guld, available since 2005 at 0.5% ABV, and the strong bock beer Norrlands Djup at 6.8% ABV. In the early 1990s there was briefly a medium-strength beer called Norrlands Silver, and when in 1995 an extra-strong variant was to be launched under the name Norrlands Dynamit, the Swedish Alcohol Inspectorate protested because it considered the name unsuitable. Norrlands Guld is today brewed at the Spendrups brewery in Grängesberg in Dalarna, and Spendrups has been Sweden's leading brewery for over 100 years with around a third of the Swedish beer market.