Brew #2: Stjørdal

Roar’s brewhouse, in a 19th century farmhouse.

The second live brew we will be showing is from Stjørdal in central Norway, where Roar Sandodden will be brewing a stjørdalsøl on his farm Alstadberg.

In case you’re not familiar with it, stjørdalsøl is a very different style from the first brew, which will be a Hornindal kornøl. Stjørdalsøl mainly stands out because of the way the locals make their own malt (see below), which is massively smoked with alder wood. The normal yeast to use is standard bread yeast from the shop. Traditionally it was also normal to use juniper and hops, but some people have started skipping one or both.

Present for the brewday will be:

  • Jørn Anderssen, brewmaster and maltster at Klostergården bryggeri.
  • Håvard Beitland, local farmhouse brewer and maltster.
  • Jørund Geving, local farmhouse brewer and maltster. Winner of the brewing championship in 2017.
  • Ivar Vigdenes, mayor and local farmhouse brewer may show up.

Because the malt-making is such an important part of the brewing in Stjørdal we will show not just the brewing, but the guys will also be drying a batch of malts in Roar’s malt kiln at the same time. Roar uses the traditional type of malt kiln known as a «såinn».

The fire lit in Roar’s såinn in 2014. Back then it was completely new. Most likely it’s darker now.