Lager from Finnish Lapland named world’s best

The Tornio, Lapland-based brewery describes its world-conquering lager as fresh, light and mildly malty with an aroma that brings together freshness, malty sweetness and the moderate herbal notes of hops. The unobtrusive sweetness of the grainy and malty body gives way to an aftertaste that is dry and grassy with notes of herbal bitterness.

Reintroduced into the offering in 2017, the recipe was concocted in the 1960s by master brewer Leo Andelin, 87.

“This is truly an incredible feeling, to be able to brew a beer with a classic recipe by the legendary master brewer […], which received its first international gold medal exactly 60 years ago,” rejoiced Kaj Kostiander, managing director and brewery manager at Tornion Panimo. “Now it has been recognised as the world’s best.”

Lapland Original Lager has become popular among consumers who favour light and mildly hoppy brews – the core product category for the microbrewery, despite the stringent temperature requirements. Janne Siltala, director of partnerships at Tornion Panimo, said freshness and drinkability are the foremost qualities pursued by the brewery.

“Even our award-winning beers are not curiosities that appeal to a narrow group of enthusiasts but favourites among the wider public,” he noted.

The winners of the prestigious awards, held for the 16th consecutive year, are selected by an international panel of judges, who blind taste the submissions to each category to first select the top submission from each country. The national winners within each category are then pitted against each other in the second round of tasting to determine the best of each category.

Tornion Panimo also submitted another beer for the judges to savour, Slava! Pils. Brewed to support Ukraine defend itself against Russia, the beer was presented a gold medal in the category for traditional pilsners.