Our Mutual Friend Brings Lesser Known Nordic Beer Style to Denver

This month Our Mutual Friend Brewing (OMF) will release an unusual smoked beer that’s inspired by a Nordic brewing tradition from the town of Stjørdal. This small municipality in Norway has a concentrated area with malthouses and homebrewers; the non-commercial brewers are so dedicated to their craft that they use traditional malt made in the region to make Stjørdalsøl, a traditional Norwegian Ale that uses 100% Alder-smoked malt, an ingredient that is so impactful to the beer that a true Stjørdalsøl cannot be made without it. 

In 2017, Jan Chodkowski of OMF and Josh Cody of Colorado Malting Company traveled to Norway to learn about the type of beer and malt made in the region. Sharing a passion for smoked beers, the duo was delighted to get first hand exposure to the Stjørdalsøl brewing tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. 

“The beer is made at a såinnhaus, or brewing co-op, by non-commercial brewers in the town,” says Jan Chodkowski, Head Brewer at OMF. “The style is relatively unknown because it is extremely regional and because of its high ABV, which is above the ABV limit for commercial production in Norway.”

Because of its hyper-locality and process, Stjørdalsøl is a beer that most may not have heard of or tried, but the flavor is incredibly dynamic. Made with barley that is grown and malted by Colorado Malting Company that is then smoked over European-sourced alderwood, OMF’s Stjørdalsøl is a 9% ABV Norwegian-Style Ale that has just the right amount of smoke character, as well as toffee and dark fruit attributes. Stjørdalsøl will be available on draft and in four-pack 16-ounce cans on Tuesday, December 21 at OMF.

Beer lovers can also try two new draft-only beers on December 21. Clemens Smoked Lager is a 5.4% ABV beer brewed with A.D. Laws Bourbon Barrel Smoked Malt from Colorado Malting Company and Pilsner malt and hopped with Colorado Crystal Hops. This delicious golden smoked lager is sessionable on it’s own, extremely pairable with a hearty winter meal, and great to cook with. Golana Juicy Double India Pale Ale is brewed with T-45 Huell Melon, Vic Secret and El Dorado hops. This fruit forward IPA has strong tropical flavors and clocks in at 8.2% ABV.

On Friday, December 17, OMF welcomes back Pro, a 4.9% ABV Blonde Ale, and Fully Acclimated, a collaboration Juicy India Pale Ale with Around the Horn Brewing Company out of California. Pro is an all-Colorado ingredient beer that pays homage to when most cans just said beer. Fully Acclimated is an 8.5% ABV IPA brewed with Clasita and Idaho 7 hops. Both beers will be will be available on draft and in four-pack 16-ounce cans.

“Making the malt for Stjørdalsøl is extremely labor intensive, so when people drink it I hope they enjoy it and recognize all the hard work that goes into it,” said Chodkowski. “I want to thank Josh Cody for such a memorable trip in Norway and for making the malt for us every year.”