One of our favorite breweries, and one that we have been close to over the last years is Swedish Omnipollo, today well known in the international beer community for their high end beers and artistic touch on everything from beer labels to merch. As one of three Swedish breweries at Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2014, the other two being Brekeriet and Närke Kulturbryggeri, we decided to make a check call with Henok Fentie to see how their preparations for CBC go as well as to see whats happening right now. 2013 was a crazy year for Henok and the man with the pen, Karl Grandin with the release of their book on homebrewing, “Brygg Öl” (“Brew Beer”), a bunch of new beers brewed together with breweries such as De Molen, Prairie, Stillwater, DOG and many more, the creation of an Omnipollo beer glass and trips to the Netherlands, Brazil, the US and where not. We are thrilled to see Omnipollo at CBC and their list of beers to be poured is jammed with hops, darkness and beery love.
MankerBeer (MB): With a handfull of awards, collaborations with some of the best breweries in the world and with participation in international beer events Omnipollo are probably known to most beer geeks – but for the less nerdy, who or rather what is Omnipollo?
Henok Fenrie (HF): Omnipollo is an obssessive beer love project. Me and Karl started talking about what we could do to beer in 2010 and just never looked back. We are currently working on our 30th beer – a pineapple/spearming wit (4,5%) – and dreaming about opening a bar, which is very exciting.
MB: Since Leon was first released, how has the journey been? Could you ever anticipate that Omnipollo would have this impact and become what it is today?
HF: We had ideas and confidence that we could do something interesting to provide passage from crap beer to craft beer in Sweden. Did I anticipate selling 100.000 bottles of 8,5% double IPA per month? No, never in my wildest dreams.
MB: Except for beers Omnipollo have released a book on home brewing, some proper clothes and glassware – all more artsy than the average brewery. Is Omnipollo all about beer or what is Omnipollo, really?
HF: Omnipollo is about making great beer, but it is also about making beer great – placing beer in a larger context to make it intruiging and exciting. When we write a book it is because we want to bring brewing into the same domestic sphere as baking and cooking. When we brew for a festival, it is because we want to place craft in a setting that is usually associated with sub-standard beer and so on.
MB: What do you love most about brewing, beer and the beer community?
HF: I love brewing, it just suites me as a person. But I also love the sharing part of it, and that is why I whent from a homebrewing to doing what I do. Getting to see what people make of the end product is a big part of the thrill for me. As for the beer community it is the only competitive industry – to my knowlegde – where people obeyed by the 1+1=3 rule. All with the overarching strive to entertain your tastebuds. How awesome is that?
MB: When will we see the first Omnibar?
HF: We are working on it=).
MB: You collaborate with breweriers in the US, the Netherlands, Brazil and the UK – are collaborations always spontaneous or do you have some brewers/breweries that you really want to work with and try to make it happen with?
HF: Some collaborations are spontanous but with limited time we try to focus on brewing for ourselves and collaborating with brewers/breweries who we have a close relationship to. All of whom we respect imensly and love of course.
MB: With all that travelling in the name of beer, what regions are the up-and-coming ones? Where will the next big craft beer explosion occur?
HF: Everywhere. It is incredible to see to see how likeminded people are finding their way to local craft beer watering holes no matter where we have gone so far. Just coming back from Brazil I am 100% sure that craft beer has just begun its journey over there. Next stop for us should be africa, a continent that for a long time has been drinking export Guinness like no other. I think the step from dark beer to drinking craft is smaller than that of drinking light lager.
MB: I perceive you as little of a perfectionist and I have asked the question before, but with a bunch of new beers it is time to ask it again – what beers are you most respectively least satisfied with?
HF: ha ha. When it comes to beer I guess you could say that I am a bit of a perfectionist. With the the plethora of great beers in existence there just isn’t room for anything else. A beer that I am quite happy with at the moment is Omnipollo Fatamorgana (8%), a saison-inspired oat/wheat IIPA brewed with a great deal of Citra hops. It’s one of those beers that sort of nails what I want to be doing at the moment.
MB: What beer will be poured at CBC?
HF: Fatamorgana IIPA
Schiuma Party…
Hypnopompa Grönstedts Cognac BA Imperial Stout
Nebolution Imperial IPA
Nebuchadnezzar
Potlatch
Hypnopompa Bourbon BA Imperial Stout
Astral fresh keg IPA batch 2 Amarillo/Simcoe
MB:For you and Karl, what do you personally look forward to the most with CBC?
HF: meeting friends, enthusiasts and collegues….and sharing our beers with everyone of course!
Rock on! Do not miss Omnipollo at CBC, their hoppy beer will be fresh of the wagon, delivering a kick that you rarely see!
Grundare och skribent på MankerBeer.com. Från ett fokus på allt vad USA har att erbjuda och med en kärlek till gedigen amerikansk mat, bra bourbon och framförallt all landets fantastiska öl har Manker nu börjat förstå storheten i belgisk öl.
Magnus "Manker" Björnstjerna
Grundare och skribent på MankerBeer.com. Från ett fokus på allt vad USA har att erbjuda och med en kärlek till gedigen amerikansk mat, bra bourbon och framförallt all landets fantastiska öl har Manker nu börjat förstå storheten i belgisk öl.
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