Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you and your current job?
I have been managing our export sales since 2012. I started working at Nøgne Ø helping out my husband since 2002.With the exception of brewing beer, I have experienced from pretty much everything. Sales, Logistics, events planning and executing, financial control, reporting to regulatory bodies, marketing, social media, sake brewing, cellarman’s work, packaging, representing on beer festivals, sake sommelier etc… the list goes on.
What was the inspiration behind your brewery?
Nøgne ø was started to change the world. To bring new flavors to the markets where there were only industrial lagers. But this was 15 years ago, and lots have changed since then…
Can you give us a tour of your beer scene?
Very dynamic and quite chaotic. New breweries opening every month. Maybe as much as 2000 new labels every year. Very high prices, partly because of the alcohol tax level. Beer geeks only want new experiences. Very strong alliances in distribution and HORECA segment. Retail very difficult with government owned monopoly outlet system and very big supermarkets chain.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a brewery?
If you do it, keep investments and economic liabilities very low. Do not make it too small. Small operations make small profits. Then you will not generate the capital for the next growth step. Define what is unique about beers. And be loyal to it. If your beers are not unique, then you should not start a brewery.
