Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town, has its own brewery, which is in fact the only brewery within central Stockholm. It is called Bryggeri Munkbron and you’ll find it on Lilla Nygatan 2. They offer original brews crafted with class and they also have a bar where you can try their appropriately designed menu to match the flavours of their brews and of those of their exclusive guest beers.
If you love beer, Bryggeri Munkbron is a definitive spot for you. They brew the most original flavours and they always have guest breweries with beers you won’t find anywhere else, not only in Stockholm, but in the whole of Sweden.
We visited Bryggeri Munkbron to see where they craft the authentic Stockholm blend, at central Stockholm’s only brewery, a pearl hidden in the cobbled streets of the Old Town. We also spoke to the house’s brew master Hans Nyström, who told us more about the idea and the essence of this bar and brewery.
What is Bryggeri Munkbron?
We are a craft brewery. We are also a bar and a brasserie (pub food served in tandem with the brewery’s beer, as the term ”brasserie” originally means). We offer beer from our own brewery, made at the premises, but also a broad selection of beers from other small breweries. With that we serve food that goes well together with the beer.
The beers they produce are changing constantly, just as the beers from the guest breweries. So you can be sure that every time you visit, you’ll be able to taste something new.
What does it mean to you to be the only brewery in Gamla Stan and in central Stockholm?
We offer unique and extremely high quality products! The beer is literally made a couple of meters from the bar, were the beer is served!It also gives the customers a unique experience. They can visit the brewery/bar and talk to the people who made the beer at the same place as they are drinking the beer.The knowledge, service and expertise from the staff members working at Munkbron is also top notch.
And it’s really cool indeed, the fact that you can be sitting there enjoying a beer and seeing Hans Nyström working with producing the upcoming batches. From the inner rooms there are glass doors from which you can peek directly into the brewery.
Tell us about the kind/style of beers you brew and where does the inspiration come from?
We at Brewery Munkbron (munkbron.se) are going to brew all the classic beer styles. There’s also going to be some wild experiments and variants of these beers.Both lager-style beers and ales are being brewed at Munkbron.The inspiration for the beers often comes from food and the beverages, and also old books about beer. Plus there are a lot of ”AHA!” moments, when brewing in the brewery…”What if we would do it like this…” kind of moments.
What kind of food do you offer?
The food is plain, simple but very good pub food for the moment. Burgers, pizza, finger-food – and also amazing fish’n’chips. The battering is made with our own beer of course.In the near future we will also have another menu, when we open up our downstair cellar space which dates from 1643. So stay tuned…
Where does your interest in beer come from?
Beer is the perfect blend of art, science and craft. Only within boundaries and restrictions, as there is with science, can there be real creativity. And brewing beer has a lot of boundaries, a lot of ”must do!” and a lot of practical laws – all just waiting to be broken! 🙂
Bryggeri Munkbron is a very cozy place and its decoration is very elegant and inviting.
What other services do you offer?
Beer tastings! We can offer supreme-quality beer tastings. Just give us a call and we will tell you more about it!In the near future we will also offer brewing courses for the soon-to-be home-brewers!The whole place can be rented for special functions. Give us a call, and we will tell you more about it.See our homepage www.munkbron.se for more information.We also have a rotating art show going on. Come by and check it out. There is always something new going on…
The pieces of art you see at Bryggeri Munkbron are part of rotating exhibitions, very carefully curated, featuring local artists and these can be purchased. So you might go there for a beer and leave as the happy owner of new art for your home. Even the bar itself is a piece of art, the backlit acrylic and its paintings of two lying men is the first thing you notice when you walk in. It’s painted by Neil Bhat and if you’re lucky, you might meet him at Bryggeri Munkbron as well.