Brooklyn Brewery Enters Sweden, Plans Stockholm Harbor Brewpub

Brooklyn Brewery announced over the weekend that it would build another plant 4,000 miles away from its Williamsburg home in Stockholm, offering further proof that Brooklyn is no longer just a borough of Manhattan -- it’s a brand.

Built in partnership with D. Carnegie & Co. and Carlsberg Sweden, the 8,000-barrel Brooklyn-New Carnegie brewery will sit in the landmarked Luma Factory buildings in Hammarby Sjöstad, a residential and commercial complex that fronts on the Swedish capital’s picturesque harbor.

Brooklyn Brewmaster Garrett Oliver said his team will brew special Brooklyn beers only available at a waterfront restaurant attached to the brewery, which will accommodate up to 250 people indoors and outdoors and serve “local food” (Swedish meatballs?) when it opens by the year’s end.

"Swedish brewers will train in Brooklyn and learn our deepest, darkest secrets,” the company wrote in an announcement on its website. “In turn, [Oliver] and the Brooklyn team will take turns visiting Sweden to brew special Brooklyn offerings -- like Brewmaster’s Reserve and Worshipful Company of Brewers releases -- as well as developing some brand new beers by the end of 2013.”

Why Sweden? It turns out Sweden is the 25-year-old brewery’s second-largest market outside of New York City. It began exporting beer to the Scandinavian country in 2006 through Carlsberg Sweden, and its signature lager and East India pale ale are now available on draft nationwide.

“We love Stockholm, and the whole Brooklyn brewing team is looking forward to their stints at Brooklyn-New Carnegie,” Oliver said. “We’re going to have a lot of fun brewing and creating beers with our Swedish team.”

The Brewery claims the residents of Stockholm and Brooklyn enjoy a mutual appreciation of beer, food, music and art, “leading some to ponder if Sweden is the new Brooklyn.” Last year, it launched the “Brooklyn, Sweden” music festival, showcasing an array of emerging Brooklyn bands in Stockholm and Malmö.

Brooklyn Brewery will manage and operate the new venture through a wholly owned Swedish subsidiary. The 8,000-barrel brewery will produce just a fraction of its 120,000-barrel Williamsburg counterpart, and most of the main beers will still be exported. The company says the focus of its new endeavor is to brew “small-batch specialty beers” for the devoted Swedes.