Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas
A small brewery that makes magnificent drinks
Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas is the largest independent craft brewery in northern Europe. Our brewery is known for its high-quality, innovative drinks many of which have been the first of their kind in Finland – or even the entire world.
We make beers, ciders, soft drinks, sparkling water, energy drinks and drink mixes with the skills and craft of around 60 ambitious professionals. Our top brand is Kukko under which we brew many different kinds of beers, including non-alcoholic beer. Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas has been selected as the most esteemed brewery in Finland and Kukko as the most esteemed beer brand in Finland.
In the guidance of our brewmasters who have learned the tricks of the trade in Germany, we brew the majority of our beers according to the Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian purity law according to which only water and malted barley are allowed as ingredients. Honouring traditions that date back hundreds of years, we brew beer in a modern, environmentally friendly brewery with a BRC certification.
The magnificent drinks from the small Laitilan brewery have also become renowned around the world. Over the years, our beers have received many acknowledgements – our Imperiaali Stout won the gold medal in the World Beer Cup in 2018. Our beers are exported to elsewhere in Europe, Asia and Oceania.
It all started from nostalgic soft drinks
Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas is located in the small town of Laitila in southwestern Finland. Traditionally, Finland hasn’t been known for its beer but nevertheless, we have brewed and drunk beer for as long as we have cultivated grain, around 5,000 years. Our national epic, Kalevala, uses 200 verses to depict the creation of the world – and 400 verses to depict brewing beer.
Here in Finland, beer has always been significant, a part of both daily life and moments of celebration. The Laitila region is famous for its decorative wooden beer steins that were carved here and even exported to foreign lands, including the court of the King of Sweden.
Before industrial-scale breweries emerged, beer was brewed in Finnish homes, vicarages, manors and fortresses. That is why hops were cultivated in every nook and cranny. Spells were cast to ensure that beer turned out successfully.
Long ago, two small soft drink factories operated in Laitila. In their footsteps, a group of four young lads established Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas in 1995. They made old-fashioned soft drinks packaged in nostalgic glass bottles. Later, we switched to real brands and recipes from the 1950s and 1960s, which we still use to make our soft drinks – without preservatives or artificial colourings or flavourings.
Beer brewing started in 1998 with Kukko Höyryolut (Steam Beer). Three years later, the first of our brewery’s many successful beers was born: Kukko Pils, the first gluten-free full-malt beer in the world.
Our expert brewmasters’ creativity and passion for brewing together with prime ingredients keep producing new products that friends of high-quality beers all around the world appreciate.
