Põhjala was founded in Tallinn in late 2011 by four Estonian friends who shared a strong interest in food, beer, and homebrewing.
Long before the brewery existed, we spent much of our time cooking, travelling for food, hosting dinners, and searching for beers that could stand next to the kind of meals we enjoyed. At the time, the local beer scene offered very little in that direction.
Most of the market was controlled by large international producers focused on pale lagers with little character or variety.
A few months after the company was established, Scottish brewer Chris Pilkington joined the team. We had met Chris during a short internship at BrewDog’s original brewery in Fraserburgh, where we went to understand how a modern small brewery operated in practice.
He brought technical brewing knowledge that was largely missing in Estonia at the time, along with a mindset that matched our own ambitions.
The name Põhjala (pronounced Puh-hyah-lah, [ˈpɤh.jɑ.lɑ]) means roughly “Northern land.” It comes from Finno-Ugric mythology, where it refers to a distant northern realm associated with mystery, power, and the unknown.
Our first beer, Öö Imperial Baltic Porter, was released in early 2013. Since we didn’t yet have our own brewery, the first batches were produced at rented facilities. That changed in April 2014, when our first production site was opened in the Nõmme district of Tallinn. The setup was modest, but it gave us full control over brewing and allowed the company to grow at its own pace.
From early on, export played an important role. We wanted our beers to be part of the wider craft beer conversation and to see how they compared internationally. Those first export markets led to long-term relationships that still shape how we work today.
In 2018, we built our current brewery in the Noblessner area of North Tallinn, a former shipyard by the sea. The move allowed us to increase capacity, modernise production, and open a Tap Room under the same roof. It also changed how Põhjala operated.
For the first time, brewing, food, and hospitality could exist together as part of the same experience.
The larger site gave us more room to experiment and broaden the range. At the same time, the core approach stayed the same. New beers continued to be developed in small batches and tested locally before reaching wider distribution.
Today, nearly 40% of our production is exported. Põhjala beers are available in more than 30 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. These partnerships were built gradually through consistency, shared values, and long-term relationships rather than rapid expansion.
Austria
Australia
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Croatia
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Mexico
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Romania
Portugal
Singapore
Slovenia
Slovakia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States
Our brewing team is led by Martin Vahtra, who joined Põhjala in 2018. He started in the Tap Room before moving into production and became Head Brewer in 2023. His work combines technical precision with a strong interest in local ingredients and flavour development.
Over time, the original connection between food and beer has become a larger part of what we do.
In 2022, Põhja Konn was opened in Tallinn as a bar focused entirely on Estonian craft beer. The idea was never just to showcase our own products, but to support and represent the broader local scene.
Most new ideas are still developed and tested in Tallinn before being introduced more widely. That local foundation has remained important even as the company has grown internationally.
Põhjala today is the result of steady work, long-term thinking, and a clear point of view on beer, food, and hospitality. Much has changed since 2011, but the core remains the same.
