Ancient brewing traditions and techniques have been passed generation to generation on farms throughout remote areas of northern Europe. With these traditions facing near extinction, author Lars Marius Garshol set out to explore and document the lost art of brewing using traditional local methods. Equal parts history, cultural anthropology, social science, and travelogue, this book describes brewing and fermentation techniques that are vastly different from modern craft brewing and preserves them for posterity and exploration.

Learn about uncovering an unusual strain of yeast, called kveik, which can ferment a batch to completion in just 36 hours. Discover how to make keptinis by baking the mash in the oven. Explore using juniper boughs for various stages of the brewing process. Test your own hand by brewing recipes gleaned from years of travel and research in the farmlands of northern Europe. Meet the brewers and delve into the ingredients that have kept these traditional methods alive. Discover the regional and stylistic differences between farmhouse brewers today and throughout history.

About Lars Marius Garshol

Lars Marius Garshol is a Norwegian software engineer that travels the world to learn more about beer. Garshol spent five years researching various aspects of brewing at remote farmhouses throughout Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. He is the author of LarsBlog, a blog devoted to sharing his discoveries and travels as he researches the lost art of brewing in northern Europe, Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing,and a book on Lithuanian beer. He lives with his wife and children in Rælingen, Norway.

Book Reviews

Brilliantly written! Lars provides a wealth of technical and historical knowledge to his readers in Historical Brewing Techniques. His writing is fascinating and evocative—the reader can’t help but feel they are traveling through Scandinavia and eastern Europe alongside him. This book is a must read for anyone passionate about the histories and techniques of true farmhouse beer making.

– Averie Swanson, Founder and Beermaker, Keeping Together

Until six or seven years ago, the borders of European brewing were tidy, well-understood, and well-documented—or so we English-speakers thought. That was when Lars Marius Garshol started publishing incredible stories about farmhouse brewing traditions in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Suddenly the brewing world seemed a lot bigger than anyone imagined. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Historical Brewing Techniques is the most important book on brewing in at least twenty years.

– Jeff Alworth, Author of The Beer Bible

“Farmhouse ale” is a term used by many yet understood by few. Lars Garshol is one who gets it, and he shares his wealth of knowledge in this book. It’s not a beer style guide, but rather a fascinating look into the myriad ways beer was made prior to industrialization. Compelling read for brewers and beer aficionados alike.

– Stephen Beaumont, co-author of The World Atlas of Beer and author of Will Travel for Beer

Lars Garshol has brought our prehistoric “Nordic grog” to life in his new book, which is bubbling up and brimming over with close observation and practical advice about wild yeasts, herbs, household brewing, and much, much more. It’s a delightful and informative paean to historic Scandinavian and Baltic brews, benefitting the serious homebrewer and enthusiastic beer connoisseur alike.

– Patrick E. McGovern, author of Ancient Brews Rediscovered and Re-created and Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages