Göteborg & Co.
The O/O Brewing tap room is on the ground floor of a nondescript brick apartment building on a main strip of Majorna, a district known for its buzzy bars and restaurants, in Gothenburg, Sweden. There are windows onto the street and a neon sign hangs over the door, but the cramped space and no-frills décor—a few wood stools at a plank of a bar, tiled walls, compact booths—do nothing to suggest the intriguing beers on tap or the impact those offerings have had.
On a Tuesday afternoon just before summer, I sat with Olof Andersson, a co-owner of O/O, who guided me through a sampling of their beers. A crisp, sessionable pilsner, hoppier than the familiar German brews, is a tribute to the history of his craft. Two versions of Narangi—a straightforward IPA and a punch-packing double IPA—place O/O firmly in the zeitgeist. And finally, barley wine—a sweet, round, British-style drink—an uncommon product for a tiny brewery, which makes it all the more remarkable.
“We make what we like to drink,” he said matter-of-factly. Because who wouldn’t.