Põhjala was founded in Tallinn in late 2011 by four Estonian friends—homebrewers, beer enthusiasts, and above all, people who cared deeply about good food and drink.
What brought us together wasn’t just beer, but a shared habit of eating well—dinners at each other’s homes, road trips built around meals, and long conversations about what made something worth returning to. The Estonian beer landscape at the time didn’t offer much to match the kind of food we enjoyed.
That gap led to the idea of making something ourselves.
Early on, there were also conversations about opening a restaurant. That part came later. First, we focused on beer.
A few months after we got started, Chris Pilkington joined the team. We’d met him during a short internship at Brewdog’s original Fraserburgh facility, where we went to get a sense of how a small brewery actually worked. Chris had brewing experience, technical know-how, and a sharp, curious mind. He also understood where we were coming from. At the time, Estonia’s beer market was dominated by multinational producers with little interest in flavour or innovation.
Craft beer as we understood it didn’t yet exist here. We decided to change that for ever — and Põhjala was born.
The name Põhjala (pronounced Puh-hyah-lah, [ˈpɤh.jɑ.lɑ]) means roughly “Northern land” and has roots in Finno-Ugric mythology, where it refers to a distant, mysterious northern realm often associated with magic, power, and the unknown.
Our first release, Öö (The Night) Imperial Baltic Porter, came out in early 2013. We didn’t yet have our own brewery, so the early batches were produced in rented facilities.
That changed in April 2014 when our first brewery opened in the Nõmme district. It was a compact setup, but it gave us full control and the freedom to grow on our own terms.
From the start, we looked beyond the domestic market. Export wasn’t just a commercial goal; it was a way to connect with a wider community and see how our beers held up alongside others. The relationships that came out of those early efforts laid the groundwork for how we still work today.
In 2018, we built our current top-of-the-line brewery in the Noblessner area of North Tallinn, a former shipyard. The move allowed us to increase capacity, modernize production, and open a Tap Room under the same roof.
This wasn’t just a logistical upgrade — it reshaped how Põhjala operated. For the first time, we had a public space where people could experience our beers in the right context, with food that matched the same level of care.
With the added space and improved tools, the Põhjala range grew more ambitious. But the fundamentals didn’t change. We continued to develop beers in small batches, test ideas locally, and scale up only when the results felt right.
Today, nearly half of our output is exported. Põhjala beers are available in more than 30 countries. Most of Europe is covered, with steady growth in Asia and North America. These partnerships weren’t built overnight. They came through persistence, trust, and shared values.
Põhjala can be found in:
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 in 2018 and moved from the Tap Room into production not long after. He became Head Brewer in 2023. Martin combines methodical precision with a strong sense of what’s local and meaningful. His approach has sharpened our focus without narrowing our scope.
In parallel with brewing, we’ve extended our footprint.
In 2022, we opened Põhja Konn, a Tallinn bar dedicated to Estonian craft beer. It serves as a space for the broader community, not just a showcase for our own work.
In 2025, we opened SUMI by Põhjala – a space that blends two identities. By day, it’s a lively neighbourhood bakery with French and American influences. By night, it becomes a warm, Japanese-inspired restaurant where every dish is touched by the open hearth. The bar is anchored by Põhjala beer, with curated pairings for each dish and a selection of beer cocktails.
New ideas still begin in Tallinn. Whether it’s a beer, a process tweak, or a menu item, we test it close to home. That local grounding lets us adapt thoughtfully as we grow abroad.
Põhjala today is not just the sum of its products. It’s the result of steady work, careful choices, and long-term relationships. The context has changed since 2011, but the core is intact and still moving forward.
