In conversation with Agnes Sigurðardóttir, one of Iceland’s only female microbrewers

Her husband Ólafur arrived in Árskógssandur when Agnes was 14. “We settled down together and began to raise a family. Between 1983 and 1994, I had four children, two boys and two girls. Ólafur became captain of a fishing boat and life was happy.” Then Ólafur suffered a knee injury in 2003, which meant he could no longer work as a fisherman.

“We considered moving to Reykjavik to get factory jobs, but it didn’t appeal to either of us. I knew I had to find a way for us to stay in Árskógssandur. It meant getting creative, thinking of crazy ideas – what could work? One day, watching RÚV (a national TV channel), I saw a news item on the growing popularity of microbreweries around Europe. I wondered could we create our own beer here?”

Agnes needed everyone’s support to bring this project to life – getting her husband on board first, then her parents. “Then I had to present the idea to a tougher audience – I needed banks to believe I could start a microbrewery in Árskógssandur.”

With personality and passion, Agnes won them over. A new Iceland brewery, Bruggsmidjan, was born.

Things moved fast. They began installing the brewery in March 2006, started brewing in August and on 28 September of that year, they bottled their first beer. Agnes shakes her head, “Just two days later we held our opening ceremony.

That first year, we produced 150,000 liters of Kaldi. The following May, we had to expand [our property]. Every year we added more capacity.”

The first Icelandic craft beer, brewed according to well-practiced Czech principles and using Saas and Sladek hops, was a huge hit.

Agnes smiles, “That wasn’t enough, I wanted more crazy ideas.” After a beer-tasting trip to Prague, she describes how “my mind began brimming with other possibilities. My skin… my hair had never felt better. I knew beer could offer fantastic benefits, not just from drinking it.” This led to the first beer spa in Iceland opening in 2017, which Agnes’ daughter-in-law now manages.

After drinking your beer, you can pop over the road for a beer bath to experience its proven health benefits, including soothing muscles that are tired from trekking across glaciers.

Agnes mentions the latest exciting development for the family. “We’ve bought and renovated an old fish factory in Árskógssandur, which will open as a hotel this summer.” By 2023, they hope to offer 20 rooms to hotel guests.

Between the beer spa, which has up to 22 staff including seasonal workers, and this new hotel, Agnes and her family have created new opportunities in the village. She adds, “three new houses are being built, along with six to eight condos.” It seems beer has had a positive impact on Árskógssandur.

“I didn’t have a lifelong dream of opening a brewery, but it’s been very fulfilling,” Agnes observes. She is the creative force behind the brewery, however explains that it will always be a family business.

“From the beginning the children helped bottling the beers, now all the family from the eldest, Steine, to the youngest, Ólafur, (who was born in 2009) has a hand in Brugssmidjan. Except one,” Agnes jokes, “my youngest daughter Svavar drew the short straw to study forensic psychology in Sweden.” Agnes’ second eldest son, Siggi, is the head brewer.Agnes is modest about her impact on brewing in Iceland, but she has inspired a movement. 25 craft breweries have opened across the country, and a female-led distillery is in the works. She states that “there is no competition between us, we all support one another.”

She credits the local community for their continuous support and explains how they drop by regularly for a cold brew. Sharing her story and welcoming new visitors to Árskógssandur is a new chapter for the family.