Manufacturer Hartwall Introduced 1963 | Country of origin Tornio, Finland Style Lager | |
 | ||
Alcohol by volume 5.2% IVA
4.5% III
2.7% I IBU scale 21 (IVA)
18.5 (III)
14 (I) | ||
Lapin Kulta (in English, Gold of Lapland, arguably Lapp Gold) was a brewery in the Lapland town of Tornio, Finland. It was founded in 1873 under the name Torneå Bryggeri Aktiebolag (Tornio Brewery Limited Company in Swedish). It is now owned by Hartwall, which is now owned by Royal Unibrew
The brand name Lapin Kulta is used on a variety of lagers of varying strengths. As of August, 2010, it is only brewed in the southern Finnish town of Lahti.
History
The brewery was founded in 1873, but the name Lapin Kulta was not adopted until 1963. The brewery had to acquire a gold mining company with an identical name in order to rightfully use the name. The company's articles of association still state the line of business to be "prospecting for gold and the manufacture and sales of beer".
Lapin Kulta's focus is on high quality ingredients (malt barley, clear water, and the company's own yeast strain). This, coupled with successful marketing made it the most popular beer brand in Finland for a long period. Recently, the competitors Karhu and Olvi have overtaken, leaving Lapin Kulta in 4th place.
After a merger with the Hartwall beverage company in 1980, the brand name entered the export market and by now it is available in most European countries.
In October 2009 Hartwall announced the closure of the Lapin Kulta brewery in Tornio for 2010, and is no longer brewed in Lapland.