“Nunavut” beer quenches Norway’s thirst

OSLO, NORWAY — First, there was Nunavut, the territory.

Now there’s “Nunavut,” the beer.

If you’re craving a cold beer in Oslo, the capital city of Norway, you can pick up a four-pack of the “Nunavut” brand of beer for a cool $20.

The can features a map of Nunavut’s High Arctic in gold and white, some cold-looking Arctic scenery at the bottom, and the logo “Nunavut — full-bodied and tasteful” on two sides.

A historical note at the bottom of the can notes that the beer was produced by Ringnes brewery to honour its sponsorship of early Arctic expeditions:

“‘Ringnes Nunavut’ is inspired by the Ringnes founders’ sponsorship of the Norwegian polar expeditions more than 100 years ago. At that time, brave men were equipped with tasty, strong beer as part of their supplies, as a reward for their bravery and daringness. Ringnes Nunavut is a full-bodied and tasteful beer rich in sweetness, low in fruitiness and with a well-balanced bitterness.”

Rignes is Norway’s largest beer company. Halvoy Eggen, a company spokesperson, said Ringnes’s “Nunavut” beer is one its smallest lines, a dark ale that is more expensive than most other beers on the country’s market.

“It’s a high-premium, dark beer and Norwegians usually drink lighter beers,” Eggen said.

Ringnes launched “Nunavut” beer last February, although the timing had nothing to do with the upcoming International Polar Year in 2007-08.

“We called it ‘Nunavut’ because our founders supported several Arctic expeditions at the beginning of the last century,” Eggen said. “We just went back to our history to see what our founders did.”

Ringnes was founded in 1876 by brothers Amund and Ellef Ringnes. Amund was the brewer, Ellef the administrator and salesman, and the financial director was Axel Heiberg.

Ringnes sponsored Fridtjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup on the first Norwegian expeditions in the Arctic.

During his exploration of Canada’s High Arctic in 1900, Sverdrup named three large islands after his sponsors: Nunavut’s Axel Heiberg Island, Amund Ringnes Island, and Ellef Ringnes Island.

Fridtjof Nansen made his first voyage to Greenland on a sealing ship in 1882, and in 1888 crossed the Greenland ice field on skis from east to west with Sverdrup.

In 1893, Nansen sailed to the Arctic in the Fram, the round-hulled ship, which drifted north through the sea ice, a journey that took more than three years. During this first crossing of the Arctic Ocean, the expedition confirmed the existence of a deep polar basin.

When, after more than one year in the ice it was clear that the Fram would not reach the North Pole, Nansen continued north on foot and in April 1895 reached 86° 14´ N, which, at that time, was the furthest north any explorer had gone.

In 1898, Sverdrup headed north again with the Fram, this time with the goal of getting as far north as possible up the west coast of Greenland, then circumnavigating the island by dog sled. Due to bad ice conditions, Sverdrup headed west into what is now Canada’s High Arctic, returning to Oslo in 1902.

Among the achievements of that expedition were the first exploration and mapping of the south and west coasts of Ellesmere Island, and the discovery and naming of Axel Heiberg Island, the Ringnes Islands, the Sverdrup Islands and many other locations. A total of 260,000 square kilometers was charted, more than any other polar exploration.

To fuel their adventures, these early explorers took along kegs of strong beer.

However, the “Nunavut” beer’s alcohol content is only 4.5 per cent — much less than the strong brew traditionally taken to the Arctic by early explorers, because beer with a higher alcohol content can’t be sold in Norway’s grocery stores.

Eggen said Ringnes used an old recipe for “Nunavut,” but managed to produce a beer with a lower alcohol content.

Alas, “Nunavut” beer is not destined for the Canadian market.

“We haven’t planned that,” Eggen said. “It’s intended as a local Norwegian beer.”

Ringnes has been owned by Danish beer giant Carlsberg since 2004.

At the time of the sale, Christian Ringnes, a descendent of the founder, told daily business newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv that “a country without a leading beer brand is like a man without potency,” and he called the sale a national catastrophe.