Reykjavík Grapevine - ágú. 2019, Blaðsíða 30

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Best of Reykjavík 2019
30 “My grandmother used to make
rhubarb wine,” says Sveinn
Steinsson. A chef turned brew-
er, Sveinn is the man behind
Sultuslakur—Iceland’s first
locally-brewed rhubarb cider.
Cider drinking is quite new
to Iceland, but Sultuslakur is
aiming to change that. “The first
idea was to make wine, but then
I thought about how we can use
rhubarb better,” Sveinn explains.
“The only way we use it here in
Iceland is for jam. I was working
with Gísli [Matthías Auðunsson]
at Matur og Drykkur at the
time—we were looking at how
to use Icelandic culture in our
food. That was the beginning.”
Flash forward three years,
and Sveinn’s experiments have
grown into the brewing and bot-
tling of his cider, in collabora-
tion with Ægir Brugghús. “It’s
just so much more drinkable
than wine,” he enthuses.
Rhubarb? Really?
Sveinn’s process begins by us-
ing crushed rhubarb, apples,
brown sugar and honey to kick-
start the fermentation. “We
rack it after two weeks,” he ex-
plains, “and after four more
weeks, it’s drinkable.’’ The ci-
der available at Vínbúð has
been aged for three months.
The entire process takes
much longer, however. Two
years ago, Sveinn planted over
2000 rhubarb plants, in the
hope of using them for batch-
es of cider. His partner in this
enterprise—Ólafur S.K. Þor-
valdz, a co-owner and part-
ner at Ægir Brugghús—helped
him bring it to fruition.
“Sveinni was selling us some
rhubarb for another project,”
says Ólafur. “He’d mentioned do-
ing something with rhubarb and
we talked about it briefly. Then
he called me a few months lat-
er and said, ‘Listen, opening up
a brewery is f***ing expensive.’
But if I see something interest-
ing, then I want to do it. And this
definitely is. Use of Icelandic flo-
ra has been completely missing.
No one has done an Icelandic ci-
der.”
It’s alive!
An apple cider at its base, the
addition of rhubarb lends the
drink an alluring tang and crisp
bite, reminiscent of French
ciders. “Exactly,” Ólafur ex-
claims. “It’s a little dry. The in-
gredients are the controlling
factor. We use a Belgian ale
yeast strain, giving it a more
rounded and fruity flavour.”
By now, we’ve tried a two-
week old cider, freshly ferment-
ed, mildly cloudy and beginning
to settle. A surprisingly great
youngling, it’s just days into the
process, and the rhubarb notes
are fresh and almost floral.
“That’s one of the things about
cider,” says Sveinn. “It will age
and change slowly and gradually
throughout the process, just like
beer.”
Embracing cider
Sveinn’s enthusiasm is infec-
tious, and his genuine passion
for his craft shines through.
“Many have been going into
this drink with Somersby in
mind, and then they are slapped
in the face with the tartness,”
he laughs. “But you can pair it
with seafood or cheese boards,
or drink it on the porch…”
I can’t think of many better
ways to ease into summer than
with a sparkling glass of Sul-
tuslakur in hand.
Available now at Vínbúðin
in Skútuvogur, and on tap at
Skál, Kaldi Bar and Smiðjan
Bar in Vík í Myrdal
Coffee & plants, open early from 7:30 Vítastígur 12, tel. 869-3030
“Use of Icelandic flora has been completely
missing. No one has done an Icelandic cider.”
DRINKING GUIDE
Keep Calm and
Cider On
Sultuslakur is Iceland’s first local cider
Words: Shruthi Basappa Photo: Timothée Lambrecq
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