Iceland review - 2013, Page 59

ICELAND REVIEW 57
before eventually taking over Útvík from
his parents. “I didn’t really think about it
that much and I always wanted to do lots of
different things at the same time,” Árni says
when asked if it was always his plan to follow
in his parents’ footsteps.
Today, he and Birgitte have around 60
dairy cows. Judging by the images hanging
from the walls of the couple’s house, the ani-
mals are part of the family. Large photographs
of the cows hang in the entrance and living
room as does a painting in the dining room.
“I had it made for Árni’s birthday,” Birgitte
explains of the striking—if not somewhat
unusual—portrait of a cow in shades of red.
Birgitte, a fashion designer by training, also
has a knack for interior design. Their home
is adorned with objects from near and far,
including from various countries in Africa,
which they picked up on trips visiting her
sister.
The couple met in Denmark when they
were in their late teens. “We met at a bar in
On average, Árni travels 10-15 days of
every month but says he sometimes wouldn’t
mind spending more time at home. “I like to
be at home, see the seasons change, cut the
grass. I don’t mind missing winter, though.”
In the meantime, Birgitte holds the fort,
tending to the cows and daily bookkeeping
until their two young children Baltasar (10)
and Apríl (2) return home at the end of the
school day, absorbing her time in the evening.
“It’s a lot of work,” she confesses. Luckily,
when the family needs a break, it’s just a
15-minute drive to their summerhouse in
Varmahlíð. “People think it’s a bit weird that
we go on holiday so close to home, but it’s
great,” Birgitte says.
COwS ON THE wALL
Árni grew up on the farm, later moving
on to study at the Agricultural University
of Iceland in Hvanneyri, West Iceland, and
the Agricultural University of Copenhagen,
Copenhagen and it was just my friend and I,
and he left, so I didn’t really have much com-
petition,” Árni jokes. Birgitte subsequently
moved to Iceland but the couple later
returned to Denmark so Birgitte could study
fashion design. “Árni didn’t want to miss out
on all the student parties so he looked for a
course that took the same amount of time
as mine and ended up with speech therapy,”
she laughs.
In 2011, they set up the brewery. Árni’s
friend Jóhann ‘Jói’ Axel Guðmundsson, who
also grew up in the area, works as the brewer.
Jói is busy tending to the brewing process
when Áslaug and I visit the farm in late July.
“We should put some of these on or Jói
will get upset,” Birgitte muses as she slips on
shoe and hair covers as we enter the brew-
ery. “I studied brewing in Manchester and
Denmark and have known Árni for ages,” Jói
explains of his part in the business. He tells
us that he’s usually strict about keeping to
the recipe but there are some exceptions. “I
Birgitte with the kids, apríl and Baltasar. opposite page: for Árni, beer is more than just a business. “i never really wanted to belong. i was never
an arsenal or a united fan. But this [sense of belonging] happens in the beer world too. Like with bikies, as soon as you see each other you
know and it’s like ‘hey.’ now i’m one of them—it’s fun.”