Sweden Is Obsessed with Brooklyn Hipsters, Brooklyn Beer

Brooklyn Brewery craft beer is paving the way for a full Brooklyn-style takeover of Sweden, which already has a deep "hipster bromance" with the New York borough.

Brooklyn Brewery craft beer is paving the way for a full Brooklyn style takeover of Sweden, which already has a deep "hipster bromance" with the New York borough. At least, those are the words of a Bloomberg News article this morning that details the brewery's move to the land of meatballs and Ikea. The craft beer company will open a new brewery and restaurant in Stockholm, which, in typical Brooklyn style, will be located in an old light-bulb factory.

Why Sweden, exactly? Well, those Scandinavians do love their partying and their beer — who doesn't, of course — but they particularly love craft beer. Sweden is already the U.S.'s 2nd-largest importer of craft beer and is the largest single country importer of Brooklyn Brewery's liquid confections. The Williamsburg brewery, which actually brews some of its beers in upstate Utica, recently noticed that its tour of the brewery was being overrun with Swedish tourists intent on getting as close as possible to the beloved drink. Now, Stockholmies (do they call themselves that?) can enjoy Brooklyn Brewery in their own backyard.

But it's not just the beer that Swedes love about Brooklyn; it's a little bit of everything. "You can just slap the word 'Brooklyn' on anything and every fucking hipster will buy it," one Stockholm resident told New York magazine earlier this year. Why Brooklyn, exactly? “Brooklyn and Sweden both have loads of hipsters,” Swedish promoter Annelie Telford said to The Brooklyn Paper. Swedes, good luck escaping those flannel-wearing, artisanal-loving 20-somethings now.

The Williamsburg brewery has been stoking this love for the past few years, particularly with its Brooklyn, Sweden music festival. Now in its second year, the four-day event sends a series of Brooklyn-based bands, art, and food to Stockholm in a mix of indie-punk rock, electronic dance music, and grungy hip hop. Throw in a climate that actually requires its residents to wear beanies and flannel, and the Brooklyn-Sweden connection is thriving.

So the spread of Brooklyn-style hipsterdom won't be stopping at the Atlantic Ocean anymore, and it has already taken up residence in Paris, too. For hipster-haters, it just might be time to sit back, accept the loss, and just drink away the sorrows. With a Brooklyn Lager, of course.

(Photo of Brooklyn Brewery: AP Photo/Richard Drew)