The past year has been extremely eventful and, in many ways, quite surprising too. The first surprising news reached my ears in January, when I heard that Nokian Panimo’s long-serving brewmaster had stepped away from the brewery and that the brewmaster position was open. On the spot, I contacted the brewery’s CEO, Janne Paavola, and told him I was interested in the position.
Quite soon I found myself sitting in the brewery’s meeting room, discussing with Janne and the brewery’s production manager, Vesa Peltola, the brewery’s current situation and future outlook, as well as my own career in the brewing industry. That conversation, followed later by the actual job interview, went very well, and at the end of February I received the call I had been eagerly awaiting from Vesa, telling me I had been chosen as Nokian Panimo’s new brewmaster. We agreed the work would begin around the turn of March and April.
Over the past year I have been able to take part in the brewery’s operations in many areas, perhaps most importantly continuing beer product development and improving matters that affect product quality. During the summer, my main task was developing two new beer recipes, which will launch in early 2026. After several rounds of development brews, the final recipes were fine-tuned during the autumn, and the actual commercial brews took place in late autumn. In brewing, product development is meaningful work in the sense that as soon as the previous recipes are polished, the next development project is already waiting around the corner. So new treats are in store later next year too.
It has also been a special joy and honour to get to know Nokian Panimo’s staff, whose solid professional skill ensures that the brewery’s products are among the absolute best in the country. My responsibilities also include developing quality matters, and quite soon after joining I noticed just how much emphasis is placed here on process hygiene, quality control and product safety, without forgetting employees’ wellbeing and stamina.
As brewmaster of a growing brewery that has recently listed on the stock exchange, there will continue to be plenty of varied and interesting projects ahead, and I look forward with excitement to whatever new positive challenges and opportunities the coming years bring. This is a good place to carry on from.
Jani Vilpas
Brewmaster
