Foss Brewery

Lore & Background

The Foss Brewery began as the Ytteborg Brewery, founded by Nils Jensen Ytteborg in Christiania in 1836, with cellars below Old Aker Church. It was especially known for its Bavarian beer. By the late 19th century, water contamination in the lower Aker River and the need for more space prompted a relocation in 1897 to the Upper Falls (Øvre Foss) at Vøyen Falls, where a brick factory had stood.

The company changed its name to Aktieselskabet Foss Bryggeri and built a large factory at the new site. The brewery was headed by Carl Theodor Ytteborg, the founder's son. It produced a range of beers including Bayersk Øl, Pilsener Øl, Lands Øl, Bok Øl, Malt Øl, Vørter Øl, Kulmbacher Øl, Lager Øl, and Salvator Øl (launched March 14, 1899).

The brewery expanded by purchasing a venue on Oslogate in 1899 and building the Hotel Continental and Theatercaféen in 1900. It won a gold medal at the Paris world's fair in 1900. When Haakon VII became king in 1905, the Foss Brewery was selected for royal appointment, gaining the exclusive right to supply beer and to print the royal crown on its labels for Bayersk Øl and Pilsener Øl.

Reader's Guide

The Foss Brewery's significance lies in its rapid rise to become the leading brewery in Christiania by 1905, a status underscored by its royal warrant from King Haakon VII. This warrant granted the brewery an exclusive privilege to supply beer and to use the Norwegian royal crown on its labels, a prestigious mark of quality. Its success was further validated by a gold medal at the 1900 Paris world's fair. The brewery's economic troubles during the First World War, caused by rationing and disrupted raw material deliveries from Germany, led to its sale to the Schou Brewery in 1917 for NOK 1.5 million.

The Schou Brewery discontinued the Foss label in 1922. The brewery buildings at Vøyen Falls were demolished in the 1960s. The old cellars below Old Aker Church, used for vegetable storage during the Second World War, began deteriorating in the 1950s when the church cemetery was expanded. The brewery's legacy is tied to its royal appointment and its role as a major Oslo brewer before wartime conditions forced its sale.