Schou Brewery

Lore & Background

The Schou Brewery, a former Norwegian brewery, traces its roots to a brewery established by Johannes Thrane around 1800. After a period of ownership by Jørgen Young, Christian Julius Schou purchased it in 1837. The brewery moved several times within Oslo before settling in 1873 at a new facility on the Schousløkken property at Trondheimsveien no. 2. In 1917, during the First World War, the Schou Brewery acquired the Foss Brewery, which could no longer obtain raw materials from Germany.

A merger with Frydenlund Breweries in 1962 formed the Merged Breweries Company, which operated as the Frydenlund Schou Brewery until 1977. That year, Nora Industries, which also owned Ringnes brewery and Nora Mineral Water, took over the company. When it closed in 1981, the Schou Brewery was Norway's oldest brewery.

The brewery's neighborhood is largely protected by the Urban Conservation Office, preserving much of the original site. The area features large brick industrial buildings from the last century alongside modern structures. Until 2005, BI Norwegian Business School was a major tenant, and the Norwegian School of Marketing was also centrally located.

Municipal offices, including Oslo Water and Sewerage and the Real Estate and Urban Renewal Office, now occupy space there. The brewery building is owned by the insurance company KLP. Since 2010, the Schou Cellar Microbrewery has operated in the basement. Schous Pils is still produced on a small scale by Ringnes Brewery and is available at some Oslo pubs and bars.

Reader's Guide

The Schou Brewery's significance lies in its long history as Norway's oldest brewery and its transformation into a major cultural institution after closure. The brewery's former buildings, protected by the Urban Conservation Office, now house the Schou Cultural Brewery, a large cultural venue that includes the Pop Center (an interactive museum for Norwegian popular music), the Practice Hotel (with fifty rehearsal rooms), the National Stage (for folk music and dance), and the Culture Station (for children's arts). The municipality of Oslo sought to establish a 'culture district' in the area, and although a rock music museum was ultimately placed in Namsos, private initiatives are underway for a private museum in the brewery building.

The Schou Cultural Brewery was set up as a project in the Culture and Sports Center, led by a steering committee appointed by the Oslo City Council. The Practice Hotel and the Culture Station opened in 2008, and the rest of the Schou Cultural Brewery was completed in 2009. The brewery's legacy also includes the continued small-scale brewing of Schous Pils by Ringnes Brewery, and the operation of the Schou Cellar Microbrewery in the basement since 2010.