We were in Tallinn for the Tallinn Craft Beer Weekend, but tickets had been sold out for months, so all we could do is borrow a list of breweries and beers that would be represented from the owner of Old Town beer bar Koht and wistfully pour over what we’d be missing. Fortunately, Koht, (which just means “place”) had a lot of great craft beers on offer, so it was easy to drown our disappointment. Koht is a tiny place located through an arch off Lai Street in Lower Old Town. Despite its size, it was the place most recommended to us for regional craft and specialty beers.
We visited Koht on a slow weekday afternoon and enjoyed visiting with the knowledgeable owner and bartender and sampling some of their recommendations of draft and bottled beers from Estonia and around the world. A poster for “Large Barn Oven” rye stout from Lehe Brewery caught my eye and we had to try it. A product of a small Estonian brewery, the beer is dark and semi-sweet, tasting of malt and black bread (9% alc., €3.50 for 25cl). Draft selections at Koht were interesting and good, but limited. The bottle collection, on the other hand, is extensive.
Find Koht at 10133, Lai 8, 10133 Tallinn, Estonia; Phone: +372 644 3302. Their hours are flexible. We were told they usually open around 5pm, but we found them open at 3 or 3:30pm.
Because of the Tallinn Craft Beer Weekend, popular Estonian brewery Põhjala opened its Speakeasy bar on the “wrong” side of the tracks near the train station. The friendly young woman tending bar told us the bar opens in the summer and from time to time throughout the year, so it would be worth checking with the brewery or the Speakeasy Facebook page for opening days if, like us, you’re in Tallinn in off-season. The bar is spartan but had a good range of Põhjala beers in bottle and on tap and the neighborhood is not scenic, but it does offer some dirt-cheap Asian restaurants. A restaurant adjacent to the Põhjala bar, Burger Box, would take orders through a small window between their spaces and hand through dinner to be eaten at the bar. Põhjala’s Speakeasy is located at Kopli 4, 10412 Tallinn, Estonia.
We tried several Põhjala beers including their Pime ÖÖ Imperial Stout (13.6% alc.) and an interesting cassis-flavored porter, ÖÖ Cassis (10.5% alc.). The stout is rich, black and sweet, tasting of espresso and dark chocolate. The porter was interesting; also very rich and dark and coffee-bitter but with a touch of sweet-and-sour from the currants.
