The Tallinn-based brewery is in the process of moving into its new site, based in a former naval shipyard-turned-Soviet submarine facility, and Pilkington couldn’t be happier.

Once the whole process is over, that is.

Originally from Aberdeenshire, Pilkington was working for BrewDog in Aberdeenshire when Põhjala came into being. From emailing over advice for the brewery’s first brew back in 2013, the outfit, founded by Enn Parel and Peter Keek, has gone from strength-to-strength since.

In that time, the brewery has become as by-word for quality in the world of Baltic Porters, Barrel-Aged beers and foraged ingredients omnipresent in its popular Forest Series.

And with Põhjala running at capacity for a year now, the idea of being able to triple output from day one is something Pilkington is very much looking forward to.

“It’s a big project for us, that’s for sure. We’re a small team, but we were at the point where we simple couldn’t fit anymore in at the current brewery,” he explains. “It’s rewarding that people enjoy what we’re doing, and this new setup will allow us to realise who we are as a brewery more than ever before.”

Pilkington is humble regarding the revered way many of his beers are held. A recent collaboration with To Øl, was 10 Apple Stout, a 12% stout that featured five Danish and five Estonian apple varieties that aged in Calvados Barrels with Smoked Apple Wood.

It was a sell-out star of this summer’s Borefts beer festival held at De Molen in the Netherlands and such beers, ones that embrace high ABVs and local produce, are calling cards of much of Põhjala’s output.

And while the brewery offers a core range that includes an IPA and a Session IPA, it’s beers like Mets, a forest-inspired black IPA brewed with hand picked spruce tips and forest blueberries, Laugas, a 12.3% Barrel Aged Imperial Gruit, or Sajand, a 12.3% Barrel Aged Imperial Rye Baltic Porter, where Põhjala has made its name.

It’s through such beers that Pilkington believes the Põhjala has established a strong identity, and he implores younger breweries to do the same as early as possible in their brewing journeys.

“We’ve always had a guiding compass, what we want to do and where we want to be,” he explains. “It’s never been written down, rather a belief and understanding we all have.”

He adds: “Sure, in the early days we played around with lots of different styles while we found our feet. But once we all ended up on the same page, it was easy to establish what Põhjala was.

“Our new setup affords us a 500sqm barrel warehouse. We’re fortunate people enjoy those beers but we’re not being reactive to that, those beers have long been our focus and we give them the attention they deserve.

“If you don’t focus, then you’ll end up giving lots of different projects 10% rather than a few your full attention and effort.

“Your brewing identity is everything, so don’t ignore it.”

Chris Pilkington is speaking in London at the Brewers Congress on the 28th November. For full information and tickets, click here.