Finnish Beer Pilgrimage Destination: Tampere's Konttori Breaks Records with 808 Unique Taps in 2024

While in 2023 we had 731 different beers on our rotating taps, the figure for 2024 was already 808, reveals Konttori's manager and partner Antti Hannula with precise numbers.

The keg rotation and hunt for new beverages is an intense business, but the desire to always offer customers something new and interesting to taste drives Hannula forward. It requires genuine interest and a lot of work, but a successful beer restaurant concept consists of many factors. It involves breweries, importers, events, staff, and of course, customers.

Long-term work as a beer restaurant has brought Konttori several national industry recognitions, such as the Beer Restaurant of the Year 2017 title by the professional jury of Helsinki Beer Festival, and the Best Beer Restaurant in Tampere series win in 2023 and 2024 in the reader's poll of the city magazine Tamperelainen. Additionally, Konttori has gained a name and excellent contacts abroad.

"We're in a very fortunate position, having created such a status for ourselves that breweries both in Finland and abroad see our tap spots as important for their products. We're very particular about quality and cleanliness.

Our goal is to be a significant player in the European beer scene," Hannula summarizes.

Both local and international beer trends are strongly visible at Konttori. Hannula can say that IPA is still going strong, but on the other hand, lager's popularity is slightly on the rise.

"Lager is definitely coming back, the liters have been flowing."

Konttori's statistics reveal both slower developing popularity waves and quick, sharp demand spikes, such as the increased sales driven by the Guinness challenge that became an international phenomenon. Whatever they can get on tap at Konttori is quickly "splitted" (consumed).

A candy store for knowledgeable enthusiasts and a living room for casual enjoyers

The wide and rapidly changing selection of quality brewery products attracts knowledgeable beer enthusiasts. The malty goodness also circulates from customers to Konttori's manager. I sometimes get good tips about interesting new products from enthusiasts who have come to us in search of specialties, Hannula explains.

Although Konttori might be perceived as a delicacy shop for enthusiasts who tend to be a bit snobbish, it's also a second living room for customers who simply enjoy beer. Hannula believes that a significant secret to their success is that Konttori is easily approachable and drinkable.

"It's important to us that no one needs to feel ignorant in the face of all the beer abundance, or that no fan of traditional beer styles or ciders has to wonder if we have any suitable drink for them at all. That's why we've also carefully considered the placement of taps and drink cabinets."

Konttori grew in two directions – customer seats increased by a third

Along with popularity, the need for space has also grown strongly at Konttori. To get more seating for customers and space to enjoy beer and socializing, they decided to dismantle the sauna in the back of the restaurant. And when the adjacent business space unexpectedly became available after the renovation, Konttori's staff seized the opportunity and the construction workers grabbed their sledgehammers.

With the demolition of brick walls and the sauna, a total of 60 additional customer seats were added. According to Hannula, they still need more. However, the additional spaces adapt and cater to various needs, for example, for meetings and tastings.

Konttori organizes both public themed tastings with brewery guests and private tasting events by advance reservation.