In future, the Finns will be able to toast their country’s application for NATO membership with a very special beer. Due to current events, the small brewery Olaf Brewing in the Finnish city of Savonlinna has brewed a beer called “Otan Olutta”.

While “Olutta” means beer, “Otan” is not only the French name of Nato, but also means “I take” in Finnish. “So Otan Olutta means: I’ll take a beer,” said brewery boss Petteri Vänttinen on Tuesday of the German Press Agency. “We wanted to bring some humor to this dark time with the beer.”

Savonlinna, which is about an hour from the Russian border, has a “very bloody history”. For example, the city was bombed by the Soviet Union during World War II. “Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we have been worried about our neighbor to the east again.”

Like most other Finns, he is very happy about the decision that Finland wants to become a member of NATO, said Vänttinen. “And if a lot of people find something great, then you should toast it!”

The interest in the beer, which has been on the market since Monday, surprised the 42-year-old. “It’s crazy. We can no longer save ourselves from orders. I have about 200 unread emails in my inbox.” So far, 4,000 liters of beer have been brewed and bottled, and more are on the way. The eight brewery employees worked under high pressure, said Vänttinen. “But we’ll probably have to hire more people for a short time.”