Bringefossen

On the north side of the fjord you can see the Bringefossen waterfall. Once upon a time there was a farm next to it. It was in a sunny and sheltered location and gave good yields, for example of barley and hops, key ingredients in beer brewing. Today, only ruins are left of the farm, but the memory of its owner, a woman known as Bringe-Ragnhild, lives on. She was known as a master brewer, and all those who came to the farm were served with hospitable amounts of her beer. Her recipe was perhaps not all that unusual – she left the sack of barley to soak for three days to let the grain sprout. But since her beer was unusually good, perhaps she engaged in some sort of sorcery when brewing? Rumour said that she placed twelve knives around the brew kettle and walked around it three times while reciting a pagan chant. She would then walk backwards around the kettle three times while reciting ‘Our Father’, a Christian prayer, just to be on the safe side. We cannot be sure that people believed this story. What is certain, however, is that people would row close to shore when passing Bringa, hoping that Ragnhild would invite them in for a glass of refreshing beer. Brewing traditions are still alive in the villages, where traditional beer continues to be made from the best ingredients – hops, malt, yeast and clean, fresh mountain water.