Põhjala was founded as a beer firm in Tallinn, Estonia, at the end of 2011 by four beer enthusiasts and Estonian homebrewers. Shortly after, the company was joined by a Scottish head brewer, Chris Pilkington, with several years of experience at Brewdog.
Põhjala's first beer, Öö Imperial Baltic Porter, was launched in early 2013, and for most of that year, the beers were produced under contract at other breweries' facilities. The construction of the first brewery was completed in April 2014 in the Nõmme district of Tallinn.
At the end of 2018, production moved to a new facility in the historic Noblessner shipyard area, near the sea north of Tallinn.
Põhjala's brewery now features state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and a taproom with 120 seats and 24 taps.