Peter Klemensen

I just had the pleasure to talk with Brew master Peter Klemensen from Thisted Bryghus. His Limfjorsporter is legendary. Peter has described it as the gentleman amongst beers. A slogan that has followed the beer for several years, and still does.

I have always had an issue with smoke in beers, but have learned to love this beer.

Peter told many stories about this beer and many other beers and breweries. I guess that what it all boils down to is a recommendation to have a Limfjordsporter with Peter Klemmensen.

It took Peter seven years to perfect the recipe for the Limfjordsporter. He bought the name from the closing Urban brewery around 1986, but the beer was not released until 1997, when he decided that the right combination of malts had been found.

I'm glad he found it!

Cheers

Canned craft brew

I must admit that I was highly sceptical when I bought the latest three beer from Ølfabrikken. They got canned (pun intended). There seems to be a consensus here in Denmark that good beer needs to be in a glass bottle.

So now this? Well having sampled them, they are living up to the Ølfabrikken legacy.



There is a couple of advantages in these little cans. No sunlight has hit the beer upon consumption and less packaging.

Cheers

Ølfabrikken beer giveaway

Oh joy - I seems that the controversial beer "Sinful Brother" which originally was brewed for Christian to give as a dividend to his investors as a final payment is going to be packaged and given to incestors in both Ølfabrikken and Gourmetbryggriet.

The beer holds 13.4% alcohol and should probably be aged for at least 6 months more before its mature.

To celebrate that Ølfabrikken is the brewery of the year, Gourmetbryggriet is giving all investors GB or ØF 10 free bottles of beer from their storage area.

From this Friday and the following week investors can also have 10 bottles of Sinful Brother! This offer is only available through the next week. If you would like your beer then come by the brewery in Roskilde and pick it up.

Source: EXPATS Brewer's blog

Mikeller on Facebook

Mikeller has found its way to facebook with a fanclub.

Are there a lot of breweries on there, I wonder?

Ølfabrikken Porter being brewed on Fuglsang

Yet another post about the brewery that seems to be my favorite subject at the moment.

On a regular basis Gourmetbryggriet brews on the brewery Fuglsang. Now they have visited Fuglsang again, and this time to brew the famous Ølfabrikken Porter.


In the picture we see Mike Murphy pulling out a sample while Claus Christensen watches.

Gourmetbryggriet claims to take on this beer in a humble manner and that this brew is brewed according to the original recipe. To honer the beer, it the fermentation is under way in the open vessel, that is used very seldom.

The best places to dine i Copenhagen

According to the 2008 edition of the Michelin Guide there are some pretty good places to dine in Copenhagen. With no less than 11 restaurants on the map in Copenhagen alone, the city takes a fist place in nothern Europe. Only Sweden can match Denmark with an equal 11 restaurants.

• Restaurant Noma ** (TWO stars!)
  Strandgade 93, 1401 København K
  
  
• Restaurant Formel B
  Vesterbrogade 182, 1800 Frederiksberg C
  
  
• Søllerød Kro
  Søllerødvej 35, 2840 Holte
  
  
• Era Ora
  Ovengaden neden Vandet 33 B, 1414 København K
  
  
• Restaurant The Paul
  Tivoli, Vesterbrogade 3, 1620 København V
  
  
• Restaurant Ensemble
  Tordenskjoldsgade 11, 1055 København K
  
  
• Restaurant Kong Hans Kælder
  Vingaardsstræde 6, 1070 København K
  
  
• Restaurant MR
  Kultorvet 5, 1175 København K
  
  
• Paustian ved Bo Bech
  Kalkbrænderiløbskaj 2, 2100 København Ø
  
  
• Restaurant Geranium
  Kronprinsessegade 13, 1306 København K
  
  
• Kiin Kiin
  Guldbergsgade 21, 2200 København N
  

I have previously written about the best places to enjoy beer in Copenhagen. So now I am wondering if any of the above have a good selection of beer, as there is obviously no overlap beween the two lists.

Gourmetbryggeriet, could I please have my beer?

Gourmetbryggeriet has done something that seems bad... again. Ølfabrikken has announced a special 'We are sorry' beer for the shareholders, and Gourmetbryggeriet promised to give it to the shareholders. The beer was meant as a compensation for their lost money in connection with the GB take over. Now Gourmetbryggeriet apparently have sold the beer to COOP (chain of grocery stores).

It just gives Goutmetbryggeriet a serious image problem. Their self-proclaimed rescue attempt of Ølfabrikken, that just looks and feels like a hostile take over, and now this.

Making the promise and not keeping it it results in a bigger dent in their credibility, than just denying the shareholders their beer in the first place.

I think that their PR guy has been on a holiday.

The trouble is only about 4000 litres of beer, that was meant for even distribution among the former shareholders of Ølfabrikken. A small amount that would not hurt Gourmetbryggeriet in any way.

It has been pointed out that beer brewing is a tough business, but this case can not be good business for GB. I guess that bad press is better than no press at all.

I thought that the Gourmetbryggeriet case was closed when the head brewer left, but it seems to go on for a while yet.

There has been some emails and some announcements that I have not covered, mainly because this is not an Ølfabrikken blog.

The latest twist, however, where I as a shareholder will not even get my beer as promised, motivated me to do yet another post about Ølfabrikken and GB.

I fell over this (danish) announcement http://gourmetbryggeriet.blogspot.com/ from the former head brewer Christian Skovdal Andersen titled "Gourmetbbryggeriet cheats small investors".

Please take action!

It seems that COOP has bought the beer in question. On behalf of myself and my fellow shareholders, I have written Kenn Thomsen on Kenn.Thomsen AT coop DOT dk urging him not to take an active part, mainly by not receiving the beer.

Are you a shareholder? Then write to either Kenn Thomsen on the above address and to the Director of Gourmetbryggeriet Tom Sand Kristensen, who initially approved that the beer was to be given to us. His email is tsk AT GourmetBryggeriet DOT dk

Update: 2008-03-13 COOP can not confirm any connection to the beer in question.

Best places to drink beer in Copenhagen

Well some of them anyway. Anyone missing? Leave a comment!

Café Svejk
Czech inspired place by Frederiksberg Have.
Smallegade 31, 2000 Frederiksberg

Ølbaren
Really small place without all the additions like food and music. Real nice place for beer geeks.
Elmegade 2, 2200 Copenhagen N

Charlie's
A dark and real English pub.
Pilestræde 33, 1112 Copenhagen K

Zum Biergarten
Primarily German beer. Best visited when you can sit outside.
Axeltorv 12, 1609 Copenhagen V

Nørrebro Bryghus
Cozy place that includes good food with their own beers.
Ryesgade 3, 2200 Copenhagen N

Ørsted
Real bar with lit sourroundings despite the fact that it is in a basement.
Nørre Farimagsgade 13, 1364 Copenhagen K.

Plan B
Very trendy and beer friendly place. Cappotinoes are replaced by Belgian beer.
Frederiksborggade 48, 1360 Copenhagen K.

Cafe Viking
Real old-school danish pub with above avarage beer both on tap and in bottle.
Ægirsgade 36, 2200 Copenhagen N.

Den Tatoverede Enke
The number one place for people addicted to Belgian beer and food.
Gothersgade 8 C, 1123 Kbh. K.

Brewpub
Really nice place that serves good food and their own beer.
Vestergade 29, 1456 Copenhagen K

Mikeller is number one (according to people in Copenhagen N)

We have just had a tasting of the finalists for the best new Danish beer of 2007. We thought that Monk's Elixir from Mikeller by far is the best one.

Here is the ranked list:

01 Mikeller: Monk's Elixir
02 Ølfabrikken: Kloster Jul (Sort Jul replacement)
03 Thisted Bryghus: Thy Eksklusive
04 Midtfyns Bryghus: Imperial Stout
05 Midtfyns Bryghus: Double IPA
06 Raasted Bryghus: Triple IPA
07 Djævlebryg: Nekron Stout
08 Bryggeriet Vestfyen: Willemoes Porter
09 Kongens Bryghus: Julemumme
10 Bryggeriet Vestfyen: Willemoes Jul 2007

Now this tasting was only in Copenhagen N, and is not the final national one. This is just so we can compare our list with the final one. Do we like Mikeller more than the rest of Denmark?

2008 Dkr for a Carlsberg (Approx. $400)

My initial reaction: "You must be joking right?". A Carlsberg that is $400 a bottle. The beer is the new Carlsberg Vintage No. 1, and according the Calsberg it is probably the world's best and most expensive.

They are charging about $400 for a single bottle of less than a pint, 37,5 centilitre to be more exact. Brewmaster Jens Eiken says that there is only 600 bottles made and most og them will be sold through three of Copenhagen's most exclusive restaurants (Noma and Prémisse).

Jens Eiken said the beer, which weighs in at about 10,5% alcohol by volume, and is stored in Swedish French oak casks in a special place about 50 feet below Carlsberg's old brewery. I have been to the special place 50 feet below Calsberg - you would not believe the treasures stored down there. Now this new one seems to join the collection.

Tha plan is that consumers won't be returning the empties for a deposit as it is custom here in Denmark. Each bottle has a hand-stencilled label by a well-known artist. The empties are said to be worth about $100 each. Despite the hype, the beer seems to be less popular than anticipated. According to Børsen not a single one have been purchased at the restaurants.

With the missing sale at the restaurants in mind, I could conclude that we have missed our aim. I am sorry that we haven't been able to sell any, but we are not giving up. If we only can target the trend setters and celebrities in these restaurants, we will be able to alter the existing attitude towards beer.

Chief of production at Carlsberg, Rune Jessen to ibyen.dk