The Hymn to Ninkasi - Making Beer

The Hymn to Ninkasi, inscribed on a nineteenth-century B.C. tablet, contains a recipe for Sumerian beer. Ninkasi was the ancient Sumerian matron goddess of beer. I would definitely worship her :-) She is the goddess of alcohol. She was also borne of "sparkling fresh water." She is the goddess made to "satisfy the desire" and "sate the heart." This is the oldest known beer recipie in the world.

Translation by Miguel Civil

Borne of the flowing water (...)
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,
Borne of the flowing water (...)
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,

Having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished its great walls for you,
Ninkasi, having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished its great walls for you

Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake,
Ninkasi, Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake.

You are the one who handles the dough,
[and] with a big shovel,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with sweet aromatics,
Ninkasi, You are the one who handles
the dough, [and] with a big shovel,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with [date]-honey.

You are the one who bakes the bappir
in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,
Ninkasi, you are the one who bakes
the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,

You are the one who waters the malt
set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the potentates,
Ninkasi, you are the one who waters the malt
set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the potentates.

You are the one who soaks the malt in a jar
The waves rise, the waves fall.
Ninkasi, you are the one who soaks
the malt in a jar
The waves rise, the waves fall.

You are the one who spreads the cooked
mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes.
Ninkasi, you are the one who spreads
the cooked mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes.

You are the one who holds with both hands
the great sweet wort,
Brewing [it] with honey and wine
(You the sweet wort to the vessel)
Ninkasi, (...)
(You the sweet wort to the vessel)

The filtering vat, which makes
a pleasant sound,
You place appropriately on [top of]
a large collector vat.
Ninkasi, the filtering vat,
which makes a pleasant sound,
You place appropriately on [top of]
a large collector vat.

When you pour out the filtered beer
of the collector vat,
It is [like] the onrush of
Tigris and Euphrates.
Ninkasi, you are the one who pours out the
filtered beer of the collector vat,
It is [like] the onrush of
Tigris and Euphrates.

Gourmetbryggeriet opens brewbub

Gourmetbryggeriet has made an agreement with Bryghuset Vendia in Hjørring, Denmark. On the 18th of june the installation of the brewery began. The equipment is from JTMBrew and the 800 liter pot is being lifted in place below.

The installation only took about one hour. After that the equipment had to be ajusted ant that took the rest of the day. According to Gourmetbryggeriet, Michael Knoth is really looking forward to try the new brew ware together with Morten Pedersen of Bryghuset Vendia.






"Careful guys! This is a MAX 30 MIN parking zone, so get moving"


Hmm - can I have the same, please?

The head of Brøckhouse leaves

One of the pioneers of the Danish craft brew revolution, Allan Poulsen leaves the brewery he built himself. Allan will no longer be the manager and brewmeister at Brøckhouse in the small Danish town Hillerød.

Brøckhouse was one of the early movers of microbrewries in Denmark and has grown considerable since then. The company have experienced growing pains as quality control became more and more difficult and the product suffered. Being back on track the brewery is nothing like the original. Allan Poulsen says that he have had some interesting years and has been part of the movement towards making Denmark a true international center for beer. He feels that is have been tough times, and is ready to let new people run the company. Allan Poulsen says that he is an entrepreneur and wants to start something new.

Good luck with that.

New Ølfabrikken beer: Columbus Pale Ale

The new beer from Ølfabrikken this summer is a tribute to the breweries favourite hop variety – the Amarican Columbus hop.

It is a copper coloured beer of 5% vol. with clear notes of grape fruit and pine. After fermentation the beer is dry hopped with even more Columbus hops, that intensifys the hoppiness of the beer.

The strong hop aroma combined with the moderate alcohol content and a semi bitter and dry finish makes the beer refreshing in the summer heat, and still have som caracter.

Try to catch it – it has just been released and will hit the broader Danish beer shops within a week.

Rise and death for Danish breweries

In response to Knut Alert's Beer Blog: Tougher times ahead for Danish micros.

The shops have been expanding the selection of beers during the last couple of years, but now the selection is shrinking again. This only leaves space in the shops for beer that can be sold quickly. Well it is obvious that the shops will stock beer they can actually sell. This fact leaves a great deal of pressure on the small breweries. Now we see some of the prices are dropping long before the small breweries even break even.

Meanwhile Carlsberg is adding to the pressure by introducing new beers and brands such as Kongens Bryghus, Semper Ardens og their new micro brewery Jacobsen. These new beers and brands makes people come back to good old Carlsberg.
Since the start of The Danish Beer Enthusiasts ale.dk small craft breweries have emerged all over Denmark. Unfortunately the market for special beer has become saturated, not unlike the IT bubble that burst around 2000 with countless companies trying to get your attention and money.

According to dot-com theory, an internet company's survival depended on expanding its customer base as rapidly as possible, even if it produced large annual losses. The phrase "Get large or get lost" was the wisdom of the day. At the height of the boom, it was possible for a promising dot-com to make an initial public offering of its stock and raise a great amount of money even though it had never made a profit. In such a situation, a company's lifespan was measured by its burn rate; that is, the rate at which a non-profitable company lacking a viable business model runs through its capital.

There is so many small breweries and although the market has expanded by approximately seven percent, there are too many now. The curve follows the dot-com in the sense that we have seen a lot of hype and a whole lot of new small companies followed by some consolidation of the market and the death of the breweries with the least successful distribution. This summer will probably be the final breath for some small Danish breweries.

Back then in the good old IT days, I talked about first provers taking over the scene from the first movers. Yes – we will see small Danish breweries go bankrupt, but new ones will immerge to take their place. The marketplace dictates who lives and dies.

Some will survive and be a success because they make great beer, while other will survive on marketing and economic skills alone.

May the good beers stay with us.