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

Mike's facts about Ølfabrikken

Today I stumbled upon the blog of Mike, the head brewer at Gourmetbryggeriet. Yesterday he made a post about the purchase of Ølfabrikken. It contains a good timeline of events leading up to the purchase, and a special greeting to this blog :-)

Comment on Ølfabrikken

Anders Kissmeyer from Nørrebrø Bryghus makes a note of the Ølfabrikken case in his latest newsletter. It seems he shares my views on what really happened (page 3):

Even among us veterans, the ones that have been here more than six months - we can feel the consideration for one's colleagues is under pressure in the micro brewery industry. 'When the crib is empty' one is tempted to say, and the first dirty ticks have seen the light of day. For example the execution of a college, and then trying to convince the media that it really was an unselfish attempt to save the brewery.

He goes on and distances himself from the above mentioned black sheep, as he call it. Nice to see my views backed up.

European Beer Festival 2008

Just a friendly reminder that the European Beer Festival will take place in Copenhagen 12th - 14th of September 2008.

There is less than 10 months to the best beer Festival ever! I hope to meet you in Copenhagen. The preparations are are well underway.

At this website you will on a regular basis be able to follow the progress. As of now you can already find information about transport, ticket prices and more general info.

New Danish beer of the year 2007

The Dansh Beer Entusiasts make a vote for the best new Danish beer of the year. The finalists have been found and the second round of the voting is now running.

So, without further a due, I here bring you the ten finalists:

Øl	Bryggeri	Procent
Double IPA	Midtfyns	9,2%
Imperial Stout	Midtfyns	9,5%
Julemumme	Kongens Bryghus	6,6%
Monks Elixir	Mikkeller	10,0%
Nekron Stout	Djævlebryg	8,5%
Sort Jul	Ølfabrikken	8,5%
Thy Eksklusive	Thisted	7,1%
Triple IPA	Raasted	9,0%
Willemoes Jul 2007	Vestfyen	10,5%
Willemoes Porter	Vestfyen	9,8%

This year there was no less than 556 candidats in the first round. Pretty good for a small country like ours. A total of 97 breweries have put new beers on the market in 2007. The x-mas beers are heavily represented as usual. Maybe we like x-mas beer a lot, or we just remember them better as voting is so close the the year end - I guess I'll never find out.

Ølfabrikken offline

Why do I show all this attention for Ølfabrikken, all of a sudden? Well as it was my favourite brewery and I saw no other media mentioning anything, I felt compelled to write what I see and hear on the blog.

Ok - it requires no Sherlock to figure out that plug has been pulled on http://olfabrikken.dk

A couple of the Ølfabrikken shareholders have volunteered to look further into the matter of the takeover. Among these are legal and economical professionals. Whether they will find anything is unsure. But the important thing is that to have tried, instead of just standing by passively.

What happened to Øfabrikken

This is just in from ølfabrikken. Translated by yours truely. The original danish statement is in the comments to this post.

---

Dear Shareholder,

Enclosed is a detailed presentation of the case.

The text below has been presented to the Dicretor of Gourmtbryggeriet , Tom Sans Kristensen and his corrections has been included. The correspondence regarding thins can be forwarded upon request.

I tne fall of 2005 GB contacted us the first time with an offer to buy Ølfabrikken. We respectfully declined, because we had just finished an expansion of the brewery in Tisvildeleje.

Rather quickly it became apparent that our capacity sill was too small. It was difficult to get a clear response from the Helsinge municipality whether we were allowed to further expand the brewery in order to comply with the ever increasing demand. In that context Martin and I began to look for a strong partner in the winther of 2007, that could help us to keep Ølfabrikken going.

There were several bigger breweries that were interested in working with us. After quite some considerations we ended up with BG. A private limited company "Bryggeriet Ølfabrikken", owned 50/50 by the "old" Ølfabrikken and GB was created. The intent was to split the revenue equally between the two owners.

The combination of the Ølfabrikken brand and the distribution of GB seemed to work well. A series of rather big orders was generated within a short period of time and a decent profit was within grasp. At this point GB begins to show interest in increasing their ownership in the new private limited company by buying the part that Martin and I represented. At that point he had a wish to leave the company.

December 2007 we have a meeting where the sale is discussed. During the meeting we could not entirely agree upon some of the conditions of the purchase. GB then jubilantly states that: "We can just wait for your bankruptcy and buy the remains from the bank". Unfortunately that was a correct observation. Ølfabrikken was entirely dependant upon the income from the private limited company, which contained the brand and the customers. The private limited company had its production in the brewery in Roskilde, that is 100% controlled by GB, thus easily being able to cut off any income to Ølfabrikken until it was down on it's knees.

However it is not until January 2008 that the full extent becomes apparent. GB does not only with to increase their ownership part, but want everything!
I try to introduce different semi desperate solutions, including 6 months of work, on my part, without pay and GB getting the lion's share without paying for it. In return GB had to leave some small part to the founders of the original company. There is no willingness to negotiate and I choose to resign.

Subsequently BG has tried to defend themselvs in a series of staments by leaving the impression that they were a rescuing angel and in reality saved Ølfabrikken. That is not correct. In the spring, when we were looking for new partners, our operations generated profit. The dept in connection with funding of the company was comparable with other Danish breweries of the same size and age. Meanwhile we were in a lucrative situation with a internationally recognised microbrew brand and a loyal customer base.

That said, we could easily have been in the same situation as we are now - there is always a risk in running a small business. Hovever it is 100% certain that we respectfully would have reclined GB's offer had we known their intention.

Best wishes

Christian Skovdal Andersen