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

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.

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.

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.

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

This is the end of Ølfabrikken

I just got an email from Gourmetbryggeriet and one from Ølfabrikken. Gourmetbryggeriet now owns 100% of Ølfabrikken. Not that long ago Gourmetbryggeriet bought the first half of Ølfabrikken. Ølfabrikken is now just another brand of Gourmetbryggeriet.

Christian Skovdal Andersen, the co-counder and brew master of Ølfabrikken is leaving the this new instalment. This makes me sad, as Christian *is* the spirit of Ølfabrikken. Without him I consider the brand to be a hollow shell.

Money talks, I guess.

The letter from Christian (translated in to my poor english):

Dear shareholder,

It is with great regret that I have to inform you that Gourmetbryggeriet has taken over 100% of the brand Ølfabrikken, that will continue as a brand within the context of GB.

That means that you, as shareholder, still have your shares, but in a company with debt and very few assets. The debt will be repaid by me the undersigned and the director of the company Martin Larsen.

All alternative solutions that would mean that we, the shareholders, would stay as owners, have been rejected by Gourmetbryggeriet and as a result I have dismissed myself.

[SNIP]

We shall see if the brand stays unchanged, but I seriously doubt it.

Here's to the Ølfabrikken that once was.

Brew house out of the box (perfect gift?)

"Brew house out of the box" aka. "GourmetTurnkey"

GourmetBryggeriet is now installing the first Turnkey brew house on Iceland.

The equipment arrives in a container and gets installed on site. The lucky owners of this new brewery is Ölvisholt Brugghús.

The project in it's third week and the equipment has been installed, and all piping done. Within one week the first brew will be made.

The perfect gift for the rich lad that has everything.

New softdrinks from GourmetBryggeriet

GourmetBryggeriet now makes soft drinks too. They have recently launched a a series of soft drinks. The selection is mineral water, lemon, orange, cola and mineral water without gas.

I have tried the cola from GourmetBryggeriet and it was quite nice. It is nothing like Coca Cola or Pepsi. In fact the tast is more like ØCOLA - yep the ones with the slogan: "Kill a Coke - drink a joke". Well that slogan did not last long and a war began. It tastes far less synthetic than the American counterparts.

I liked the GB cola a lot, and I have yet to try the other flavours.

Gourmetbryggeriet patners with Kjaerstrup chocolate factory

First they bought a beer 'factory' (Ølfabrikken) and now Gourmetbryggeriet partners up with Kjaerstrup Chocolate 'factory' to brew and sell a Chocolate Stout.

The stout is already avaiable in Danish shops, but I have yet to sample it. Kjaerstrup Chocolate is a family owned complany on the small island Bornholm in Denmark, who's specialty is hand crafted chocolate of the highest quality.

Kjaerstrup used to brew their beer locally, but now Gourmetbryggeriet has taken over the production in Roskilde. I'm just wondering if it is Ølfabrikken that is actually brewing the beer?

I do hope so!

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?

Weird and special beer tasted

Ølfestivallen this year was bigger and better than ever (amazing how Danish Beer Enthusiasts can achieve that year after year). The selection was broader and better than ever, and also for weird combination.

At the Mybeer booth I made a detour from beer. Ultraprés was served warm in small 2cl glases with a shot of whipped cream. It was sweet and the experience had noting to do with beer, ewww. Their own tagline is "don't take our word for io, ask someone who have tried it" - I just wish that I had. It was not unpleasant, but totally wrong.

Although the experince at Mybeer was bad, it has nothing to do with me not liking sweet beer. One of the good ones was Quadrupel 11% vol. from Ølfabrikken. This is an intense beer is brewed with pilsner malt and caramel syrup and with a belgian yeast. This beer is special and is only served at special occasions, after being stored for at least a year. Although my expectations were high, they where all met at the Ølfabrikken booth.

While being totally in the sportligt for brewing excellent beer Mikkeller did not excite me as expected. I tried a couple of beers from them. For instance their X Hop Juice 2007 IBU a hoppy ale with 5% vol. Probably the most hoppy beer in the world, and so what? While I HAD to try it, it was fun, but not an interesting beer apart from the fact that it had a teoretical IBU of 2007. That said, Mikkeller make great beer, and the brewer also works for Ølfabrikken (Note: Ølfabrikken is restructuring so who knows who works there today).

Greenland Brewhouse served musk ox saussage on toast. A very pleasant experience together with their Artic Ale a nice barley wine with 9% vol. although it would go better with good cheeses.

Pssst! Don't tell anyone... but I liked the Radler served at Gourmetbryggeriet. In the mountains of Germany and Austria, the bicyclists (Radler in German) need a good refreshment, and a little energy after a long climb up a mountain road in the blazing, humid weather, but they also need the soberness and strength to return home, down the long, steep hills. From these excursions has developed the concept of a beer and lemon-lime (actually Zitronenlimonade in German) mixture in Germany and Austria, the Radler and the Russ, basically the same as the Shandy in England. The Radler is a normal Munich "Helles" or a pilsner-style beer such as Zipfer mixed with 1/2 lemon-lime soda, and the Russ is a mixture of 1/2 Weizenbier, such as Edelweiß Hefetrüb, and 1/2 lemon-lime soda, - refreshing, relaxing, and enjoyable. At the Gourmetbryggeriet booth it was served with 70% beer and 30% lemonade.

Gourmetbryggeriet buys 50 percent of Ølfabrikken

According to www.ale.dk half of Ølfabrikken has been bought by Gourmetbryggeriet.

To my surprise, one of the two owners, Martin Larsen, has chosen to sell his part of Ølfabrikken to Gourmetbryggeriet in Roskilde (yes, the city with the big music festival). The sale should not reflect trouble in management, but rather a wish to get more capital for expansion.

With the deal comes a lot of exiting future plans for Ølfabrikken. One being the planned movement to the present facilities of Gourmetbryggeriet once they have finished building their new brewery.

Christian Skovdal Andersen, the remaining owner, says that the movement will not mean any alterations to the beer nor to it's quality. However alterations to the brewery have to be made to facilitate the brewing style of Ølfabrikken.

Cheers Christian, and good luck!

Ølfabrikken og brownies

Ølfabrikken laver noget dejligt øl. Det har jeg syntes lige fra starten, og jeg er tydeligvis ikke alene om den holdning.

Mange andre Ølentusiaster stemte lige som jeg på Ølfabrikkens porter. Løbet var tæt lige til det sidste, men Ølfabrikken holdt sig overbevisende et par stemmer foran hele vejen. Så gik Ølfabrikken også hen og blev Årets bryggeri kåret af De Danske Ølentusiaster.

Med i feltet var:
"Porter" fra Ølfabrikken, "Brown Ale" og "Saaz Blonde" fra Jacobsen, "Fin Ale" fra Gourmetbryggeriet, "Forsøgbryg nr. 27" fra Thisted, "Jingle Bells" fra Ørbæk, "Julebryg" fra Fur, "Stjerne Bryg 2005" fra Herslev, "Stærke Preben" fra Svaneke, "Willemoes Jule Ale" fra Vestfyen

Nå nu kom jeg næsten væk fra pointen med det her inlæg, nemlig Ølfabrikkens hjemmeside, hvor der ud over information om deres øl, bryggeriet og distributionsnet også er opskrifter på god mad.

Og nu kommer vi til humlen med indlægget, nemlig en fantastisk opskrift, som er afprøvet og godkendt af undertegnede. Nedenstående opskrift og andre gode opskrifter til og med øl kan du finde på Ølfabrikkens madside.

Brownies med Ølfabrikken Stout
Opskriften er til ca 20 stk brownies alt efter hvor store du vil have dem.
Chokolade og kraftig stout har alle dage været en perfekt kombination. I denne opskrift finder de igen hinanden, hvor bitterheden og de ristede nuancer fra øllet matcher den mørke chokolade perfekt.

Ingredienser
200 g saltet smør
200 g hvedemel
200 g sukker
200 g mørk chokolade med højt kakaoindhold
100 g mørk grofthakket chokolade eller kakaoknapper af god kvalitet
100 g valnødder (grofthakkede)
4 store æg
2 dl Ølfabrikken Stout (hvis du hellere vil drikke din Ølfabrikken Stout, kan den erstattes med en anden stout eller porter med markant ristet malt og høj bitterhed - fx. Great Divide Yeti eller Northcoast Old Rasputin)

Sådan laver du kagerne
Forvarm ovnen til 200 grader. Smørret og de 200 g chokolade smeltes ved meget, meget svag varme eller i vandbad. Sukker og æg piskes til en sej æggesnaps - det tager minimum 3 minutter, da alt sukkeret skal være opløst. Æggesnapsen vendes gradvist sammen med den lune smør/chokolade masse - tilsæt kun lidt ad gangen, ellers risikerer du at varmen får æggene til at koagulere. Tilsæt stout og sigt efter­følgende melet i blandingen gradvist - pas på, at der ikke opstår klumper! Vend hakket chokolade og valnødder og hæld dejen i en form foret med bagepapir. Bag ved 200 grader midt i ovnen i ca. 20 min, eller indtil en tandstikker stukket i kagen kommer ud næsten ren, men kun næsten, ellers bliver kagen for tør. Afkøl kagen uden tildækning og skær den i firkanter, der drysses med sigtet flormelis efter afkøling.

Nydes med rørt vanillieis og et glas afkølet Ølfabrikken Porter. Porteren vil med sin lette sødme være mere velegnet end Ølfabrikken Stout, der er for humlet til at gå sammen med søde sager.