Beer In Denmark
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beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
market in
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
is dominated by the brands
Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to: Places * Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark ** Carlsberg station, its train station * Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses * Carlsbe ...
and Tuborg. Since Tuborg was acquired by Carlsberg in 1970, Carlsberg has held a near-monopoly. A number of regional breweries, however, managed to survive, and most of them merged into
Royal Unibrew Royal Unibrew is a brewing and beverage company headquartered in Faxe, Denmark. Its brands include Ceres brewery, Ceres, Faxe Brewery, Faxe, Albani Brewery, Albani, Thor Brewery, Thor, Karlens Brewery, Karlens and Royal. Royal Unibrew also has a s ...
in 2005. As of 2020,
Ratebeer Beer rating is the process of assessment and evaluation of beer by use of a points-based system. The process is similar to that used in beer judging competitions, such as those organised by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) in America, th ...
lists over 300 active breweries in Denmark, most of which are
microbreweries Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...
.


Economy

The Danish market is dominated by
pale lager Pale lager is a pale-to- golden lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmayr took British pale ale brewing and malt making techniques back to the Spaten Bre ...
, with more than 95% of total sales. However,
stout Stout is a type of dark beer that is generally warm fermented, such as dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout and imperial stout. Stout is a type of ale. The first known use of the word "stout" for beer is in a document dated 1677 in the E ...
and other dark beers are increasing in popularity, a trend driven by the market growth of mid-priced beers. The local
microbreweries Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...
are strong innovators and produce a wide variety of beer styles, including strong IPAs and stouts.
RateBeer brewery directory. Retrieved 15 October 2020
Danish beer production was 723 million litres in 2001, and increased to 870 million litres by 2005. Imported beer accounted for only 8% of total volume sales in 2006. This indicates that beer sales in Denmark are dominated by domestic brands; however, imports increased by 14% in 2006 to reach 36.3 million litres. Germany is the most important source market for imports. Danish beer exports was 296.1 million litres in 2006. Germany continues to be the most important export market for Danish beer. The German market accounted for 30% of exports in 2006. Based on data from the Danish Beer Association (), beer consumption for 2005 was 539 million litres.


Jacobsen

Danish industrialist J. C. Jacobsen revolutionized the world of brewing when his brewery,
Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to: Places * Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark ** Carlsberg station, its train station * Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses * Carlsbe ...
, bred a pure strain of
lager Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...
, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. This enabled the breweries to achieve a large and consistent output, and lager has been the most popular style of beer in Denmark since Carlsberg started selling it in 1847. Smaller breweries in Denmark suffered greatly under the Carlsberg market dominance, especially during the middle of the 20th century, and this led to a large reduction in available beer quality and styles. In recent years the interest in higher quality beer has risen sharply, and the Danish beer landscape is now dotted with several small breweries and
brewpub Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...
s, producing a wide range of beers.


Common types of beer


Classic

An all malt pale lager with more colour and taste. The classic type is named after the Tuborg or the Carlsberg.


Guld

Guld (Gold) is a name commonly applied to pale lagers with a strength around 5.7%
abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
. Examples include: Tuborg Guld (5.8%), Carlsberg Sort Guld (5.8%), Harboe Premium Gold (5.9%), Svaneke Mørk Guld (5.7%) and Wiibroe Guld Export (5.7%) usually referred to as Wiibroe Flag due to the many small Danish flags on the label.


Hvidtøl

Hvidtøl (White-beer) is a traditional Danish beer. It is usually under 2% abv, and quite malty and sweet. It was once the most common beer in Denmark but sales have declined so that it is mainly only bought at Christmas when it is served with risengrød. The beer was originally termed "white" as it was made from kilned
malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...
, which was developed in the late 18th century in contrast to the malts dried over fires which produced smokey beers.


Julebryg

Julebryg and Juleøl (Christmas beer) are names given to beers marketed at Christmas. They vary in strength and style, though tend to be malty and around 6% abv. Examples include Tuborg Julebryg (a 5.6% pale lager), Svaneke Julebryg (a 5.6% dark lager), Fur Julebryg (a 6.5% brown ale), Fjordens Juleøl (a 6% dark lager), and Raasted Juleøl (an 8.5% dark ale). Additionally, Carlsberg 47 is slightly connected to the late autumn and Christmas.


Nisseøl

Nisseøl (literally nisse beer) is a dark, sweet hvidtøl (white beer, see above) which is sold around Christmas time in Denmark. It is not to be confused with julebryg, which is a much stronger Danish Christmas beer.


Påskeøl

Påskeøl (Easter beer) was the original seasonal beer, today the Christmas beers are more popular, but many Easter beers still remain. The Easter beer is a Danish tradition. Like Christmas beers, they are usually 5-6-7% lagers. Examples include: Carl's Påske, Tuborg Påskebryg, Royal Spring, Påskebryg 7,8% (Ørbæk Brewery), Fynsk Forår (Ørbæk Brewery).


Pale lager

The most common type of beer in Denmark is
pale lager Pale lager is a pale-to- golden lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmayr took British pale ale brewing and malt making techniques back to the Spaten Bre ...
, simply known as ''Pilsner'' in Danish. For instance: Carlsberg Pilsner (often called "Hof" in Denmark), Grøn Tuborg, Tuborg klassisk (Tuborg Klassik), or Tuborg classic (Tuborg classic), Royal Pilsner. These pilsners have a moderate alcohol strength of 4,6% (by volume). A bit stronger pale lager (Pilsner) is the Guld (Gold) described above. Even stronger pale lagers are for instance Carlsberg Elephant (7.2%) and Tuborg Fine Festival (7.5%).


Strong lager

Strong lager (''stærk øl'' or ''export'') refers to pale lagers in the tax category III (6-8%) beers such as Carlsberg Elephant Beer, Tuborg Fine Festival, Albani Giraffe, Royal Selection.


Brown ales

Brown Ale Brown ale is a Beer style, style of beer with a dark amber or brown colour. The term was first used by London brewers in the late 17th century to describe a lightly hopped ale brewed from 100% Mash ingredients#Malts, brown malt. Brown ale is a typ ...
is a common style, with Jacobsen being brewed by Carlsberg and Ørbæk Brewery, Skagen Bryghus.


Stouts and porters

Many microbreweries brew stouts and
porters Porters may refer to: * Porters, Virginia, an unincorporated community in Virginia, United States * Porters, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin, United States * Porters Ski Area, a ski resort in New Zealand * Porters (TV series), '' ...
. Such styles have been popular in the region, historically including
baltic porter Porter is a style of beer that was developed in London in the early 18th century. It is well- hopped and dark in appearance owing to the use of brown malt.Dornbusch, Horst, and Garrett Oliver. "Porter." ''The Oxford Companion to Beer''. Ed. ...
.


IPA

India pale ales are also produced by many Danish microbreweries.


Low alcohol and non-alcohol beers

By Danish law beers with up to 0,5 % alcohol by volume are considered alcohol free. These beers have gained in popularity in recent years, with about 50 different brands produced in Denmark. Drinking alcohol free beer has become more socially accepted and the alcohol free beers brewed today taste better than they did a few years ago. Mikkeller is a major producer of alcohol free beers, with 16 different beers.


Notable Breweries

* Amager Bryghus * Bryghuset Møn * Bryggeriet Djævlebryg * Brøckhouse * Carlsberg brewery ** Tuborg ** Jacobsen * Evil Twin Brewing * Fuglsang *
Föroya Bjór Föroya Bjór is a Faroese brewing company based in Klaksvík. Apart from beers the company also produces soft drinks. It was established in 1888 in Klaksvík. History In 1883 Símun F. Hansen went to Denmark to learn the art of brewing and ba ...
* Greenland Brewhouse *
Harboes Bryggeri Harboe's Brewery () is a Denmark, Danish brewery located in Skælskør, Denmark which was established in 1883. Harboes is an international beverage manufacturer with production facilities in three countries and business activities in more than 90 ...
* Mikkeller * Nørrebro Bryghus *
Restorffs Bryggjarí Restorffs Bryggjarí was a Faroe Islands, Faroese brewing company established by the Danish-German immigrant Martin Christian Restorff in 1849. History Restorffs Bryggjarí was situated in the capítal Tórshavn, where the majority of its be ...
*
Royal Unibrew Royal Unibrew is a brewing and beverage company headquartered in Faxe, Denmark. Its brands include Ceres brewery, Ceres, Faxe Brewery, Faxe, Albani Brewery, Albani, Thor Brewery, Thor, Karlens Brewery, Karlens and Royal. Royal Unibrew also has a s ...
** Albani Brewery ** Ceres Brewery **
Faxe Brewery Faxe Brewery is a Danish brewery located in the town of Faxe. The brewery was founded in 1901 by Nikoline and Conrad Nielsen. It was called Fakse Dampbryggeri, but after her husband's death, Nikoline christened the brewery Faxe Bryggeri. And i ...
**
Maribo Bryghus Maribo Bryghus was a Danish brewery located in the town of Maribo. The brewery was founded in 1895 by Christian Jørgensen as Thor Brewery (''Thor Bryggeri''). It was renamed ten years later to avoid confusion with the Thor Brewery in Randers. ...
** Odin Brewery * Thisted Bryghus * To Øl * Tvedes Bryggeri * Vestfyen


See also

*
Beer and breweries by region This is a list of articles and categories dealing with beer and breweries by region: the breweries and beers in various regions. Beer is the world's most widely consumed alcoholic drink, and is the third-most popular drink overall, after water and ...


References


Further reading

* Kristof Glamann, ''Beer And Brewing in Pre-Industrial Denmark'', University Press of Southern Denmark, 2005. .


External links

{{Beers of the world