Carlsberg dedicates new specialty beer brewhouse

Modern Brewery Age, Nov 29, 2004

Carlsberg has announced it is building a new brewhouse within the heart of its historic building complex in Valby, Denmark. The company said the brewery will ensure continued production of specialty beers, and will provide consumers with a window into "Carlsberg's New brewhouse in the heart of Carlsberg's beer culture and brewing craftsmanship."

Carlsberg chief executive Nils S. Andersen recently laid the foundation stone for the new brewhouse, which he said would ensure the continued development and production of unique speciality beers aimed at beer connoisseurs.

Carlsberg expects to open the doors of the brewhouse, which will be called "Jacobsen"--a direct reference to the firm's visionary founder J. C. Jacobsen and his son Carl Jacobsen, in June 2005.

"The best thing about a brewery--large or small--is the products it produces. Carlsberg's goal is to brew beer of the highest quality. We already do this on a grand scale at the large brewery next door, and it is our ambition to do so on a small scale here. Jacobsen will form the backdrop for some of our best craftsmanship in the art of brewing at Carlsberg," Andersen said.

Andersen said Carlsberg has received many positive responses to the introduction of its speciality beer series "Semper Ardens" in 2000.

"The Semper Ardens beers have been part of building the market for speciality beers," he says. "An important element has been an inspiring collaboration between the nation's leading chefs and Carlsberg's master brewers to improve the beer and the way beer complements food."

The new brewhouse will have a capacity of 17,000 hectolitres a year, or about five million 33 cl bottles of beer.

"Danes have acquired a taste for excellent speciality beers, and we and our master brewers can only be very pleased about this. Now, we are giving our series of speciality beers a new home in Jacobsen," says marketing vice president for Carlsberg Denmark, Ken H. Andersen.

At the moment, Anderson said he is in the process of recruiting a brewmaster to run the facility. "The brewmaster, as the inspirational heart of the brewhouse, will have overall responsibility for Jacobsen's beer," Ken Andersen said. "He or she must have the dedication to make an impression on the brewhouse and combine fine craftsmanship with modern brewing principles."

The brewhouse, specially designed for smaller production runs, is expected to be finished in June 2005. It is being built in one of the Old Carlsberg Brewery buildings from 1878, and will be an integrated part of the Carlsberg Visitors Center. The brewhouse will have two floors. The building's upper floor will be designed as a bar that has a clear view of the copper brew kettles and the bottling area. The company is expecting up to 15,000 visitors a year.