Jacobsen Craft Brewery Celebrates its 10th Birthday
Carlsberg Group’s Jacobsen craft brewery in Copenhagen was inaugurated ten years ago. The brewery began its life as an ode to Carlsberg founder J.C. Jacobsen, established with the mission of creating craft beers of uncompromising quality, using brand new, state-of-the-art brewing facilities, the finest natural ingredients, and 150-plus years of Carlsberg innovation and know-how. The Jacobsen brewery has access to all Carlsberg’s expertise as well as resources from Carlsberg research facilities, but is a completely independent brewery with the remit of creating and producing the best and most exciting specialty brews in the world.
Since then Jacobsen has produced a range of highly successful, award-winning craft beer varieties. They can, of course be enjoyed in their own right, but one of Jacobsen’s goals has always been to bring beer back to the dining room table, as the perfect complement to an array of different foods.
“We want to give people new taste experiences and we want to challenge and develop beer culture,” says Jacobsen brewmaster Morten Ibsen. “It’s about making the most of what nature has to offer.”
One of Jacobsen’s first creations was Saaz Blonde, a light-coloured beer brewed using Belgian traditions, Czech Saaz hops, along with angelica extracts for a rounded, slightly sweet blonde ale that pairs perfectly with fare like yellow cheeses and lamb. Another example is Jacobsen Extra Pilsner, which received a maximum, three-star rating from the International Taste & Quality Institute in Belgium. It is a luxury pilsner that’s crafted using ingredients from the Nordic region: Danish malt, and organic hops from Germany.
Today, the Jacobsen Brewhouse has seven different craft brews in its day-to-day repertoire, seasonal variants as well as its renowned Vintage no.1, Vintage no.2, Vintage no. 3 and Jacobsen Limited Edition beers. Jacobsen products are currently available across Denmark, and some beers are exported to Sweden, Norway, the UK and Israel. The brewery now runs at close to full capacity and options for expansion are being evaluated.
Looking back over the first ten years of Jacobsen, Morten Ibsen concludes: “Every bottle of Jacobsen beer bears the words “Unlimited Dedication”, and this really sums up what we do here. We’ve been at the forefront of the Danish craft beer movement for ten years now, and the huge popularity of our beers here in Denmark and abroad just goes to show that dedication and uncompromising quality is a recipe for success.”
