Tuesday 3 June 2014

Ølfestival 2014- Copenhagen

The Venue

Ølfestival 2014 organised by the Danske Ølentusiaster (Danish Beer Enthusiasts) has taken place annually in Tap 1, a venue in the "Carlsberg City" section of Copenhagen.
Tasting Glasses...off site.
Inside, 77 breweries and distributors offered their wares to the interested public.
The large venue, the token for beer system and the presence of distributors and some larger operations, for whom beer is more about business than brewing, created an atmosphere more sales convention than festival. Entry was about 100DKR per day with tokens available for 12.50DKR which can be exchanged for a tasting glass of beer or snacks such as popcorn or sausages.


Never the less it provides a good view of beer in Denmark- an environment where Mikkeller (with some good beers but a somewhat lacklustre presence) share the same space as Carlsberg (with a large presence and dutifully lacklustre beers).

These guys know that numbers can be used to order things numerically.
Though the Copenhagen Beer Celebration earlier in the year offered more of an experience (free flowing beer with the brewers at the taps), logistically the Ølfestival was superior with plentiful toilets, substantial food and a sensible layout.

The majority of the breweries were Danish, and offered their full repertoire of beer allowing you to taste some of the more obscure beers from trusted names such as Hancock, Thisted Bryghus, Ørbæk Bryggeri and Nørrebro Bryghus.

International beers were present by virtue of distributors, or as acquisitions of Carlsberg. So while the presence of Erdinger, Grimbergen and Kilkenny via Carlsberg was a little redundant, an interesting selection of English, Belgian and American and others from distributor One Pint added a little to the mix. Nevertheless their presence diluted the Danish offering, but perhaps the international offerings are more appreciated by the Danes. 

On another note the presence of "McGargles" a plastic-paddy spreadsheet-beer featuring the ominous "Brewed in the EU" warning soured things a little for me. This attempt to cash in on a beer heritage that is only being recaptured from make-em-cheap and sell-em-high conglomerates is sad to see as being pushed as Irish beer, which at least one representative there thought it was. On a more positive note O'Hara's was available courtesy of Premium Beer Import.

The Danish breweries I was most interested in, Ugly Duck, Stronzo and Amager did not disappoint. All offered a broad range of beers, some more rounded than others- but all of these young operations make me very excited about the future of beer in Denmark.

In an attempt to foster a greater identity for Danish beer the festival invited brewers to enter beers into their New Nordic Beer Competition. Building on the idea of New Nordic Food (old ingredients and recipes with a modern twist). The only two I managed to taste were Thisted's Xperimentet 3, which replaced its hops with a range of Nordic botanics making for a herbal and lightly spiced beer with the body of a lager. The second, Det Lille Bryggeri's; Crazy Viking, was made with beetroot and flavoured with liquorice, the colour is as you expect and if you were a little fonder of beetroot than I am, this would be a very enjoyable beer and it certainly was well crafted!

Fellow Travellers
Memorable beers:

Ugly Duck offered a very solid range, stand outs would be:

Rye Porter: Very good use of Rye to give this beer a tasty dryness- very drinkable at 7.8%

IPA Armarillo/Citra: I may be going through a phase of loving softer hops, but this beer balances them with the bite and bitterness you'd enjoy from a more aggressively hopped IPA.

Højsaison: As with the above beers, they offer you exactly what the style should offer, a very fresh beer with more fruit than spice and a crispness that was greatly enhanced in the version that was aged in white wine barrels.


Flying Couch:

Dark Matter Raspberry: An imperial stout with raspberries all the body with a fresh fruit finish. Their Dark Matter was also available with Cherry or Coffee.

Amager Bryghus:

Gluttony: Despite the name this Imperial IPA doesn't over do it. It does all it should. Drinks like a super-full normal IPA, the flavour is just about contained a hair away from overwhelming.

To Øl:

Jule Mælk: A sweet Christmas Stout, still good this time of year. It has a long treacly linger with a warming swallow at 15%.






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Following and branching from the main themes Poetry, Urbanism and Beer and all the rest, along the way.