The Carlsberg Foundation was set up in 1876 to manage the Carlsberg Laboratory and is celebrating 140 years in business.  There is however another significant date in the history of Carlsberg. In 1883 the Carlsberg Research Laboratory revolutionised the quality of beer with the discovery of pure yeast which made it possible to make quality beer from every brew. Prior to this discovery many of the batches were undrinkable and suffered from a phenomenon known as ‘beer sickness’. Instead of keeping the discovery to themselves Carlsberg gave the yeast away to other brewers across the world and effectively became The Father of Quality Lager.

Carlsberg

140 year anniversary

To mark the 140 year anniversary the Carlsberg Research Laboratory has once again manged to use the same yeast to re-brew the original beer. The yeast was extracted from an original living sample that survived 133 years in a Carlsberg bottle found in the brewery’s cellars. Some of the team from the re-brew project were recently in Dublin and treated a lucky few of us to a night of discovery.  An interactive event was created in the very appropriate venue of The Science Gallery Dublin where the team took us through the history of Carlsberg and the process behind the brewing.

The Re-brew Project

Original bottle and label

On display throughout the evening were the original bottles, brewers manuals and of course samples of the original yeast. Of course no beer related event would be complete without Carlsberg treating the guests to something very special.  Not only did they have their usual Carlsberg lager on tap, they also had bottles of the beer brewed using the original yeast.  The bottles themselves were also manufactured exactly like they were when Carlsberg first began brewing beer. The original label was also recreated to produce a modern-day replica of a 133 year old beer.

Just like they did in 1883 when they perfected their brewing method for quality beer, Carlsberg once again managed to delight beer lovers with a historically accurate replica for a modern market.

The Re-brew Project

The Re-brew Project

Birgitte Skadhauge