Carlsberg has spent three years painstakingly re-creating the world first quality lager — and this week the result has been tasted in the UK.
In 2013, brewers at Carlsberg, in Copenhagen, made a surprising discovery of a single bottle of the lager, which was brewed in 1883 and which used the world’s first pure yeast, developed at the Carlsberg Laboratory and revolutionising beer brewing the world over.
Carlsberg’s Research Laboratory has spent the past three years painstakingly recreating the lager, cultivating the yeast and using 19th century brewing techniques to create a limited run of the product, named Re-brew.
Following an initial preview in May in Copenhagen, where dignitaries from around the world were given the opportunity to sample the product, Carlsberg has announced that, for one month only, Re-brew will be made available to beer-drinkers in the UK.
During October, 600 bottles will be available to purchase at St Barts Brewery, 66 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9DY, priced at £12.95 per bottle. All proceeds from sales of the beer will be given to the University of Nottingham’s International Centre for Brewing Science, where Carlsberg UK and the university will identify a full time masters student who meets the values of the Carlsberg Foundation and cover their full course fees.
Liam Newton, vice-president of marketing for Carlsberg UK, said: “It’s taken Carlsberg’s brewers years of craft and dedication to get to a point where we can make Re-brew available to the public. This is an incredible opportunity for UK beer-drinkers and enthusiasts to purchase the Re-brew beer before anyone else in the world does.
“Personally, I’m incredibly excited to be able to sample the lager that our forefathers drank, which is recognised globally as the father of quality lager.”
The original 1883 lager was one of the first to be brewed using the groundbreaking discovery of pure yeast, which eradicated ‘beer sickness’, a common problem affecting the smell and taste of beer in the 19th century. Rather than patenting the development of the yeast strain, Carlsberg decided to give away the yeast for free to other breweries around the world.
Today, most lager beers originate from the 1883 yeast discovery, including major international brands.
