Mikkeller At MBAS Meeting

Mikkeller At MBAS Meeting podcast

Jacob Gram Alsing, the Operations Manager of Mikkeller, was the guest of the Malted Barley Appreciation Society homebrew club in June 2013 at Mug's Alehouse. Jacob, who works at the company headquarters in Copenhagen, was passing through town and gave us the short history of the company, as well as insight into some new developments.

How did it all start? Mikkel Borg Bjergsø was a high school physics teacher in Denmark who, in the early 2000s, began homebrewing 13 and 26 gallon batches with his pal Kristian Keller (Mikkel + Keller = Mikkeller). He figured that with his science background he should be able to make better beer than what was then domestically available in Denmark. In 2005 he began selling his homebrewed beer though his brother Jeppe's bottle shop and entering his creations in competitions. 

Hangin' with the homie...brewers. Photo Warren Becker.

Apparently, he was able to brew better beer, as the awards and accolades began to roll in! Since founding the company in 2006, Mikkeller has won the Danish Brewery of the Year award three times -- in 2006 and 2008, and in 2009 sharing the honor with Hornbeer.

The Mikkeller empire has expanded to include the Mikkeller Bar, Mikkeller And Friends bar and the Bottle Shop, all in Copenhagen. They're also in the process of launching a Mikkeller Bar in San Francisco, due to open on July 4, 2013, and one in London, England. Additionally, they've begun to make and sell spirits, including a "beer brandy" made from distilling the 17% Mikkeller Imperial Stout called Black. If that's not enough enterprise for you, Mikkel and company also organize the best international beer fest in Denmark on the first weekend of May -- an annual fest that began in 2012.

Beer brandy.

Black.

Most folks familiar with Mikkeller know that the operation is a "gypsy brewery", meaning, they don't own a brick & mortar facility. They brew their beers at various breweries around the world, though brew most often with a few trusted facilities, such as De Proef in Belgium. Mikkel specifies the ingredients, brewing process, target volume, etc., makes his own artwork, and pays the contract brewery wholesale price for the end product. That then gets shipped off to distributors and importers around the world. Jacob said that the U.S.A. was the biggest market for Mikkeller, but recently Sweden has been taking over.

Photo W.B.

In 2012 the brewery made 8500 hectoliters (9,700 bls) of beer, with 91 different new beers, currently selling in 42 countries.


For those lucky to be in attendance, Jacob poured draught samples of Orange Yuzu Glad I Said Porter and 1000 IBU. He also shared two different bottles from the "educational wood series" Mikkeller released, Forêt Limousine barley wine, aging a single batch of beer in various different types of barrels, to illustrate how different barrels can impart drastically different characters to a single brew. This is similar to the other series that Mikkeller has released, such as the hops series and yeast series. Learn more by listening to Jacob's complete address on the podcast.

Forêt Limousine barley wine aged in wood.

Pour, pour Bob.  Photo W.B.

1,000 IBU.

Jacob, Bill Coleman and Bridget of Nobel Experiment. Photo W.B.

  [link to podcast page]

Evil Twin At Beer Street

  [link to Evil Twin podcast page]


Back in July, Beer Street in Williamsburg hosted a few Danish craft brewers for a tasting event, including Jeppe of Evil Twin, the identical twin brother of Mikkel of Mikkeller. Mikkel and Tør from To Øl were there, too. (Or tøø, if you prefer.)

Both brothers have a similar type of brewing company -- they're gypsy brewers. That means that they don't have their own brewing facility. Instead, they brew their beers, or have them brewed, at different breweries, all over the world. Though, Jeppe does most of his brewing in Europe.

Jeppe is 2nd from the left.

This method has a lot of advantages over a "brick and mortar" operation. First off, there is nowhere near the incredible financial obstacles of buying or even leasing a commercial brewery, and all the complications, government licenses, taxes, etc. that an owner of a brewery has to deal with. No worrying about equipment maintenance. There is no rent. There are no labor costs.


Basically, you have your recipe, you book a brew date with a brewery that has extra capacity (as most do -- few breweries are brewing 24/7), you order your materials to be delivered, then you go and brew! Or you can direct the brewing to the trusted master brewer of that particular brewery.

The brewery takes care of bringing the beer from raw ingredients to bottles or kegs shrinkwrapped on pallets. You don't have to fill a hot liquor tank, couple a hose, shovel spent grain or do any of the other inglorious work involved in brewing. They take care of the dirty work, and you pay them the wholesale cost of the beer, just as if you were buying the brewery's own product. And then you distribute, promote, sell and enjoy!
 

Aside from the obvious advantages of not having all the hassles of owning, paying for, and managing a complex business like a brewery, it also frees up a gypsy brewer to be very creative and flexible. The brewer can use different facilities that are best suited to which ever particular style of beer which he wants to brew. Brewing systems, though technically much the same, can have significant subtle differences that can affect everything from mash efficiency to yeast flocculation, depending on the type of beer and its particular ingredients.

Gypsy brewing is growing -- even The Atlantic wrote about the subject! Jeppe and his brother have been gypsy brewing leaders, joined by other high quality, accomplished brewers, such as the boys at To Øl, Brian of Stillwater, Dan and Martha of Pretty Things, among others -- often times collaborating with one another,  This innovative generation of hyper-creative, quality-minded, imaginative young brewers are blazing the way and making the craft beer world all the more interesting, exciting and delicious!

To Øl At Beer Street

[link to podcast page]

On Sunday July 1, 2012, we biked over the Williamsburg Bridge to check out Beer Street and meet up with some Danish brewers who were on hand.

Peter, Jeppe, Tore, Lorcan, Mikkel.

One of those featured was To Øl, and Tore from the brewing company was there and told us about how he and his partner, Tobias, got started brewing.

The seed of To Øl was planted when in 2005 the duo, still high school students, complained to a chemistry teacher at their school about how much they disliked stale, boring, mass-market lager. It happened that the teacher was no other than Mikkel of Mikkeller!

Photo by Lefty.

The three manged to convince the school that buying homebrewing equipment was a good idea -- "Principal: we need to buy brewing equipment to teach the kids the science of fermentation!"  I have to say, if my teachers were able to relate algebra lessons to brewing beer, I'd have ended up getting a PhD from M.I.T.!

Hear all about it in this podcast. As a bonus, we asked Mikkel how the To Øl boys were as students, which was quite amusing!

Mikkel Talks About His To Øl Students

[link to podcast page]

Not many high school teachers would encourage their students to make beer. But in Denmark... sure! Mikkel shares his insights about To Øl's Tore and Tobias, two former students to whom he introduced homebrewing. The interview with Tore is here. Thankfully, Mikkel, being a chemistry teacher, wasn't as extreme as Walter White.

The Festival -- An Attendee's Perspective

All I want for Christmas is 20 cases of Cantillon.

In the previous post we covered what it was like to be a volunteer at The Festival. I dare say, it was more fun to be a volunteer worker than an attendee, as the volunteers got an inside view that regular patrons did not. And they also got free admission to a session themselves!

Most of our volunteer work was set-up before each session was open and breakdown after it closed, so we got to be "regular attendees" for the majority of each session. And what was that like? WOW. Imagine a two-day concert with 75 of your favorite bands playing exclusive sets -- AND you were able to meet and talk to them! That's kind of what it was like. Except with beer.

A week afterwards, I'm thinking about what I missed! With roughly 75 tables, clearly, it wasn't likely that I'd have sampled everything on offer. And I found myself going back twice, three times and sometimes four times for certain beers, at the expense of missing others. Some of those which I didn't try I later found out were not-to-be-missed. Damn.

There's no reason to dwell on the disappointments of beers missed and the few beers that didn't live up to expectations. They simply went to the dump buckets, appropriately. Yes -- while all the breweries were amazing, not every beer was for everyone's taste. And I'm sure that some of my "dump beers" were exulted by others.

At most beer fests, you're lucky if 10% of beers are interesting, unusual, exclusive or amazing. At The Festival is was more like 90%. Possibly the most "mundane" brewery was Sixpoint. But even they stood out, having brought the only spruce beer at the fest! (I didn't try it there -- my biggest regret --though I did get to enjoy it, happily, at Barcade a week later.) This fest was filled with brewing artists. The choices were overwhelming. Looking over the list of those represented was a dream-list.
One of the big stories of The Festival was the inclusion of Westvleteren. They were the only participating brewery that didn't have the actual brewer present. But since their brewer is a monk, who could object? Certainly not Dieu du Ciel. (Though possibly Trou du Diable...)

Westvleteren, a truly authentic Trappist beer (and one of two Trappist breweries where the monks are involved in the day-to-day brewing process). Their highly regarded beers are not available anywhere but at the Belgian monastery... officially. And they keep pretty tight control on that, so profiteers can't take advantage of its high demand and limited availability. But they worked out a limited term arrangement so that their Westvleteren 12 could be sold in a gift-pack of six bottles and two glasses for $85. All of the proceeds to go to building restoration of the monastery. Forget turning water into wine -- they turn beer into churches!

I had one experience at The Festival which helps to bring into focus just how extraordinary the beers were, and how one can get creative when the glass is bottomless. My pal Jim from NYC and I traded recommendations as we passed by one another throughout The Festival. At one point he insisted that I have a glass of DeRanke Guldenberg on tap -- but not the beer! Only the foam! What? At a NYC beer bar, I'm paying $8-$10 for Guldenberg on tap -- NO foam, thank you! But here, why not? I asked for a foamy pour, and got it -- direct from the man who brews it! Wow. Beer-cream. The smoothest, cloudiest, dreamiest beer imaginable.

Stefan of Dieu Du Ciel and B.R.

The Festival had a kind of Willy Wonka/Disneyland feel to it. It was the magic beer kingdom for 2 days. Though I was disappointed that I wasn't given a tour by Shelly Shelton. But Will "Willy" Shelton was there! The brewers also felt the magic vibe. They were just as impressed and just as eager to meet the other brewers. The brewers in attendance got as much, or more, out of the experience as anyone else.

Some, and certainly not all, of the beer highlights...

Freigeist had a delightful Gose which had a well balanced sourness, and also offered their Abraxxxas (6%) which is a sour, smoked wheat beer! The style is Lichtenhainer Weisse, which is a Berliner Weisse made with smoked malt. It was an incredible combination of flavors. We got to try their Pimock, a hoppy Rheinland Hefeweizen. And a few days later at Spuyten Duyvil, we enjoyed their Pink Panther, a 5.8% light and refreshing wheat beer made with hibiscus.

The DDC team has to all share one stick.

Dieu Du Ciel had a number of very dark, very strong beers, such as a Péché Mortel Bourbon, aged in oak, which was extremely rich, heavy and flavorful. But we were really impressed by their 4% Blanche de Plateau, a very mild wit style, having the palest yellow color and the most refreshing mildly sour taste.

Brouwerij De Graal had a very clean, dry and powerful 9% triple called Quest, which has all residual sugars fermented out of the beer. We interviewed brewer Wim about it.

Wim of De Graal

Jolly Pumpkin brought, it seemed, everything! Their table was mini-sour fest of its own!

Les Trois Mousquetaires from Brossard, Quebec brought some tasty German style beers -- a malty Kellerbier and not-too-commonly-seen Sticke Alt.

Westvleteren 12 was poured for lucky fest goers at the table at which they signed up to reserve their Westvleteren gift pack, a fundraiser for the monastery. Often times when you get those super rare imports, they're in terrible condition, because they've been handled badly and have spent way too long in transit. But this Westvleteren was in as good a condition as an imported bottle of monk-brewed beer can be -- heavenly!

Proletariat bartender Cory, Daniel Thiriez and B.R.

Thiriez brought their thirst quenching 4.5% abv northern french saison, which we had the privilege of enjoying in May at the brewery. And they debuted their new double IPA, Dalva.

Nøgne-Ø had a very rich, viscous oak aged version of their 11% Sunturnbrew, which was best enjoyed in very small sips. Kjetil the brewer also had his sake on hand, which was a delicious, light bodied, light flavored contrast to his heavy hitting ales.

Pretty Things offered their standard brews, all of which are anything but "standard". I was happy to be able to enjoy some St-Botolph's Town, one of my favorite brown ales of all time, since it's disappeared from the NYC market lately. Their latest seasonal, ¡Magnifico!, had also just been released so we enjoyed this refreshing 3.4% beer.

Mikkeller was in attendance, and I sampled the always satisfying Beer Geek Breakfast, but only by good fortune. While dumping out an ice bucket, as part of my work as a volunteer, an unscathed bottle of BGB fell out of the supposedly empty tub! It was a welcome break from the hard work on the loading dock!


Le Trou du Diable of Shawinigan, Quebec had one of the most intriguing beers on tap, due to its simplicity -- one type of malt, one type of hops, one yeast strain. And the result? Their SMaSH Citra was the most wonderful, clean, crisp, palate cleansing drink -- the perfect interlude amidst the wide range of sour, smokey, roasty, oaky, hoppy, etc. flavors inundating the tongue.

All the Quebec brewers came prepared for game of shinny.

Page 24/ Brasserie St Germain: I'm not even sure which beer I had. Since we visited my good "biloute" Stephane a few weeks ago and since we have some of his fine beers at home, I didn't sample much. But whatever it was, it was sturdy, malty and delicious. Ch'ti strong!

West County Cider, among their other ciders, offered their exquisite Reine de Pomme, which is made from an apple that originated in Normandy, France. This is possibly my favorite cider in the world, with its rich, honest apple aroma and flavor, effervescent body and tannic apple-skin bitterness. If there were an award given for "best looking table", West County would have won it with an attractive array of dwarf apples amidst the bottles.

Fred from Hopfenstark

Hopfenstark's Saison Station 55 had a rustic malt character offset by slight citrus spiciness and good hop bitterness. But I cautiously avoided experimenting with the Boson de Higgs, lest I help create the formation of a black hole. The brewery is located just north of Montréal.

Mahr’s from Bamberg had an unfiltered (ungespundet) pils, which we put into a water bottle and took outside to enjoy with lunch on Sunday. We drove from NYC to Worcester with their brewer. When I met him I asked, "So, you're Stephan from Mahrs?" "Yes!" he replied. "Pleased to meet you! I'm Bob from Earth!" I'm sure that it was the very first time that he had heard that...

De Ranke's Guldenberg, as previously mentioned, was smooth and delicious, and their Kriek tangy and refreshing.

Sebastian from Freigeist can be seen on the far left among the crowd.

Brasserie de la Senne from Brussels had the simple, uncomplicated and delicious Brussels Calling, a 6% Belgian Pale Ale with a lot of yeast character, and Taras Boulba, a floral-hopped, aromatic 4.5% Belgian Pale Ale -- both beers exceptionally refreshing and so easy drinking, they nearly drank themselves.

Cabinet Artisanal Brewhouse of Alexandria, VA had an impressive Gose, though perhaps a bit more sour than a traditional version of this sour Leipzig-style beer, uniquely made with salt, and a mouth-puckeringly sour Red Wine Barrel-Aged Grisette. When I saw their Flyers bottle opener on Saturday, I had to wear my NY Rangers t-shirt on Sunday to give them a little friendly ribbing!

Anchorage Brewing Company was pouring their Galaxy, a 7% white IPA fermented with brett, which was uniquely tasty. Gabe came further than most every other brewer, save for Brian Baird (Japan) and the New Zealand brewers!

Gueuzerie Tilquin is a lambic blender, utilizing lambic beer from Cantillon, Lindemans, Girardin and Boon. They had a bottled gueuze and one on tap -- the bottled beer being a bit rounder than the very aggressively sour draft.

Brasserie de Blaugies, an authentic French family farmhouse brewery, offered the rustic 5.8% Darbyste, made with fig juice, and La Moneuse, a simple, delicious 8% farmhouse saison, the namesake for which was a highway robber in the 1700s, of whom brewer Marie-Noelle is a descendent.

It should be noted that originally there was to be food served inside the venue. But the response from brewers wishing to attend was so overwhelming, they decided to make room for more beer and have food trucks outside, instead.

Clover at the left, FroYo at the right.

The Shuckintruck was our first stop for oysters and clams at the raw bar and super rich lobster rolls! There was the veggie/vegan Clover truck that served very satisfying BBQ seitan sandwiches and chickpea fritter sandwiches along with lipsmacking rosemary french fries. For those looking for a more traditional BBQ, there was BT's Smokehouse Southern Style BBQ with pulled pork, smoked beef and the like, as well as some mouthwatering crabmeat-and-corn fritters and sweet potato tater tots! ("You gunna eat yer tots?")

Far left, the white Shuckintruck; far right, BT BBQ.

Julian's had their double decker bus food truck, with dining tables on the open-air upper deck! They served some quality modern American fusion fare. In addition to all that, a FroYo frozen yogurt truck provided dessert. One of their treats was a tangy/creamy, almost sour fruit flavor frozen yogurt -- very refreshing to the palate!

Julian's in red.

They pretty much covered it all for food: BBQ meats, fried food, seafood, vegan fare, mixed American bistro chow. Too often at such an event, the non-meat alternatives are lackluster and disappointing, if they even have any non-meat servings. So, they killed it on this front, as well!

Dive Bar backyard.

The Festival wound up at 5pm, with attendees trying to squeeze in one more beer as blue shirted volunteers scrambled to pack up, clean up and clear out. At about 7pm the brewers and some volunteers started filtering into the backyard of the Dive Bar for a post-festival party thrown by Alec Lopez, the proprietor of Dive Bar and Armsby Abbey.

Julian's provided the eats for the party, which was pay as you go, and the beer was provided by The Festival free of charge, in the form of half-filled kegs and left over bottles from the fest. With about 7 different unmarked key kegs floating in icy water to choose from, it was a bit of beer roulette until you sussed out which kegs had what. The best tactic was to find a not-too-strong one that suited you, and then just stick to that, least you end up drinking an 11% heavy dark beer, followed by a 10% barley wine, then a 9% god-knows-what -- what I'm saying is that there were a LOT of strong beers!

The High and Mighty-mobile, which is low and tiny.

We were lucky to find the High and Mighty Beer of the Gods keg! Also scored at the party were drafts of Taras Boulba and Brussels Calling (how did those kegs not kick at The Festival?!), and some choice bottles, such as West County Cider's Reine de Pomme and a few Jolly Pumpkins! What a way to wrap up one of the beeriest weekends of a lifetime!

"A Big Pile Of Rocks", as listed on The Festival's area map.