> I have searched the internet high and ow and have come up pretty > empty-handed. If you can send anything at all, even if it's a > connection to another brewer or website, I would greatly ppreciate it.
Your mail ended up on the homebrew mailing list here in Denmark. Seems like nobody else has answered it, at least not on the list, so maybe I can come with a few comments. Actually, I started to write a small essay on the history of beer in Denmark, but I found out that I do not know enough about it. Basically, Denmark has been importing beer ideas from all around. First the Vikings, then as a part of the North German culture, then from the industrial England (porters), then from Germany again (bayerish beers) (topfermenting yeast?), and finally pilsners (pale malt). Like everywhere, beer brewing used to be a household activity, then a local business, slowly concentrating to bigger and bigger breweries. Today Denmark has Carlsberg (et co.), Bryggerigruppen (Faxe, Ceres, ...), and a few independent ones. Small breweries and even brew pubs have made a comeback in the recent years, finally bringing more quality to the Danish beer market. European imports (German, Belgian, English) have also gained market share on good quality, although the established breweries have fought back with obligatory bottle return systems and other dirty tricks. These days the most common Danish beer is a standard lager (the competition seems to be between Carlsberg and Tuborg, both brands run by the same Carlsberg concern). I have not met a home brewer who could produce such a bland and uninteresting product! Of course a large part of the population has a strong opinion of which of these two must be the best beer in the world... There must be some typical Danish beers, but I can not thing of any, except perhaps the "Limfjord Porter", fairly strong thing with liquorice in it. The best Danish beers seem to come from small breweries that take inspiration from abroad. Most of those are fairly new, and in no way traditional Danish. All in all, Denmark seems to be 10-20 years behind USA in the quality beer revolution... But there is hope, the interest in quality beers has exploded in the past few years. Now it is possible to get good Belgian or English ales and German or Check pilsners in many bars, and some small breweries are starting up. As to home brewing, most people here seem to copy (or be inspired by) foreign ideas. Only a few have enough cold space to produce lagers, most of us make ales. Belgian styles are popular, and English too. To finish on a positive note, Denmark is a serious producer of barley - they say that on a good year, one quarter of Danish fields are gorwing beer and whisky. They also grow hops in Denmark, so the possibilities are there. But the stuff easily available for home brewers tends to be imported. Danish farmers can not handle the packing and distribution for so small customers. Sorry, no receipies from me, I don't much believe in them. If you want a typical Danish beer, aim for a simple harmless pilsner. Best regards Heikki -- Heikki Levanto LSD - Levanto Software Development <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
