16 July 2015 - Best Beer HQ
Top 5 facts about Carlsberg
Want to learn something new about that world-famous lager in the green bottle? No, not Heineken – we mean the other famous European lager in a green bottle: Carlsberg.
Carlsberg is easily one of the most recognisable beer brands in the world. But how much do you know about this beer that started from humble origins in Denmark and became one of the biggest brewing companies in the world?
Let’s find out…
5. Carlsberg is older than Heineken
Carlsberg was founded in 1847 by 24-year-old Jacob Christian Jacobsen – JC Jacobsen to his friends – who saw an opportunity to industrialise the beer brewing process. Until that point, the amber nectar that we know and love was predominantly brewed by small breweries.
Starting in 1844, he established a brewery on the outskirts Copenhagen, where it has remained ever since. Just in case you’re keeping score, Heineken was founded 17 years later in 1864.
4. Carlsberg used a swastika as a logo
This is a little-known fact about Carlsberg that the company is probably embarrassed about now: long before the Nazis became associated with the swastika, Carlsberg used the hindu symbol for prosperity and good fortune on its beer.
Naturally, Carlsberg stopped using the swastika on its bottles of beer as it became associatied with the German Nazi Party.
3. The Carlsberg Laboratory helped breweries everywhere
Although he had no formal scientific training, JC Jacobsen believed that the industrialisation of the beer brewing process had to be based on scientific methods. In 1875 he founded the Carlsberg Laboratory, for the scientific advancement of biochemical knowledge in relation to the brewing of beer.
This research lab has made some ground-breaking scientific discoveries over the years that have helped breweries everywhere, including the invention of the pH scale and some radical advances in the field of protein chemistry.
2. Famous people have visited the Carlsberg brewery
If you’re a fan of Carlsberg or you’re interested in beer brewing in general, you might be pleased to know that you can visit the original Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Famous people to take a brewery tour include Sir Winston Churchill (apparently he was a fan of the beer), Queen Elizabeth II, and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
1. The Carlsberg Group is certifiably massive
The Carlsberg lager in the green bottle may be the company’s flagship beer, but did you know that the company has a portfolio which includes more than 500 international beer brands?
It’s true. From its humble origins outlined above, Carlsberg Group has grown to be one of the top five largest beer companies in the world, employing around 46,000 people. Its beers include Tuborg, Kronenbourg, SKOL, Beerlao, Baltika, and Somersby cider.
As of Q1 2015, Carlsberg Group’s operating profit before special items was 661 million Danish crowns ($99 million), and produces more than 120 million hectolitres of beer per year.
That’s a crap-load of beer and money.
Love facts? Also check out these top 10 facts about Heineken.