Read more! Jess in Denmark

The life and times of everyone's favorite Jess while she's living it up in Europe.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Øl!


On Wednesday, about 150 DIS kids visited the Carlsberg Brewery. Carlsberg, founded in the late 1800s, and Tuborg, which Carlsberg bought sometime in the 70s, have a seeming monopoly on beer in København. But I think that may just be the way it looks to us tourists because their logos and stuff are everywhere. At the tour, our speaker said now the company only has something like 60 percent of the market share.

When we got the brewery, we heard a presentation and then took a self-guided tour through Old Carlsberg and some museum stuff they have set up. We walked into the building for the presentation and the smell of hops in the air was so strong. Or maybe it was yeast. Are hops and yeast the same thing? I don't know the technicalities of making beer. But it definitely smelled like bread.

Then, we walk out and see the beautiful buildings. I wouldn't have guessed in a million years they were for a brewery. I haven't been to Budweiser or anything but I doubt it's as pretty. There were statues everywhere, including a replica of the Little Mermaid.

Accidentally in black and white.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
And then the beer smell. It was kind of awesome, I'm not going to lie. But you felt like you were drinking just walking around. There were HUGE silos full of grain everywhere, and we saw a truck holding at least 100 kegs. Glorious sights.

And they called it the Stairway to Heaven?


Come on, if that doesn't bring a smile to your face, what does, you teetotaler?

One room in the museum showed a bottle of every kind of beer the brewery has made.

I took a picture of some of the tools they use just for you, Dad!

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


The ultimate beer funnel.


After the tour, we had about 45 minutes of free all-you-can-drink Carlsberg, Carl's special and a dark Carlsberg, which I didn't try. DIS also paid for us to have sandwiches, which I wisely saved for later, giving me both more room for beer and a free snack for later. It was so delicious on the bus back home at 12 something.

Anyway, umm, after the tour I got to experience Copenhagen weekday nightlife, which isn't really bumpin, but is fun nonetheless. We drank in the public square and went to a few bars and I was hit on by three different nationalities of men - a new record for me! Haha.


Skål!

I look pretty bad here, I know. It was a long day. But skål anyway!