Carlsberg Group

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For the municipality, see Carlsberg, Germany.
Carlsberg
Type Public (OMX: CARL A, OMX: CARL B)
Founded 1847
Headquarters Flag of DenmarkCopenhagen, Denmark
Key people Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen (President and CEO), Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen (Chairman)
Industry Beverages
Products Beers, Water and lagers
Revenue 44,750 million DKK (2007)[1]
Net income 2.596 million DKK (2007)[2]
Employees 31,680 (2006)
Website http://www.carlsberg.com/
Inside view of one of the Carlsberg gates
Inside view of one of the Carlsberg gates

The Carlsberg Group (IPA: /ˈkɑrlzbɚɡ/) is a large brewing company founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen after the name of his son Carl (Carl Jacobsen). The headquarters are in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company's main brand is Carlsberg Beer, but it also brews Tuborg as well as local beers[3]. After merging with the brewery assets of Norwegian conglomerate Orkla ASA in January 2001, Carlsberg became the 5th largest brewery group in the world, employing around 31,000 people.

Contents

[edit] History

Carlsberg was founded by J. C. Jacobsen; the first brew was finished on November 10, 1847. Exportation of Carlsberg Beer began in 1868; foreign brewing was begun in 1968 with the opening of a Carlsberg brewery in Blantyre, Malawi[4]. Some of the company's original logos include an elephant (after which some of its lagers are named) and the swastika. Use of the latter was discontinued in the 1930s because of its association with political parties in neighboring Germany. Carlsberg founder J. C. Jacobsen was a philanthropist and avid art collector. With his fortune he amassed an impressive art collection which is now housed in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in central Copenhagen.

Jacobsen set up the Carlsberg Laboratory in 1875 which worked on scientific problems related to brewing. It featured a Department of Chemistry and a Department of Physiology. The species of yeast used to make pale lager, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, was isolated at the Laboratory and was named after it. The concept of pH was developed there as well as advances in protein chemistry. The laboratory was part of the Carlsberg Foundation until 1972 when it was renamed the Carlsberg Research Center and transferred to the brewery.

The old brewery in Copenhagen is open for tours and famous visitors have included Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II.

Carlsberg acquired Tuborg breweries in 1970[5] and merged with Tetley in 1992.

Carlsberg has one brewery in Ashkelon, Israel which started production in 1994 of Carlsberg and Tuborg for the local Israeli market.

Carlsberg has two breweries in China - Huizhou and Shanghai. It used to have one in Hong Kong, but shut it down in 1999 due to high costs. Carlsberg's Shanghai brewery started production in 1998.

[edit] Baltic Beverages Holding

Baltic Beverages Holding is a Russian brewery jointly owned by Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle. The company is a significant operator in the brewing industry in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic countries and Kazakhstan. In 2007 the companies revenue increased by 31% to 10,4 Bn DKK[6]. A significant increase in revenue and profit is also expected in 2008.

In 2007 Carlsberg and Heineken International announced that they would make a bid for Scottish & Newcastle. After much negotiation, Scottish & Newcastle agreed to the sale in early 2008, pending shareholder approval, for an amount close to 8 Bn £. If the transactions is completed, most of Scottish & Newcastle operations in China, Vietnam, France and Russia & Eastern Europe will be transferred to Carlsberg. That will include Baltic Beverages Holding. The transaction is expected to complete by June 2008.[7]

[edit] Brands

Carlsberg beers
Carlsberg beers

Brands held by the Carlsberg brewery group:

[edit] Carlsberg pilsner

Carlsberg beer.
Carlsberg beer.

Carlsberg Pilsner or Carlsberg Lager is the beer most people expect when ordering a Carlsberg. A German style pilsner, first brewed in 1904. In Denmark the beer is often known as HOF (court) due to its Royal Warrant. This nickname was adopted into the brand in 1931 but discontinued in 1991.

[edit] Special Brew

Main article: Special Brew

Special Brew is a very strong lager (sometimes known as premium lager) brewed in Denmark and the United Kingdom. It comes in a can with a distinctive gold and red colour.

Special Brew was first brewed by master brewer, Thomas Marfleet, and was brewed by Carlsberg to commemorate a visit to Denmark of Winston Churchill in 1950. In May 1951 two crates were delivered to Churchill's London home. In a thank you letter Churchill called the drink "Commemoration Lager". In Denmark the drink was called Påskebryg (Easter Brew), but the Easter Brew has been replaced by a weaker beer (Carls Påske). For the British market Carlsberg called the drink Special Brew and production was started in Northampton in the 1950s.

At 9% alcohol Special Brew is one of the strongest lagers freely available in the United Kingdom, without going to a specialist shop. Some people will say that Special Brew should more properly be described as a Barley wine, rather than a lager.

A similar beer is Tennent's Super.

[edit] Elephant beer

Carlsberg Elephant beer.
Carlsberg Elephant beer.

In 1901, on brewer Carl Jacobsen’s initiative the Architect, Professor J.L. Dahlerup created a tower resting on four elephants carved in granite from the Danish island Bornholm. Brewer Jacobsen was inspired to this gate by the obelisk supporting elephant on the Minerva Square in Rome. The four elephants each bear the initial of one of Carl Jacobsen’s four children: Theodora, Paula, Helge and Vagn. This became known as The Elephant Gate and is a landmark entrance to the brewery. To the west of the gate, Carl Jacobsen’s motto was inscribed: Laboremus pro Patria (Let us work for our country). Since then the Elephant has been a famous part of the Carlsberg Family, especially after the strong Elephant Beer was created in 1955 under the name “Export Lager Beer” and featuring the Elephant label. Marketed in Ghana, the Gold Coast, and Nigeria. Launched on the Danish market as Elephant Beer on 9 November 1959. The Elephant is still brewed in Carlsberg Breweries in Copenhagen and exported around the world. A few markets brew their own Carlsberg Elephant beer locally according to the original recipe.

[edit] Vintage No. 1 beer

This limited edition beer, unveiled in 2008, is the most expensive beer in the world, at roughly US $400 per bottle. Brewmaster Jens Eiken says that "We believe that there are people out there who are willing to part with this amount of money just so that they can taste an amazing beer or to keep it on their mantelpiece." Only 600 bottles will be available for sale.

[edit] Advertising

Carlsberg's tagline "Probably the best beer in the world" was created in 1973 by Saatchi and Saatchi for the UK market. It began to appear in company corporate ads around the world from the 1980s onwards.

Carlsberg was featured in the film Ice-Cold in Alex but not the book on which the film was based as the lager the main cast get to drink after driving across the desert. Lines from the film gave rise to one of Carlsberg's best known advertising slogans in the UK: "worth waiting for".

[edit] Sponsorships

Carlsberg will be one of the major sponsors of Euro 2008. Carlsberg was one of the major sponsors of the 2004 European Football Championship and use the promotional slogan "probably the best beer in the world"; they were also a sponsor of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. They're the main sponsors of Liverpool F.C. [16 years as of 2008], F.C. Copenhagen, Havant and Waterlooville, Selby Town F.C., Odense BK, Toronto FC, Montreal Impact, Pirin Blagoevgrad and are also the secondary sponsor (after Eircom) of the Republic of Ireland national football team and Tottenham Hotspur FC. Carlsberg also sponsors other sport events, such as golf and skiing. Furthermore, Carlsberg is the sponsor of "probably, the best view in the world" from the Carlsberg Sky Tower in Singapore. One of Carlsberg's brands, Tuborg, was the official sponsor of the 2007 Download Festival.[citation needed] The Institute of Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen, which was an international center for theoretical physics during the 1920s and 1930s, when quantum mechanics was being developed, was largely supported by the Carlsberg brewery.

[edit] Gallery

Inside view of the Ny Carlsberg elephant gate

Outside view of one of the Ny Carlsberg gates

View of Carlsberg from the 16th floor of Kongens Bryghus, Vesterbro, Copenhagen

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.carlsberggroup.com/Investor/Facts/Pages/Keyfigures.aspx
  2. ^ http://www.carlsberggroup.com/Investor/Facts/Pages/Keyfigures.aspx
  3. ^ http://www.carlsberggroup.com/brands/Pages/Default.aspx
  4. ^ http://www.carlsberggroup.com/Company/Timeline/Pages/History.aspx
  5. ^ http://www.carlsberggroup.com/Company/Timeline/Pages/History.aspx
  6. ^ http://www.carlsberggroup.com/Investor/DownloadCentre/Documents/Annual%20Report%20-%202/CBAnnualReport2007-English.pdf
  7. ^ BBC News (25 January 2008). "S&N accepts £7.8bn takeover deal". Press release.

[edit] External links


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