This year, Carlsberg is offering a choice of special, seasonal beers to enrich the Easter celebrations. The ever-popular “Kylle, Kylle” (Chickie, Chickie), as fans call Tuborg’s Easter Brew, is joined by a new, yet 100-year old Easter Brew from Semper Ardens.
Such speciality beers are currently very popular, but the idea of exclusive, high quality seasonal brews is nothing new. Carlsberg first brewed an Easter beer in 1905 to compete with an import from Germany.
“Several bars in Copenhagen had begun serving a special Salvator or Saviour’s beer from a Munich brewery originally founded by monks,” says Ulla Nymand from the Carlsberg archives. “This was attracting so much interest that Carlsberg decided to launch its own Easter brew to take advantage of the market.”
A tasty, strong beer
Carlsberg Paaske Bryg was a tasty, strong beer brewed with large quantities of barley and hops. It was produced every year until 2003, except for the war years when the extra hops and barley were difficult to obtain. Its withdrawal was regretted by its many fans, but now it’s making a welcome return in the form of Semper Ardens Easter Brew.
“We went back to the archives to find an original recipe dating from 1907 and have tried to recreate the brew using today’s raw materials,” says brewmaster Morten Ibsen.
The ideal accompaniment to Easter food
Semper Ardens Easter Brew is a dark, 6.5% ABV bock beer with a full-bodied, sweetish taste dominated by roasted malts and caramel. It’s brewed with vast amounts of Münchener malt and a bit of caramel malt, which gives it a deep copper-brown colour and a white head. The scent is of caramel and malt, mixed with light flowery elements from the Spalter hops that are added late in the process.
"It’s great to serve with game dishes cooked with roasted mushrooms and berry sauces, and goes really well with roast lamb, pork and sausages such as German bratwurst," says Morten. “And, of course, it’s the ideal accompaniment to the traditional Danish Easter smorgasbord.”
Easter begins on P-Day
Tuborg’s Easter Brew - or Kylle, Kylle – is also a well-loved part of the Danish Easter. Its launch day – which is always a Friday in early March - is widely known as P-Day or Påskebryg Day. According to tradition, the beer is released at exactly 20:59 in on-trade outlets, while off-trade customers start selling it the following day.
Tuborg Easter Brew is a full-bodied, amber coloured beer with a slightly spicy scent and a finely balanced bitter/sweet taste. Its warmth and unmistakeable flower notes are always a welcome sign of the spring and warmer temperatures to come.