Vintage No.1 has, as the only contemporary beer, been matured in J.C. Jacobsen's original crypt-like cellar from 1847, for six months in new Swedish and new French oak barrels. "The project started as a wild idea and a wish to create a new type of beer that had never been seen before. During the ageing process in new barrels, lots of chemical processes take place. Not all reactions are known but they taste wonderful", says Jens Eiken, Head Brewer at Jacobsen.
The beer will be sold exclusively from the Carlsberg Visitors centre in Valby. This means that you have to visit Denmark in order to purchase a bottle (you can find the address here www.visitcarlsberg.com).
Each bottle of Jacobsen Vintage No. 1 is labelled with an original hand stilled lithographic print made by the Danish artist Frans Kannik. The prints depict fables of Sif. Sif was married to the Nordic god Thor, who was often used by Carl Jacobsen, the son of J.C. Jacobsen, as a symbol of strength.
"Of course the price attracts attention. We really wanted to challenge the beliefs of what beer can be and we've definitely succeeded. Vintage No. 1 is a perfect example of our true passion for beer and high quality standards." Says Jens Eiken, Head Brewer at The Jacobsen Brewhouse.
Raising the bar of brewing
The Jacobsen Vintage No. 1 is a barley wine which is characterised by intense caramel and Sherry/Madeira-like flavours. When maturing in new oak barrels other processes also take place, however, these are dependent on the type of oak used as well as the desired degree of toasting.
The beer type:
The Jacobsen Vintage No. 1 is an oak aged barley wine with an ABV on 10.5%
The grists contain Maris Otter pale ale malt, Maris Otter Imperial malt and caramel malt. Invert sugar is added during the four hours wort boiling as well as bittering hops, in the shape of Challenger and Target, and aroma hops in the shape of Bramling Cross and Fuggles.
The beer is fermented at 25°C with English ale yeast. The beer is matured for six month in new Swedish barrels (Thorlundskagge – oak from Hjo) and new French barrels (Cote dór barrels – oak from Alsace).
The beer has flavours of vanilla, smoke, caramel, prunes and port from maturing on Swedish or French Cote dór oak casks. The beer originating from the Swedish oak has a more dominant caramel aroma. The bitterness is soft and intriguing.
During the production and maturing of a barley wine, Maillard reactions are continuously going on which adds caramel and nut aromas to the beer.
In Jacobsen Vintage, you can actually taste different personalities in the beer in the form of Maillard, Schiff, Amador and Strecker.
The Jacobsen Brewhouse
The Jacobsen Brewhouse has produced speciality beer since summer 2005 on the site where J.C. Jacobsen, first opened the Carlsberg brewery on the top of Valby Hill in 1847.
The brewhouse develops new and exiting speciality beers of the highest quality. The Jacobsen brewhouse not only wants to spread awareness of beers existence and history, but also to emphasise how beer is a perfect match to food – and an important cooking ingredient. The idea behind the Jacobsen brewhouse is to carry on the traditions from 1847 within a modern beer culture, and to bring people together in an environment that embraces and accommodates Carlsberg’s rich tradition and progress.
The Jacobsen Brewhouse has three ranges of speciality beers. The first in widely distributed, the second is a “limited Edition” range often experimental including particular complex ingredients and the third is our Vintage range.
Jacobsen Woodruff – Jacobsen Skovmærke – is the Housebrewerys newest Limited Edition Jacobsen Beer – it’s a real Easter Beer or Spring Beer, it has just been released and can be bought at the Carlsberg Visitors Centre.
Visit the Jacobsen Brewhouse at www.jacobsenbeer.com or www.jacobsenbryg.dk