Carlsberg

Why it is renowned

Carlsberg is one of the largest brewing groups in the world, and its pilsner reaches around 140 markets.¹ At the Carlsberg Laboratory, set up in 1875, Emil Christian Hansen isolated the pure lager yeast Saccharomyces carlsbergensis in 1883; the brewery shared it freely, and it shaped how pale lager is made everywhere.¹ Beer under the Carlsberg name has been exported since 1868, when the first barrel went to Edinburgh.¹

The story

J. C. Jacobsen finished his first brew at Carlsberg in Copenhagen on 10 November 1847 and named the brewery after his son Carl.¹ Jacobsen founded the Carlsberg Laboratory in 1875 and the Carlsberg Foundation in 1876; after his death in 1887 the Foundation became the majority owner, which it remains, and the group is still headquartered in Copenhagen.¹

What to know it by

• Carlsberg PilsnerThe flagship pale lager, sold in around 140 markets
• Carlsberg Laboratory1875Where Emil Christian Hansen isolated pure lager yeast in 1883
• Elephant BeerStrong lager named after the brewery's elephant emblem