Albani Bryggerierne A/S (Eng.: ''Albani Breweries'') is a brewery located in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, and the vast majority of its customers live on the island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as o ...

. The brewery was founded by

MPharm The Master of Sciences of Pharmacy (MPharm) is the standard master's degree program in Pharmacy. It is the oldest honorable Diploma (Degree) authorized from the European Faculties of Pharmacy as it takes five years to complete. It is based on a c ...

Theodor Schiøtz in 1859. In 2000, the brewery merged with ''Bryggerigruppen'' with the Brewery group (now known as

Royal Unibrew Royal Unibrew is a brewing and beverage company headquartered in Faxe, Denmark. Its brands include Ceres, Faxe, Albani, Thor, Karlens and Royal. Royal Unibrew also has a strong presence in the Baltic region, where it owns Vilniaus Tauras, Ka ...

), a group of Danish regional breweries. Albani is most known for two of its beers, Odense Pilsner and Odense Classic.

Beers

Odense Pilsner

Odense Pilsner is a

pilsener Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Bre ...

. The taste is balanced between

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, w ...

and fruit. Two different varieties of hops are used, both come from Hallertau in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It has been brewed since 1934 and was originally not part of the Albani Brewery's portfolio, but was introduced to the product line with the acquisition of ''Bryggeriet Odense''. Alcohol by volume: 4.6%

Odense Classic

Odense Classic is a

, though it has a more dark colour than ordinary beers of the same type. The beer has a more rounded, but still powerful taste of malt and hops. It was introduced at the brewery's 140th anniversary in 1999. Alcohol by volume: 4.6%

Odense Rød Classic

Odense Rød Classic ( Danish for ''Odense Red Classic'') is a Vienna lager. A mixture of dark

caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of carameli ...

malt and Münchener malt is used. The result is a dark beer with a somewhat rounded taste. The colour is dark golden red, which might be the source of the name. Alcohol by volume: 4.6%

Giraf Beer

Giraf Beer is a strong

. It was first brewed in 1962, when Odense Zoo's

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

( Danish: ''giraf'') Kalle was found dead, as the Albani Breweries had previously used this giraffe in its

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

, it decided to create a special beer, the profits of which would be spent on purchasing a new giraffe for the zoo. The first year's production raised enough funds to buy two giraffes for the zoo. Red: Alcohol by volume: 7.3%
Black: Alcohol by volume: 10.0%

HC Andersen

HC Andersen is a strong

ale Ale is a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to bala ...

-type beer, first brewed in 1988 when the Albani Breweries decided to create a special beer to celebrate Odense's 1,000th anniversary. The beer became so popular that Albani decided to keep it as a part of its product range. In 1989, it was marketed under its current name, honouring

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

. A small batch of HC Andersen is brewed every year, and released on Andersen's birthday, April 2. Each year's labels depict a different paper cutting by Hans Christian Andersen. The bottles are also serial numbered. As a result, the beer has become a collector's item. The beer is bottom fermented and is matured longer than ordinary beer. The result is a beer with a light taste, considering its high

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

content. Alcohol by volume: 9%

Christmas Beers

Albani produces two Christmas beers Blålys ( Danish for ''Blue light'') and Rødhætte ( Danish for ''Red Riding Hood''). Blålys was introduced in 1960, although it was not Denmark's first Christmas beer, ''Blålys'' effectively started the tradition of Danish Christmas beers. Denmark's first Christmas beer was produced by the ''Carlsminde'' brewery and had been introduced the previous year. Albani acquired Carlsminde in 1972. Both ''Blålys'' and ''Rødhætte'' are dark

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...

s. The label depicts the church-like ''Gallery Tower'' of the brewery cover covered in snow. This is the reason why many people originally referred to the Christmas beer as the ''church beer'' . This only lasted a few years until other breweries introduced their own Christmas beers. Blålys: Alcohol by volume: 7% Rødhætte: Alcohol by volume: 5.6%

Easter beer

Påskebryg ( Danish for Easter Brew), is a strong

, and the Albani Breweries' traditional beer for the Easter season. Easter beers were Denmark's first

seasonal beer A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries and microbreweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during v ...

s in Denmark, and were introduced by Carlsberg in 1905. The Påskebryg was introduced in the 1950s and is brewed from a mixture of dark and light malt. Alcohol by volume: 5,6%

Light beers

Albani also produces two light beers, Odense Light and Odense Extra Light, as light alternatives to its original pilsener. These beers are brewed using light pilsener malt, Münchner malt, and caramel malt. Odense Light: Alcohol by volume: 2.6% Odense Extra Light: Alcohol by volume: 0.05%

Mergers and acquisitions

At the turn of the twentieth century there was a large consolidation in the Danish brewing industry, where the larger city breweries typically bought the smaller countryside breweries. Albani was part of this development, buying smaller breweries in Odense and around the island of Funen. Later, when Albani had a near

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on beer distribution on Funen, Albani started acquiring breweries in other parts of the country; Sønderborg Bryghus, Bryggeriet Slotsmøllen, Baldur, and Maribo Bryghus, in each case, Albani taking control of the other company. Albani Breweries A/S merged with the Royal Unibrew group in 2000. Other names used by the group are:

Hans Christian Andersen

Denmark's best known poet and author,

, was very fond of Albani beers. In a letter to a friend he described Albani beer as: ''Jeg kan ikke rose denne øl højt nok. Den er forfriskende, delikat og stærk. Prøv den!'' ( Danish for ''I cannot recommend this beer enough. It is refreshing, savoury and strong. Try it!'') This quote is occasionally used in the company's marketing.

References

External links

Official site of the Albani Breweries A/SOfficial site of Royal Unibrew A/S
{{Coord, 55, 23, 45, N, 10, 23, 45, E, region:DK_source:kolossus-dawiki, display=title Royal Unibrew subsidiaries 1859 establishments in Denmark Breweries in Denmark Purveyors to the Court of Denmark Danish companies established in 1859