Notes of a visit to the breweries of Messrs. Jacobsen Senr. & Junr. Copenhagen Sept 1881.

Here are the first fruits of my recent trip to the Scottish Brewing Archive in Glasgow. It's from one of the documents I was most excited about looking at.

Because it details more of the strange relationship between William Younger of Edinburgh and the Jacobsens who owned Carlsberg. In 1867 and 1868 Karl Jacobsen, or Jacobsen Junior, spent time at Younger's in an apprenticeship. Clearly the relationship between the breweries didn't end there, as a delegation from Younger visited Copenhagen in 1881.

These are the dates of the trip:

"Notes of a visit to the breweries of Messrs. Jacobsen Senr. & Junr. Copenhagen Sept 1881.

by Mr. William McConran accompanied by Mr. Andrew Kerr Architect.

Sailed from Leith on Sept 1st at 6pm per "S.S. Stettin" arrived in Copenhagen on Monday 5th at 6pm. Visited Old Carlsberg brewery on Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7th, Thursday 8th.
Visited Valby on 6th, 7th & 8th.
Visited New Carlsberg on 6th & 7th.
Visited Alliance Beer Bottling and Soda Water works on Thursday 8th Sept.

Sailed from Copenhagen per SS Stettin on Friday 9th Sept at 9am arrived in Leith on Monday the 12th at 6am, back to Abbey Brewery at 7.30 am Sept 12th 1881."
Notebook held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/1/11.

Interesting that the outward journey took five days, the return just three. And that's dedication to the job turning up at work just 90 minutes after landing back in Scotland.

They brought back a rather odd collection of items with them:

"Brought from Copenhagen to the brewery, a box containing ten pint bottles of Pilsner Lager beer brewed at the Svanholm brewery and bottled by the Alliance Coy. this beer was not Pasteurised, a sample of the malting floor of the Valby brewery (Pierre Lithographique) a sample of Saaz hops from C Jacobsen Junr. as used in the Valby brewery, 2 lager beer cask shives as used in Old Carlsberg and Valby, a sample of French resin as used in Old Carlsberg, a sampleof the brick employed in constructing the new lager cellars and ice house in Valby brewery."
Notebook held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/1/11.

The bottles of beer, fair enough, but samples of bricks? It's not as mad as it sounds. Judging by the lengthy description of the malt house and ice house, it sounds as if looking at them was one of the main purposes of the visit.

Here's a description of the location of the three Carlsberg breweries:

"Old Carlsberg brewery, the property of Mr. Jacobsen Snr. is the original brewery of the three, viz. Old and New Carlsberg, and Valby. They are situated close to each other, quite in the country and about half a mile south from the sea, the declivity to the sea is very small, but this is no great inconvenience as they have no tides on the Danish shores. The evil is a light grey dry sand, varying from twenty to thirty feet with a subevil of ordinary clay."
Notebook held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/1/11.

If you've been to the Carlsberg site you'll know that it's now far away from the countryside.

There are some descriptions of the brewing process, thankfully. Though sadly not of the mashing process. I wonder if Mr. Stenhouse's report is also in the archive?

"For the mash house manipulations a full report is contained in Mr. Stenhouse's report in June 1881.

Sparging heat 166º F.

The grains are not removed from the No. 2 mash tun until they are fairly dry. They are removed from the brewery premises completely and at once, and as to the spent hops the same rule is rigidly enforced. When any grains or spent hops are unavoidably spilt on the ground, they are at once lifted and removed, the same applies to any horse droppings left on the premises, they are not flushed into drains withe a jet of water, and indeed it appears incredible the scrupulous cleanliness taken in this matter."
Notebook held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/1/11.

 How obsessive, eh, properly cleaning up all the horse shit from the yard? Those crazy continentals.