This year marks 170 years of Carlsberg playing a lead role within the global beer industry. From inventing the pH scale to advancing energy saving in brewing, Carlsberg is celebrating the legacy it has left to date, while rolling out ambitious plans to brew for a better tomorrow.

Celebrations commenced in August with 170 hours of activities across Copenhagen, a series of drone flights across Danish landmarks such as the world famous Little Mermaid, and the reincarnation of the company’s founder, J.C. Jacobsen, for a posthumous TEDx Talk.

These events in Denmark formed an entertaining prequel to Carlsberg’s upcoming Australian celebrations, which are kicking off this month with the launch of a chatbot named ‘J.C. Bot Jacobsen, the bot behind the man behind the quiz behind the beer’. In November, this will be brought to life with ‘Probably the Most Winnable Quiz’, being hosted in pubs across the country. Each of the pub quizzes will see one lucky winner and their friend heading straight to the airport – destination Copenhagen.

Carl Jacobsen’s original brewhouse in Copenhagen

Quiz questions will relate to the brand, its Danish heritage and iconic moments throughout beer history. The Carlsberg Research Laboratory is renowned for some extraordinary innovations, with discoveries that not only revolutionised the brewing industry, but the way the world works.

The pH scale – a revolution to impact all fields
Carlsberg scientist, S.P.L Sørensen, invented the pH scale back in 1909 when trying to control the fermentation process. Although beer was the focus of his research, this impressive innovation has had remarkable impacts on so many other areas, including food, agriculture, even pharmaceuticals.

Purifying yeast – a ground-breaking way to control quality and flavour
Professor Dr. Emil Chr. Hansen’s method to purify yeast allowed for vast taste improvements and overall better quality beer. J. C. Jacobsen even shared the method with other brewers!

Barley breeding – a key part of brewing science today
More recently, the Carlsberg Research Laboratory has been focused on barley breeding, to optimise beer freshness, foam and flavour. Incredibly, this research has also resulted in impressive energy savings, thanks to reductions in temperatures, boil times and wastage throughout the process.
Carlsberg is now dedicated to energy saving and sustainability when creating the brews of tomorrow.

“Our 170th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and also to look to what the next 170 years hold,” Birgitte Skadhauge, Head of Carlsberg Research Laboratory, said. “Over the years, Carlsberg Research Laboratory has revolutionised modern brewing. Today, we continue our research but combine it with an ambitious sustainability effort. Our new program, Together Towards ZERO, is committed to eliminating carbon emissions and halving water usage at our breweries by 2030, in order to produce probably the most sustainable beer in the world,” she continued.