Carlsberg A/S headquartered in Valby , Denmark, with its operating company, Carlsberg Breweries A/S, headquartered in Copenhagen produce Carlsberg Beer.

Carlsberg was founded by J. C. Jacobsen; the first brew was finished on November 10, 1847. Exportation of Carlsberg Beer began in 1868; foreign brewing was begun in 1968 with the opening of a Carlsberg brewery in Blantyre, Malawi. Some of the company's original logos include an elephant (after which some of its lagers are named) and the swastika. Use of the latter was discontinued in the 1930s because of its association with political parties in neighboring Germany.

Carlsberg founder J. C. Jacobsen was a philanthropist and avid art collector. With his fortune he amassed an impressive art collection which is now housed in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in central Copenhagen.

Jacobsen set up the Carlsberg Laboratory in 1875 which worked on science problems related to brewing. It featured a Department of Chemistry and a Department of Physiology. The species of yeast used to make lager beer, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis , was isolated at the Laboratory and was named after it. The concept of pH was developed there as well as advances in protein chemistry. The laboratory was part of the Carlsberg Foundation until 1972 when it was renamed the Carlsberg Research Center and transfered to the brewery.

The old brewery in Copenhagen is open for tours and famous visitors have included Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II.

Carlsberg acquired Tuborg breweries in 1970 and merged with Tetley in 1992.

Carlsberg has two breweries in China - Huizhou and Shanghai. It used to have one in Hong Kong, but shut it down in 1999 due to high costs. Carlsberg's Shanghai brewery started production in 1998.

Carlsberg also was a major sponsor for the 2004 European Football Championship and used a promotional slogan of "probably the best beer in the world". They are also the secondary sponsor (after Eircom) of the Republic of Ireland national football team, and have spent large amounts of money on lavish, football related advertisements for the Irish market.

External link

• Carlsberg.com