E-Malt.com News article: Finland: Danish Christmas beer supplements Sinebrychoff’s domestic selection

The Danish 7.5% Jacobsen Golden Naked Christmas Ale will be available at selected Alko shops in November-December, according to Sinebrychoff’s press release, October 24. Finland’s most popular Christmas beer, Sinebrychoff’s Christmas Beer, will be on sale for the 21st time. For the first time, Golden Cap Winter Apple Cider will be available in cans.

“Last autumn we put two high-quality Danish beers on the market: Jacobsen Bramley Wit wheat beer (4.6% vol.) and the dark Jacobsen Original Dark Lager (5.8% vol.) Their popularity exceeded our expectations. I believe that Jacobsen Golden Naked Christmas Ale, a seasonal beer that will supplement the selection before Christmas, will also find its friends,” Brand Manager Mika Kauppinen predicts.

You can taste orange and cinnamon in Jacobsen Christmas beer

Scandinavian Christmas flavours inspired Jens Eiken, the Brewmaster at Carlsberg’s Jacobsen brewery, when he was developing the Belgian-style 7.5% Dubbel brown ale.

A fruity top fermented beer, Jacobsen Golden Naked has a toasted aroma, rich foam and a golden brown colour. The name “Golden Naked” comes from the British Simpson malting plant’s toasted Golden Naked oat malt that, besides the barley and wheat hops, is used as a raw material in the beer. The oats impart a creamy bouquet and a slight acidity to the beer. Tinges of orange and cinnamon can also be sensed in the sweetish, malty flavour. American Amarillo aroma hops and German Hersbrücker bitter hops have been used in the hopping. The beer’s recommended serving temperature is 8-12° C.

Jacobsen beers are manufactured at Carlsberg’s Jacobsen microbrewery in Copenhagen. In June of 2005, the brewery was opened in the same building where J.C. Jacobsen founded his original Carlsberg brewery in 1847. Nowadays a team of brewmasters is creating a steady stream of impressive new beer specialities whose trademark is a 75-cl profile glass bottle that was awarded the Danish Design Prize in 2007. The shape of the bottle was inspired by Denmark’s first standardised beer bottle from 1904, as well as the old lighthouse located near Carlsberg’s main entrance. Jacobsen beers are sold in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Island, Great Britain, USA, and Finland.

“Sinebrychoff’s Christmas Beer has solidified its position as one of Finland’s most popular Christmas beers. This Christmas as well, we are brewing 4.6% and 6% beers. Our brewmasters recommend a serving temperature of 10-12 degrees, so the beer should be taken out of the refrigerator about an hour before serving,” Brand Manager Hannu Korpivaara says.

Dark toasted domestic barley malt and Saazer hops give the lager beer its full-bodied and strong aroma. In his Great Beer Guide (Gummerus 1991), the recently deceased beer guru Michael Jackson described Sinebrychoff’s Christmas Beer as follows: “Christmas Beer’s colour is a golden-brown red, its structure tightly mid-strength, with a clean flavour. It is a pleasant combination of maltiness and a softly hopped character”.

In late October, Christmas Beer III (4.6% vol.) will go on sale in grocery stores, service stations, kiosks and restaurants; Christmas Beer IV (6.0% vol.) will be available in Alko shops and restaurants.

In early November, Winter Apple Cider will be available in grocery stores in 0.5-litre cans. Sweetened with sugar, the semi-dry and refreshing apple cider includes nuances of cinnamon and ginger.

Golden Cap’s Winter Apple was tasted for the first time 10 years ago, at that time under the name Kaneliomena (“Cinnamon-Apple”).

“Offering a variety of flavours is part of today’s cider markets, so seasonal products play their own important roles. By the end of last year, Winter Apple was the 3rd most sold cider product in the Other Flavours segment and 11th most sold in the entire cider category*),” Brand Manager Jyrki Mielo states.


24 October, 2007