There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Julianne visiting a brewery in whatever country she’s in. Since touring both the Heineken Experience and the Guinness Storehouse last year, I’ve become, shall I say, *really* into beer tours. So it should come as no surprise that Visit Carlsberg was one of the first stops we made on our trip to Copenhagen in February 2018.

Without further ado, here’s the 411 on how you can take part in this fantastic Danish ex-beer-erience.

But Before We Get Started…

I want to be honest and upfront here: as I was writing this post, I discovered that Visit Carlsberg is set to close temporarily on December 22, 2018 for rebuilding, and they’ll be closed through 2019 as they continue with renovations and modernization. They’re currently set to reopen in 2020.

So why am I writing this post? Because you still might learn a thing or two about Carlsberg beer, no matter where in the world you’re sipping on it. Our mission here is to educate just as much as to entertain, so we hope you’ll stick around and grab a pint.

What it *really* means, though, is you’d better haul your beer-lovin’ self over to Visit Carlsberg and sip on their delicious brews while you still can. If you’re a procrastinator who leaves things until the last minute, this post is tailor-made for you!

Where is Visit Carlsberg?

Visit Carlsberg is located in Denmark’s charming capital city of Copenhagen. More specifically, you can find it at Gamle Carlsberg Vej 11, 1799 Copenhagen V.

Hint: Zoom in or out to see where Visit Carlsberg is relative to other Copenhagen landmarks.

How To Get to Visit Carlsberg: Or, Trains, Bicycles, and Shuttles, Oh My!

There are a number of ways to get to Visit Carlsberg, and the one you choose will likely depend on a multitude of factors: Is it cold enough outside that your tongue will freeze to a flagpole? Are you uncoordinated and fall over when riding bicycles? Do you really just want a beer in your hand ASAP and need to take the fastest route, dammit?!

(You get the picture. And yes, all of these were factors in our transportation choice.)

We elected to walk 10 minutes to Copenhagen Central station from our hostel, and take the B and/or C trains to the Carlsberg St stop. From there, it was a quick 5-minute walk uphill to Visit Carlsberg.

Alternate Routes

Here are some alternate modes of transportation, should you prefer something different or have an excellent sense of balance:

• By Bicycle: Copenhagen is known for being a bicycle-friendly city, so if you’re up for it, you can bike over. It takes 10 minutes via bicycle from Copenhagen Central station.
• On Foot: It’s a 4-kilometer walk (2.48 miles) from Copenhagen Central station to Visit Carlsberg.
• Free Shuttle: There’s a free bus (yay!) to and from Visit Carlsberg. Pick it up at Vesterbrogade 6, right by Copenhagen Central station, at 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM, and 2:00 PM. It departs from Visit Carlsberg at 12:25 PM, 1:25 PM, and 2: 25 PM.

Visit Carlsberg Review: A True Copenhagen Exbeerience

First: To Tour or Not To Tour?

When my friend Brianne of “A Traveling Life” and I arrived at Visit Carlsberg, we immediately zipped into the Ticket Center (which is also the original brewery of J.C. Jacobsen).

We discovered that we had *just* missed the 1:00 PM guided historical tour by 4 minutes and 37 seconds. (Yes, I checked.) We were initially disappointed, but rather than wait around for an hour, we decided to do a self-guided tour.

In the end, this was a great choice for us; we moved at our own pace and spent more time in the areas we found interesting. We overheard positive remarks from tour takers when we were tasting beer later on, though, so it’s too bad we missed it!

20,000+ Bottles of Beer on the Wall…

I like my brewery tours to start with a bang, and on this front, Visit Carlsberg certainly delivered.

We walked in, and…. Oh. My. God. Beer nerds, behold the wonder and the glory of the largest unopened beer bottle collection in the world!

It’s completely mind-boggling, and reminded me of my time at the Scotch Whisky Experience (which has the world’s largest collection of Scotch whisky).

So how did this boozy collection come about? Well, a Danish engineer named Mr. Leif Sonne had the brilliant idea to collect unopened beer bottles in 1968. In 1993, he transferred the collection to Carlsberg; by 2007, the collection stood at over 22,000 bottles and was certified by Guinness World Records to be the largest collection of bottled beer on Planet Earth.

In sum: this gallery is worth the price of admission alone!

The History of Carlsberg

After we (sort of) got over the shock of thousands of beer bottles, we moved on to the next part of our journey: learning about the history of Carlsberg and its beer.

You’ll learn some fun facts here about Carlsberg, like:

• Carlsberg was founded in 1847 by J.C. Jacobsen. The first brew was finished on November 10, 1847.
• The name “Carlsberg” comes from two words. J.C. used his son’s name, Carl, and the Danish word for “hill.”
• For a while, there were two competing Carlsberg breweries. Jacobsen’s son Carl opened a brewery in 1882 named Ny (New) Carlsberg, so Dad had to rename his brewery Gamle (Old) Carlsberg. The companies merged in 1906.
• Carlsberg employees got a sizable beer allowance back in the day. Yep — men were given an allowance of 8 pints… PER DAY. Crikey!
• Carlsberg was the first brewery in the world to purify yeast. They also made another integral contribution to science: the concept of pH was first introduced by a Danish chemist at Carlsberg Laboratory in 1909. Carlsberg Laboratory was created by — you guessed it — Mr. J.C. Jacobsen in 1875.

Meanwhile, Outdoors: Sculpture Garden & Carlsberg Stables

Tired of being indoors? Swing through the Sculpture Garden, which houses a small part of Jacobsen’s art collection. If you’re visiting in February like we did, your “leisurely walk” through here will probably turn into more of a frenzied run so your fingers don’t freeze off.

You can also check out Carlsberg’s stables, where you can see a four-legged piece of Carlsberg’s history. The large draught horses played a major role in Carlsberg’s beer deliveries.

Brand Store & First Beer Tasting

We deftly navigated through all of the Carlsberg merchandise with one thought on our minds: trying our first sample of Carlsberg beer, which was included in the admission price.

There’s something I like to call Julianne’s third law of beer: “Beer always tastes better straight from the source.” Guinness tastes better to me in Ireland; Heineken tastes better to me in the Netherlands; Sam Adams seems to taste better to me in Boston.

The same held true for Carlsberg: boy, oh boy, did it taste awesome in Copenhagen. We settled on the Carlsberg pilsner for our sample, and it perked up our taste buds with its crispness and malty character.

Jacobsen Brewhouse & Bar

After our “freebie” beer, we realized that our stomachs were grumbling audibly, so we hauled ourselves over to Jacobsen Brewhouse and Bar.

Before guzzling your beer at the bar, you can see some original copper kettles here. Be sure to test your olfactory prowess by sniffing ingredients and identifying scents in the aroma room!

The Beer Flight

C’mon, you’re here for the beer, right? So zip on over to the bar for some beer flights.

Beer flights cost 80 kr ($12.15 USD) for four 0.15 L draught beer samples. From left to right in the photo above, we drank:

• Grimbergen Blanche – 6% ABV; a fruity wheat beer
• Jacobsen Yakima IPA – 6.5% ABV; a full-bodied West Coast-style IPA
• 1883 – 4.6% ABV; a malty amber lager
• Jacobsen Brown Ale – 6% ABV; a malty, intense brown ale

We also had a glass of the Brewmaster IPA to wash down the rye bread with hop-smoked salmon that we had for lunch. All in all, it was delicious. Skål!

Visit Carlsberg 101: Practical Info

Hours & Availability

• Visit Carlsberg is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• Last tickets are sold at 4:00 PM, and the exhibition closes at 4:30 PM.
• Visit Carlsberg is closed on Mondays.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Visit Carlsberg will be temporarily closed from December 22, 2018 through all of 2019 for a major renovation and modernization. They plan to re-open in 2020. You can read more at www.visitcarlsberg.com.

Admission

Admission to Visit Carlsberg is free for guests who have a Copenhagen Card. (I highly recommend getting one — it was perfect for our 4-day trip.)

If you don’t have a Copenhagen Card, the best route to go is to purchase tickets online at Visit Carlsberg’s website at www.visitcarlsberg.com.

• The Visit Carlsberg admission ticket includes 1 beer or soft drink and is currently €13.42 for adults and €9.40 for students with a valid ID.
• Beer Tasting
  • There is a separate beer tasting ticket for €10.74 online.
  • The guided beer tasting includes three different beers from the Jacobsen Brewery and Carlsberg Family.
  • Tastings start at 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 4:00 PM; they run for about 35 minutes.
  • Note that you also need an admission ticket to get this beer tasting ticket.
• Historical Tour
  • Historical tours of Visit Carlsberg run at 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Tours usually last 35 minutes.
  • Tours cost €8.05 and are conducted in English.
  • You also need an admission ticket to get this historical tour ticket.

Essential Info:
Where should you stay in Copenhagen? Check out options here.
Where did I personally stay in Copenhagen? I stayed in this hostel in a private room. If you’re OK with hostels, it’s a good value and in a good location, but if you’re not a hostel person, I’d look elsewhere.
Want a guidebook for Copenhagen? I use Rick Steves and Lonely Planet.
What else have I written about Denmark? Check out my posts here.
What camera did I use for this post? I used our Olympus EM5 Mark II camera with this lens and (and my cell phone).
Have questions for me? Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest!

If you liked this post, check out:

• Where To Drink in Copenhagen Right Now
• The Heineken Experience: Or, How I Found Beer Nirvana in Amsterdam
• Oh My Guinness!: Touring the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin

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Have you ever been to Visit Carlsberg in Copenhagen? Do you want to go? Tell us in the comments below!

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All costs were paid for by me, and all opinions are my own. Not even a perfect pint of Carlsberg can change that.