The Danes share their love of porter with the Irish, and Aarhus, Denmark's second city, is the place to indulge, writes Richard Herriott.
That's 19 years of my life," says Danish master brewer Peter Klemensen, pointing at a bottle of Limfjord Porter. This double brown stout took nearly two decades to perfect and packs an impressive 7.9 per cent alcohol. It is fondly known as "the gentleman" at the 105-year-old Thisted Brewery where it's produced, along with Denmark's first organic beer.
With complex flavours of coffee, treacle, liquorice, smoke and burnt aromas, Limfjord Porter is the beer Klemensen calls his proudest achievement in a long and legendary career in Danish craft brewing. The porter can be drunk on its own or mixed with a strong lager which opens up its flavours, in much the same way water opens up a scotch whiskey. Limfjord Porter is just one of several striking versions of the black, rich brew being produced in northwest Denmark.
So, how did a beer-style we usually associate with St James's Gate join the Danish drinking repertoire? Porter first came to Denmark following the extensive trade links which connected the British Isles and the Baltic in the 1800s. Its high alcohol content meant porter could survive long-distance travel to Eastern Europe, Russia, and even onward to China. Thereafter, the black stuff's popularity declined in Britain, but it remained embedded in the beer culture around the Baltic, including Denmark. Beer commentator the late Michael Jackson has called porter a "recurrent ghost" among beers, possibly because brewers seem to like creating their own version of this great beer drinker's beer.
Another Danish brewer producing porter is Aarhus Bryghus, opened by master brewer Niels Buchwald in 2005. His imperial stout is modelled on the English porters the Czars enjoyed in the 1800s. Imperial porter's high alcohol content and additional hops were for preservation and balancing the residual sweetness of the porter-brewing process. Buchwald recommends drinking beer rather than wine with traditional Danish food and he has developed his porter as an alternative to red wine. It is rich, delicate and smooth. Sweetness and bitterness balance well, and so the beer goes beautifully with Danish dishes such as roasted duck, red cabbage and caramelised potatoes. "Porter's for more experienced consumers," he says. Since it is often more bitter than lighter brews, it takes longer to get accustomed to.
Porter is also brewed at the Fur Brewery, located on Fur island, just three minutes' ferry ride from mainland Denmark. The brewery's water is filtered through layers of volcanic ash and fossilised marine micro-organisms far below ground, and so is extremely pure.
To make his English-inspired porter, master-brewer Fleming Asmussen uses five malts (including chocolate malt and caramelised malt) and two varieties of hops. For extra bitterness, hops are added twice during the brew. Some of the malt is woodsmoked, and liquorice flavours appear.
A pleasing feature of the brewery is the restaurant serving their entire range of beers and a Scandinavian menu. Beef, cheese and chocolate cake are the suggested accompaniments for the porter.
There's a catch. These porters are only sold locally. But this makes an excellent reason, among many, to visit Aarhus, Denmark's second city. One of Denmark's most popular attractions, Den Gamle By (traditional architecture museum), is a collection of 75 historical houses, shops and workshops, situated in the town. The museum offers a fascinating impression of life and work before the industrial revolution.
For retail therapy visit Salling and Magasin, which are Aarhus's answer to Brown Thomas. Down the Latin Quarter's narrow, cobbled streets there are a plethora of individual shops selling art, jewellery and some very cool design items and traditional and avant-garde fashion.
DRINK UP:None of these three porters are sold outside Denmark, but they are easily found in bars and restaurants in central Aarhus. Fur Porter is sold on tap at the Cockney pub, Marens Smed Gade. Aarhus Bryghus Porter is available at Cafe Stiften on railway station square. Limfjord Porter is sold at Cafe Mozart, Vesterport.
Ryanair flies direct from Stansted to Aarhus. Aer Lingus and SAS have flights from Dublin to Copenhagen, with onward connections by air, or a train journey of around three hours.