I arrived from Hamburg, Germany after a five-hour drive, and was ready for a quick nap and food, but fuelled by the adrenaline of visiting northwestern Denmark, and Thisted Bryghus for the first time I pushed onward. Nestled within the seaside town of Thisted, just a stones throw away from the water, sits the historic building of Thisted Bryghus. Dating back to the late 1800s the building has undergone few changes. Here is where you find the brewing of the Scandinavian style porter, Limfjords Porter.
The current Brygmesteren, Antoni Madsen, graciously welcomed me to his office with a cup of coffee and pastries. Here we sat for sometime sipping coffee and snaking on pastries discussing his road to brygmesteren, the history of the brewery and Limfjords Porter. Anotni spent many years outside the brewing industry only to enter it later in life. After spending sometime at a local brewery, Antoni took the position with Thisted Bryghus just a few short years ago.
Initially going bankrupt within one year of operations Thisted officially opened in 1902 as a pilsner brewery. Brewing continued with additions of other familiar styles until the 1980s. Under the new brewmaster, Peter Klemensen, came a new way of thinking and the creation of their first “experiment” the Porse Guld. The Porse Guld is a golden beer with local; sweet gale used a replacement of hops. The next step towards expanding their portfolio came the Limfjords Porter.
The Limfjords Porter recipe of today was perfected in 1997 after many years of testing. The recipe was purchased along with the label, and name in 1989 with the closure of the Urban Bryghus. This Scandinavian style porter is spiced with the ever so popular Danish spice, licorice, but it is the use of smoked malts where I find the beer to be most favorable. Pouring a deep rich brown and at 7.9%ABV be careful, as this “double brown stout” does not drink with the heat of most at that level. Along with the Porse Guld, Thisted Bryghus produces a wide range of beers under Antoni’s watch. American style brews such as Boston American Pale Ale and Seattle Coffee Stout are a hit with the Danish market or the new organic line with spices from the National park.
Unfortunately the brewery was not in production during my visit, but from here Antoni gives me a quick tour of his facilities. Thisted’s brewing process is controlled manually; using hand cranks to control temperature. Three batches a day are produced here five days a week. Just 5,000hl per year is produced of the Limfjords Porter. From brew-house to malt and hop storage we walked up four flights of narrow stairs, past two empty floors to the top of Thisted’s grain silos. Antoni mentions that they are currently in research for what to do with those two empty floors, possibly apartments. I’m ready to sign my lease! Quite the view from the grain silos, one can see the city of Thisted and its beautiful cove. He leads me back down the stairs to the fermentation tanks, bottling and kegging lines, brand new bottle sanitizing equipment and finally to package storage.
To my surprise the tour did not end at the brewery. A thirty-minute drive just west of Thisted Bryghus to Klitmollter, a small seaside summer village surrounded by the National park. Locals and tourists flock here to view “Cold Hawaii” a nationally acclaimed surfing destination. We drove trough the National park to view small fishing houses and then in search of a birch tree dating back to 1860. Thisted Bryghus collects from this birch tree to use in their new organic line. Their organic beer, Thagaard uses a blend of white birch and pine.
My visit ended at a seaside hotel and restaurant located within the National park with a traditional Danish dinner of beef stew and of course, a glass of Limfjords Porter. Be on the look out for the arrival of 500ml bottles or draft of Limfjords Porter at your local store or craft beer bar!
For more info on Thisted Bryghus or Limfjords Porter click here.