Raasted Brewer Martin Jensen Hugs His Beers

In Canada we are used to imports from England, Germany, Czech Republic. These are brewing countries, with a long, proud tradition.

Well, get used to Denmark as a brewing capital!

The Danes are newcomers to the craft brewing scene but, man, have they taken to it with aplomb. A few months ago, the crazy, nomad brewer Mikeller hit Alberta shelves (more on them in a later post, once their stocks are back up). And now, just this month another new Danish entry to the Prairie Scene – Raasted Bryghus.

I had a chance to visit with Raasted’s owner and brewmaster, Martin Jensen, when he hit Edmonton as part of his prairie beer tour (he hit Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon to promote his new arrivals).

“I was studying law back in 2002 when I discovered homebrewing and I fell in love with it,” says Jensen. And he did so with great verve. ” We get a 10 day study period in Denmark, to prepare for exams. I spent 6 days of it brewing. I did 300 litres in a week.” How he did on the exams might be another question altogether.

As these things go, his love of homebrewing (he brewed 1000 litres in 12-months, which is A LOT of beer!) quickly turned into a passion. Within three years after brewing his first batch he had opened Raasted Bryghus and was on his way. The brewery has grown quickly, although it is still small by most standards – brewing only 150,000 litres a year (about a third the size of our local Alley Kat). However, by luck, he found an eager distributor in western Canada, and has begun shipping four beers to Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C, with more to come.

“We hope to ship 5-beer sampler packs to Canada soon. And we are going to ask the consumer which beers should go into it,” says Jensen. “Europe is not so much into the six pack – we prefer single bottles. However you seem to like your collection of six beers, and so I will try to satisfy you.”

Jensen’s brewing philosophy is “quality and balance. I want to use the best possible ingredients to create balance in every product. I want every beer to be flavourful and drinkable.”

You can see it in the beers. The Pale Ale is a nicely balanced pale ale. It has a grassy hop quality that stands above a toffee malt base. It is a gentle, British-style pale ale. If you are looking for more hop assertiveness, go for their Grillol, which is more of an American Pale Ale. The hops here are pungent and floral (coming from the very American Chinook and Amarillo hops), and are the dominant feature of the beer.

My favourite selection may be the Vinter, which is probably the first real schwarzbier available in Edmonton. Schwarzbier is a dark German lager with a smooth, rich malt and touch of roastiness. Raasted’s version has a slight smokiness to it, along with some licorice and woody character. This is a complex, rich beer that is perfect for a chilly early spring evening.

I must also comment on the fourth beer – a Russian Imperial Stout (think Guinness on steroids). Big and bold and as black as night. This 9% beer comes in a classy half-sized wine bottle (375 ml) with a wired cork and black foil. It is complex beer, with deep roastiness and chocolate sweetness combined with American hops – including dry-hopping (infusing with hops after fermentation is complete to create a strong hop flavour and aroma) which is unusual for stouts. It is already an excellent beer, but it still seems a bit young as the flavours are a bit stark (something Jensen readily admits). Give this beer 6-12 months to allow the flavours to blend and it will be a marvelous sipper.

Raasted will be available in better beer stores across Alberta and in specialty stores in Saskatchewan.

If this is what beer drinkers can look forward to from Danish craft brewers, I think we may have discovered a new beer secret. I wonder what else those crafty Danes have to offer?