It is with great pride and pleasure that Nørrebro Bryghus hereby announces that Old Odense Ale – a truly unique, challenging and charming beer, created as a joint brewing project between Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Nørrebro Bryghus – is now available through selected outlets in the US.
The Beer
Old Odense Ale is a 7.5 ABV beer that defies any known beer style or category. On the label we describe it as “Ale brewed with maple syrup and herbs”. But this says precious little about this bright and copper coloured beer with a very sparse and fragile head. The aroma is extremely complex and spicy, with notes of anis, tobacco, brettanomyces, leather and dried fruits. The body is rich and with a delicate sweetness that balances the sour tartness, making it far more accessible than a Belgian lambic, which would be the only well known style to which one could possibly compare Old Odense Ale.
The Creation
Following an initial contact between Sam Calagione and us at Nørrebro Bryghus, we agreed that Sam would visit Nørrebro Bryghus and do a guest brew in June 2007, and when we started discussing which beer to brew, Sam was quite adamant that it be an old, traditional Danish beer style. We therefore unearthed the obscure ‘Odense Old Style Ale’ web page with a translation of a 15th century pre-hop era gruit ale recipe from the town of Odense, and the process of converting this into something that might be brewed on a modern brewing system commenced. Not an easy task, which this list of ingredients might illustrate: Pale and dark barley malt, oats, fine syrup (in our translation: maple syrup form Sam’s dad’s farm in Massachusetts), smoked dark syrup, fir branches and fir bark, wood sage, hyssop, blackthorn berries, woodruff and star spice.
The actual brewing of this beer was as fun as it was crazy and nerve-racking – stuff for an entire article (that actually has been written, but is yet to be published). Suffice to say here, that the amazing souring of the beer, that happened within 48 hours of fermentation, must be due to the potent ‘herbal juice’ hand squeezed by our honoured guest brewer from the herbs in the 7 huge gauze bags, and added to the wort kettle during the boil.
How do I get hold of ‘Old Odense Ale’?
Old Odense Ale is available in the US through our importer, Shelton Brothers of Belchertown, MA (www.sheltonbrothers.com). And don’t worry – the FDA has received samples for analysis for toxic substances (!) and has given us the green light to sell the beer in the US.
Who and what is Nørrebro Bryghus?
In September 2003 Nørrebro Bryghus opened its combined brewery, restaurant and bar in a former metal workshop close to downtown Copenhagen. The mission from day one was to contribute to a new evolution and expansion of the Danish beer culture. The Nørrebro Bryghus concept is based on creating the total experience – great beers, modern beer cuisine, excellent service in a unique ambience surrounded by award winning design and contemporary architecture.
As it is the vision of Nørrebro Bryghus to supply quality beer to any venue where the customers expect the very best in craft beer, we launched our beers on bottles and kegs in 2006. Export began in 2007 with Sweden, Finland and the USA as the first markets importing Nørrebro Bryghus beers. As the first Danish craft brewery, Nørrebro Bryghus won two bronze medals at the 2008 World Beer Cup® in San Diego.
Anders Kissmeyer, August 2008
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Aug 05, 08 | 5:49 pm | Profile
Archived under: Press Releases
For all you in Southern California that are starving for some good Shelton Brothers beers, you best get yourself to the Del Mar Fairgrounds this Saturday, June 21 for their Craft Brewers Competition and Festival. We'll put emphasis on the festival part of that name.
Here is a list of breweries that will have beers pouring (while supplies last):
Baird Brewing (Japan)
Cantillon (Belgium)
Christoffel (Netherlands)
De La Senne (Belgium)
De Proef (Belgium)
De Ranke (Belgium)
Drie Fonteinen (Belgium)
Duyck/Jenlain (France)
Eisenbahn (Brazil)
Inveralmond (Scotland)
Isle of Skye (Scotland)
Jolly Pumpkin (USA)
Kulmbacher (Germany)
Mikkeller (Denmark)
Nogne-O (Norway)
Norrebro (Denmark)
Ridgeway (England)
Be sure to thank the staff for making this year's fest a true international delight! Man, I wish I was going to be there...
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Jun 18, 08 | 11:53 pm | Profile
Archived under: General and Seasonal News
Here's a quickie list of beers we're planning to bring to this weekend's fête at Ommegang Brewery. With any luck, we won't run out of beer after the first hour . . . again.
We're also hoping to have a few bottles each of Struise Pannepot and Pannepøt on hand for a mano y mano battle, to the death. That will happen at 3:00, sharp. Sharp, I say!
Anyway, to the list . . . .
More...
Posted by: Will Shelton
on Jul 16, 07 | 1:36 pm | Profile
Archived under: General and Seasonal News
Very sad news reached us today from the UK, where our friend, and craft beer ambassador, John White, has died. John was a true example for all of us in the beer world -- an impassioned beer traveler with strongly-held opinions, who still managed to befriend everyone he met.
Like many of the people we've come to know over the years, John did not make his living in the industry, yet craft beer was his life. He traveled broadly in search of better beer, leaving behind a wealth of knowledge and insight, which he was always happy to share. We're proud to have one of his photographs on our home page, in fact.
This July 4th, whatever you drink, we ask that you raise your glass in John's honor. He will be missed, truly.
Posted by: Will Shelton
on Jul 03, 07 | 9:27 pm | Profile
Archived under: General and Seasonal News
We're pleased to announce that the fabulous beers from the little Brasserie Ellezelloise are set to return to the USA, after an absence of more than two years. By mid-June, you should start seeing the handsome little flip-tops back on shelves.
We're bringing in five beers in total from Ellezelloise, starting with the weighty Quintine Blond, the complex and satisfying Quintine Amber, everybody's favorite, the Hercule Stout, the refreshing Saisis Blanche (the only Belgian wit we know of that's made without spices), and a new one, Saison 2000, which we haven't tasted in years but expect to be equal to the task.
Time to start harassing your favorite retailers to get their orders in . . . .
Posted by: Will Shelton
on May 30, 07 | 8:41 pm | Profile
Archived under: Beer Updates
From the time a young Daniel first ranted his way into his school newspaper,  the Brothers Shelton have loved seeing their names in print. In the recent frenzy over the state of Maine and St. Nick’s posterior (or more accurately, his large beer barrel), we’ve missed the chance to share a few recent news stories about us -- well, about our beers, at least.
While some have recently chosen to deride our holiday beers, calling them "all marketing," some people do actually want to discuss the quality of the brews we import. The tasters of the Baltimore Sun have spoken: The beers are good. Admittedly, after 34 beers, they might not have been in the best shape to verbalize much of anything, but Zinnebir Zmas, Very Bad Elf, and Seriously Bad Elf all made their "favorites" list. And farther from home, Dr. Fermento in Alaska has nothing but love for all the Bad Elf beers.
Of course, we think they're right. Two of the Bad Elf beers are packaged with Santa's Butt and "Lump of Coal" stout in what surely must be the best available mix of warming winter ales. Read more about this Curious Collection of holiday beers here.
Posted by: Will Shelton
on Dec 04, 06 | 4:41 pm | Profile
Archived under: Press Coverage
Well, it's happening again . . .
This year, apparently, the State of New York has decided that you shouldn't be allowed to buy the world-class Christmas beers we're importing from all over the world -- beers that are perfectly legal in the other forty-odd states in which we distribute. This time around, however, we're going to court, and we'll hopefully put a stop to the annual assault on the First Amendment, once and for all.
The court date in Albany is December 1st. Care to read our press release on the matter? Here you go!
More...
Posted by: Will Shelton
on Nov 27, 06 | 9:13 am | Profile
Archived under: Press Releases
In the small village of Ohis, France, there's a young girl named Justine who needs our help. Justine is suffering from a rare neurological condition known as leukodystrophy, which often leads to paralysis, and we're trying to raise money for her desperately-needed operation.
Brasserie Fantôme's Dany Prignon, and his brewer friend Gilles Didier, conceived the brilliant idea of brewing a special beer to be sold at auction to raise money for this operation. So they they created a special, strong version of Dany's rare and delicious Pissenlit saison, brewed with dandelions.
More...
Posted by: Will Shelton
on Jun 27, 06 | 7:38 am | Profile
Archived under: Press Releases
 Visitors to our blog know our feelings on the debate about 'authentic' lambic. As NY Daily News columnist Ron Givens recently wrote, "There are no such questions about Cantillon, which brews the way it first did in 1900. Go there, and you'll see equipment that time nearly forgot." Read Ron's piece on Cantillon by viewing this PDF.
Posted by: Will Shelton
on May 14, 06 | 10:17 am | Profile
Archived under: Press Coverage
(Reprinted from the New York Daily News article by Ron Givens, April 04, 2006)
For Dan Shelton, the world can be neatly divided into "good beer" and "industrial beer."
The good stuff is complex, while the industrial stuff is like water. The good stuff is made with passion by artisans, while the industrial stuff is made with greed by hacks. The good stuff is imported from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Britain - mostly - by Shelton, while the industrial stuff is not.
Maybe Shelton wouldn't put it quite this strongly, but he does seem at times to be evangelical on the subject of beer. His opinions have only sharpened since he began importing beer in the mid-'90s with his company, Shelton Brothers in Belchertown, Mass.
I've seen Dan Shelton at several events over the years, including a tasting Monday at d.b.a., and I've never seen the other Shelton who's in the company. At d.b.a., there was yet another Shelton brother, musician Joel, who apparently convinced Dan to start his business with the amazing, complex, challenging beers made by Cantillon in Brussels, Belgium.
Let me say to Joel what I should have said on Monday: Thanks. Shelton Brothers has a killer lineup of beers, and virtually all of them are wonderful. None of them is terrible. Some of them are quite expensive. I'm not saying that you should buy everything this company imports, but it wouldn't be such a bad idea.
At the tasting, Shelton poured Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek, a Belgian cherry beer in the lambic style, which means that it was spontaneously fermented by yeast that floats through the brewery near Brussels. Unlike most fruit beers - including many fruit lambics - this one is not at all sweet. But it does have the rich, round, full, dazzling essence of "cherry."
Talking about this beer to the tasting crowd, Shelton made a comparison between wine and beer. "You don't taste 'grape juice' when you drink wine," he said, "and when you drink this beer you don't get 'cherry juice.'"
There were 10 other beers sampled at the event, including the wondrously hoppy Belgian tripel Slaapmustske, which is just coming to town. But I'll never forget the Oude Kriek and what Dan Shelton said about it.
Not just "good" - "great."
Posted by: Will Shelton
on Apr 07, 06 | 10:39 am | Profile
Archived under: Press Coverage
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