They provide Copenhagen Cooking with a certain spirit. After all, luxuriating over a plate of food without a glass of wine or beer wouldn’t hold the same appeal.
Alcohol plays an integral role in Danish food culture, and accordingly there are a variety of events this festival that embrace its importance.
We’ve got dinners with beer pairings, liqueur tastings, cider and schnapps festivals – you name it.
Here are some of the highlights you don’t want to miss!
Beer tastings
Aug 19-20, 18:00-23:00; Carlsberg Laboratorium, Valby Langgade 1, Cph V; 495kr
Throughout the week there will be many options for dining and drinking as the Danes do. Try beer at Glyptotek Hall at Carlsberg with different nibbles such as caramelised popcorn.The goal behind the tasting is to give you a different kind of explosion in your mouth. Led by well-known chef Christian Hoffman, experiment with beer at this lovely setting and learn more about mixing and matching. Meanwhile, the brewery Herslev Bryghus (various times; Dronningens Tværgade 22, Cph K; 295kr) brings a twist to beer tasting with a new trend: tasting spontaneous fermentation beer. During the event you will try a minimum of four beers together with four seasonal Danish dishes.
Rum & Chocolate
Aug 24, 18:00-19:00; Israels Plads, Linnésgade 17, Cph K; 90kr
Pirates and chocolate lovers, you are in for a treat. Who thought that these two could be such a persuasive punch? Try this event, where rums from Latin America, all the way up to Georgia in the US, will be paired with the tasting of chocolate derived from lots of different cocoa types. Daniel Maersk from Sprit & Co and Mark Hermann from Mark Hermann Chocolate will tell you all about the history of rum and its best combinations with chocolate.
Organic liqueur, recycling and literature
Aug 20, 16:00-18:00; Frederiksberg Bredegade 1, Frederiksberg; 150kr
Bringing ecology to everyday life, alcoholic drinks can also be sustainable. Join the talk on sustainability and recycling at the Loppehylder flea market, where the guys from the Secret Liqueur Society (Det Hemmelige Likørselskab) will explain how they make their organic liqueur from pure raw materials. While you listen you’ll get liqueur tasting and organic cakes spiced with their exquisite liqueur. Stick around afterwards to do some thrift shopping. Elsewhere, if you speak Danish and want more of that liqueur you might also want to check out the tastings that are being served along with the humorous reading of the Swedish book ‘With a cup and coffee liqueur’ (Aug 18, 18:00, Amagerbrogade 205, Cph S; 125kr).
Rigtig Cider Festival
Aug 26, 11:00-18:00; Israels Plads, Vendersgade 6D, Cph K; 99-130kr
The more bitter the apple, the tastier the cider. The Cider Festival is back this year to prove that and to challenge our tastebuds and knowledge of cider, presenting Danish cider in an international context. Rigtig Cider Festival will be hosting three tasting rounds at Israel Plads involving the produce of 25 cider producers, both local and from abroad. One ticket entitles you to three tastings. When the evening approaches, long tables will be set up for a cosy dinner with more cider.
Schnapps and Aquavit Festival
Aug 26, 12:00-22:00; Copenhagen Distillery, Kløvermarksvej 70D, Cph S; 395-495kr
Spirit producers from Scandinavia and the US, plus chefs from the best restaurants in Copenhagen (Fiskebaren, Folkets Madhus, Nabo, No 2 and Restaurant Palægade) team up for this unique first ever-held festival, where you will be able to taste about 30 distilleries together with amazing street food. It is a unique chance “to see the elephants that make the schnapps and aquavit that we all love”. There will also be beer from Amager Bryghus, Flying Couch and Kølster, while Copenhagen cocktail bar Helium, which just won the Best Barteam in the World title, will be there to surprise the guests with some new cocktail creations featuring schnapps and aquavit. With live music and competitions hosted by Danish journalist Esben Bjerre, you better reserve this day to drink like a fish!
