Artisanal Wild Ales

My name is Simon Toft Hansen; I am the man behind Observatoriet. I have a long history on the Danish brewing scene. I founded a brewpub in Copenhagen at age 28 and went on with this brewery up till now where it is a big operation with several locations and employees.

I always had an attraction to wild yeast cultures. For me brewing beer is like writing a song; you need to do the groundwork writing the melody and the lyrics, but in the end there also has to be a bit of magic to give it soul. For me that is the wild yeast cultures I use in this brewery – they can add that bit of magic and turn a piece of craftmanship into art. And so – I had to follow my dream and make this brewery.

Brew day in Observatoriet is where I begin the long process of making wild ale. I make very simple beer to be aged in mainly oak vessels, though I have other woods available as well as steel. The beer matures in the wood in a process that involves slow ingression of oxygen to feed the wild yeast. Then comes the important stage where I determine when the beer should be pulled. When the beer is ready, it has wonderful wood character and lots of wild yeast funk, but is never identical to previous batches. I assess the beer, perhaps blend several batches together and then introduce modern techniques such as dryhopping and spicing to finish the beer.

The thought process of tasting where a beer might be going flavour wise and taking it to its destination is like an extra layer to conventional brewing, and that is what makes this product so intriguing to me; the combination of craftsmanship and artistry.