Northdown Craft Beer Movement

The beer bar Baghaven is one of several branches under the Mikkeller brand that has played a significant part in bringing Copenhagen to the top in the world of beer.

The opening of Baghaven (which translates into “the backyard”) marked the moment when spontaneously fermented sour beer was made using local terroir. Importing skilled American brewer Ehren Schmidt to head up operations at Baghaven helped establish the foundation for a location that would fuse tradition with cutting-edge innovation.

Baghaven is home to twelve large oak foeders, filled with a varied range of fruited wild ales, rustic saisons, and experimental beers and ranging in size from 3000 to 7000 liters, plus over fifty 225-liter California Chardonnay barrels. These oak vessels house beers where wild yeast and bacteria transform the liquid inside into products with incredible depth and complexity. In addition to barrel-aging, the in-house microbiology lab allows them to maintain our yeast and bacteria cultures and also isolate new strains from the air, fruit skins, and various other sources.

These 'wild' strains bring a unique character that gives the beer an authentic Copenhagen DNA. True to the style of this beer, which takes time and patience, Baghaven has slowly but surely made a name for themselves in the international beer community.