Mikkeller
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| Anpartsselskab, ApS (limited liability company) |
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| Industry |
Alcoholic beverage Brewing |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Mikkel Borg Bjergsø Kristian Klarup Keller |
| Headquarters | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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Number of locations
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12 |
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Area served
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Aarhus, Bangkok, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Reykjavík, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore (bars) Multinational (distribution) |
| Products | Beer |
| Revenue | €3.3 million (2011) |
| Owner | Mikkel Borg Bjergsø |
| Website | mikkeller.dk |
Mikkeller is a microbrewery founded in 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark that is based on the so-called "cuckoo", "phantom" or "gypsy" ethos; that is, the company does not operate an official brewery and, instead, collaborates with other brewers to produce their recipes or experimental one-off brews. The brewery was founded by two home brewers: Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, a high school teacher, and journalist Kristian Klarup Keller. Both sought to introduce their home-brewed beer to the public and to "challenge beer friends with intense new tastes", drawing inspiration from the American breweries that "aren't afraid to play and break all the rules".
Before founding the company, self-taught home brewers Bjergsø and Keller experimented on brewing, first by trying to clone existing beers. After success in blind tastings, the two started creating their own recipes and entered many home brewing competitions in Denmark, eventually winning many of them. The brewery's activity was small, with a low level of public visibility, as the brewing was kitchen-based and the beer was only served at a few beer enthusiast meetings and in small local bars. Bjergsø's brother founded a beer shop in 2005 and began to distribute the pair's beer to select destinations in numerous countries. In 2006, encouraged by wider appeal, Bjergsø and Keller founded the Mikkeller brewing company, named after their home brewery operation.
In late 2006, an experimental Mikkeller beer called Beer Geek Breakfast garnered fame for the company when it won in the stout category of an international beer voting event. Following this recognition, Mikkeller made its first official appearance at the Copenhagen Beer Festival, where the brewery successfully introduced eight different beers, garnering further acclaim. The attention that occurred in the second half of 2006 resulted in an international distribution deal, and to cope with demand, Mikkeller started to brew in established breweries by paying rent for the machinery and costs of the brewing process. Therefore, the small company could continue production even though it did not have the funds to invest in a facility and professional brewing equipment.
Keller parted ways with the company in 2007, as he was not interested in production and crafting a greater number of beers, while Bjergsø was eager to constantly create new recipes and tastes. Keller quit brewing in order to pursue his career as a journalist, leaving Bjergsø to oversee the brewery.
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Wikipedia