SCIENCE
Five of the most significant discoveries from the Carlsberg Research Laboratory
Carlsberg’s founder, J.C. Jacobsen, was engaged in science throughout his life. As a young man, he secretly attended lectures by the famous Danish scientist H.C. Ørsted, where he realized that brewing better beer was an art that had to be based on scientific principles.
In 1875, J.C. Jacobsen took the first step toward this vision by transforming a storage building at the Carlsberg Brewery into the first Carlsberg Laboratory. Here, researchers worked daily to ensure that Carlsberg could brew the world’s best beer.
In 1877, fermentation physiologist Emil Chr. Hansen was hired—a decision that would lay the foundation for Carlsberg Laboratory’s future scientific achievements.
In 1895, the new Carlsberg Laboratory was inaugurated further down the road in what were then state-of-the-art facilities. Since then, the laboratory has expanded, and today it serves as a workplace for over 100 researchers dedicated to brewing the beer of the future in the most sustainable way.
J.C. Jacobsen believed that the laboratory’s knowledge should be made available to the public. In that spirit, research results from the laboratory are still published today, ensuring open access to scientific discoveries.
Here are five selected and recognized discoveries made at Carlsberg Laboratory over the past 150 years.
The Purification of Yeast – Emil Chr. Hansen
Emil Chr. Hansen was the head of Carlsberg Laboratory’s physiological department from 1879 to 1909. He developed the first method for pure yeast cultivation, which had a decisive impact on Carlsberg and revolutionized the international brewing industry.
Read more about the yeast revolution HERE.
The pH Scale – S.P.L. Sørensen
You might remember it from your school days. This groundbreaking invention was made at Valby Bakke. S.P.L. Sørensen was the head of Carlsberg Laboratory’s chemical department from 1901 to 1938. He introduced the pH concept to measure the acidity of a solution and demonstrated the importance of pH values in biochemical reactions, including brewing.
Learn more about the pH scale in this video.
Discovery of Subtilisin – Martin Ottesen
Martin Ottesen led Carlsberg Laboratory’s chemical department from 1959 to 1987. His research on water’s ability to bind to proteins using albumin from hen eggs led to the discovery of the enzyme subtilisin. This proteolytic enzyme is highly heat-stable and is now used as an active ingredient in many of Novozymes’ detergents.
New Barley Varieties – Birgitte Skadhauge
Birgitte Skadhauge is currently the research director at Carlsberg Laboratory and has been conducting research there since 1996. Her findings include the development of climate-resistant barley and the so-called Null-LOX barley, which enhances beer freshness, extends shelf life, and improves foam quality and stability.
Discover more about the future of barley HERE.
Click Chemistry – Morten Meldal
From 1988 to 2011, Morten Meldal led the Synthesis department at Carlsberg Laboratory’s chemical division. While searching for new medicinal compounds, he and Ph.D. student Christian Tornøe discovered an unexpected reaction between two molecules. This discovery formed the basis for so-called click chemistry, a method for efficiently linking molecules together. Today, the method is widely used in medicinal chemistry and materials science. Along with two fellow researchers, Morten Meldal received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022 for the invention of click chemistry.
Meet the professor in this video.