Carlsberg Brewery

In the 1970s and 1980s Carlsberg ran beer advertisements in Malaysian cinemas featuring a Long Cool Dane. The sequence had a white bikini-clad blonde model walking along a beach, cross-fading with a bottle of Carlsberg Pilsner glistening with cold foam. It did a lot to make the Carlsberg brand popular in Malaysia. If you search you will find that video on YouTube. That model, if she had a family and is still alive, must be a grandmother now.

Well given that history, how could I resist taking a tour of the Carlsberg brewery and sipping a Long Cool Dane at the end?

The mostly mechanised production line. If I recall correctly we were on a walkway above the brewery floor.

And finally we get to sample some of that blonde nectar. I seem to recall the brewery guide did a roll call of the various nationalities and it was quite a mix, including many English speakers.

A final thought before leaving Scandinavia: The Vikings were the terror of their era. Danegeld meant blackmail money to avoid being attacked. Now the Scandinavians are some of the most peaceful people in the world. So there's hope for the rest of the world.

I'll drink to that. Skål!