Egtved Girl’s Brew in 2008 and the beer the girl had with her 3,360 years ago in her grave are not the same. One of the most significant differences is the alcohol percent. With the brewing options and the ingredients that were used then, the beer could have a maximum alcohol content of 1.5%. Egtved Girl’s Brew has 11.5% - and this is first and foremost due to a desire that the world’s perhaps most expensive beer should be able to keep longer and only be opened and drunk on very special occasions.
The master brewer, Christoph Behnke, from Søgaard’s Brewery has made innumerable attempts – most of them in his head – before he decided on the composition of Egtved Girl’s Brew. The discovery from that time contains several other ingredients than what is in Egtved Girl’s Brew. The production itself was initiated in November 2006. The basic beer, which comprises barley and the old grain types, emmer wheat and einkorn, as well as honey have been stored at six degrees and tasted at least every second week.
The most difficult part of Christoph Behnke’s work has not been the selection of the other ingredients. It has been the search for plants and herbs of sufficiently good quality and then having the extract made that is added to the basic beer before bottling. About 11 grams per litre beer is added.
The German-born master brewer has chosen not to use ramson, sheep’s bit, black nightshade, St. John’s wort and black henbane. These ingredients were otherwise in the discovery from Egtved. But Christoph Behnke believed they would not fit into the beer he wanted to make.
Included in the extract are also lime flowers, juniper berries, dropwort, cloves and cranberries. Christoph Behnke won’t reveal any more than that. But he doesn’t mind saying that Egtved Girl’s Brew is a light and very vinous beer with low carbonate content. |
