From running their own tiny city to experimenting with freeze dried beer, To Øl is an independently-owned Danish brewery that's doing it all! 

Founded in 2010 by high school friends Tore Gynther and Tobias Emil Jensen, the name To Øl is a homage to their friendship, and directly translates to "Two-Beers" in English!

Their first commercial beer release was brewed primarily at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium, but in the years to follow, the brewry quickly saw success. By 2012, To Øl was recognized on RateBeer's Top 100 breweries list, and two short years later, rose to cinch 9th place globally in 2014. 

Tore Gynther (Left) and Tobias Emil Jensen (Right).

It Takes A City (Or, A Former Ketchup Factory)!

A few years later in 2016, the brand opened the To Øl's 'BRUS', a brewpub featuring a bar, shop, restaurant, and on-site brewery in Copenhagen. Beers brewed here are canned and sold under the 'To Øl CPH' label. Wasting no time at all, they subsequently opened a second BRUS bar in Oslo, Norway in 2017.

By 2019, To Øl had acquired a former ketchup factory in Western Zealand, Denmark, which they transformed into a custom-designed brewery and craft beverage center. Today, the site encompasses a whopping 150,000 square meters of land and 26,600 square meters of houses and other facilities. Cheekily named the 'To Øl City', it is the brewery's ultimate move to bring its beer production wholly back to its home nation of Denmark, and marking the end of their initial gypsy brewing days.

To Øl City.

The "city" serves a dual purpose as a collective of the other talented craft beverage producers in Denmark, along with an impressive array of other related beverage produces. Slowly becoming a powerhouse of Denmark's beverage talent, the grounds are already hosting cider producers, kombucha brewers and rum distillers, with more to come! Additionally, To Øl and fellow craft beer producer Mikkeller jointly own a network of craft beer bars and shops in Denmark, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.

Venturing Into Freeze Dried Powder Beer!

Notably in recent years, To Øl has also embarked on a rather odd but ambitious initiative: Powdered craft beer. In collaboration with a German food processing firm, To Øl has experimented with freeze-drying four beer varieties: a fruity IPA, a hoppy IPA, a dry pilsner, and a coffee-infused stout. 

Freeze dried beer? Don't mind if I do!

The freeze-drying process removes all water and alcohol, leaving a powder containing sugars, proteins, bitter compounds, and aromatic elements. Reconstitution requires adding water and the original alcohol. While successful, To Øl currently has no plans for public release.

To Øl Natur Porosity Blend #2, 6% ABV

For today's review, we're trying the To Øl Natur Porosity Blend #2, a mixed fermentation ale that's been conditioned on Japanese Quince Pomace.

Mixed fermentation ale results from a brewing process that uses a combination of yeast and bacteria strains - beyond the typical brewer's yeast, to create unique and often sour and funky flavors. 

As the story goes, cider producers Æblerov provided the brewery with fresh Japanese quince pomace. Apparently inspired by the fruit and its flavors, they carefully selected barrels from To Øl's cellars and allowed the beer to mature with the quince for two months, culminating in a unique bottled brew.

Tasting Notes

Color: Light Gold

Aroma: Ooh funky, balsamic, and tart - there’s spiced quince jam, that farmhouse hit of animal fur and sweat, along with that cheesy sourness of brie rind. Lots of fruit acidity here - organic apple cider, with that fermented quality. There’s also a light muskiness and fermented fruit skins.

Taste: Medium-bodied. Deeper and mellower than you’d expect - more of those cider, vinegar, balsamic notes. Fermented fruit skins of apples and pears. There’s more on wild cherries too, with just a light sweetness and tartness. Surprisingly not as much of a bite as you’d brace for.

Finish: Clean with light lingering notes of quince, yellow pears, a little bit of starfruit. More of those light vinegary notes, earthiness and acidity. There’s a little bit of light soy sauce too, with a sensation of hot sauce warmth that’s quite savoury and salty.

My Thoughts

A solid wild ale! I really appreciated how approachable and balanced this was, with no signs of overwhelming bite or bitterness on the palate - this would be a great entry for anyone getting into wild ales. Here you get a sense of the funkiness but it still maintains much restraint, keeping things rather tame, with just a slight edge.

Expect wild fruits - tart with a light sweetness, lots of earthiness, with little sharpness and much less acidity than some find intimidating.

Great starter friendly wild ale if there ever was one!

Call this a step into the wild.

*Suspiciously racoon-like noises*

Contributed by @Definitelynotthreeracoons