Eddie Szweda, owner of Denmark's Midtfyns Bryghus, visited China at the end of last month to host eight tastings in five different cities. We tagged along to the Flow Brew tasting to see why Szweda is such a legendary figure in the world's beer scene.
In person, Szweda is passionate and energetic, who says people always mistake him for Richard Branson thanks to his long, flowing white mane. Twenty-three years ago, he met his Danish wife in America, married after seven months, before moving back to Denmark.
Szweda took over Midtfyns Bryghus in 2004, at which point the company “hand-bottled 800 beers every three days." Compare that to last year's production of 260,000 liters of beer and 10,000-15,000 bottles per week and you can see just how much the award-winning brewery has grown under his keen eye.
At the tasting, we enjoyed 10 of his best beers, including three that made an appearance at the Beijing Invitational Craft Beer Festival this past February; his award-winning Chili Triple (2009 World Beer Award for Best Spiced Beer); Russian Imperial Stout (Best New Beer in Denmark 2015); and two new exclusive versions of his Barley Wine.
“Midtfyns means in the 'middle of Fyn Island', so no matter where the beers are sold in Denmark, people know where the beer comes from,” Szweda explained. Currently, Midtfyns Bryghus beers can be found in nine countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Brazil, the US, Germany, Canada, and China.
“My two favorite things in China are the foot massages and the food,” Szweda said, adding that chicken feet was the only dish he's had to decline. He went on to say that, “Beer is for everybody – it doesn’t matter whether you're a factory worker or a CEO," and that pairing beers with food make the flavors "easier to understand."
That being said, the beers that we tried were full of their own flavor and went down easily by themselves. First we tried Midfyns Wheat, which was a fresh and light beer with hints of honey, raspberry, and lime. The Jule Ale was a darker option, perfect for Christmas thanks to its spicy aromas.
Gunners Ale is a red ale with 7.3 percent ABV named after the Arsenal Football Club. “We created this beer for the Arsenal fans. If Arsenal wins the Champions League, I’ll change the label and put a trophy on it!” said Szweda. I didn't get a chance to tell Szweda that I have a signed Robert Pirès photo stashed away at home but something tells me that he would approve.
Next we tried Chili Tripel with 9.5 percent ABV, a unique beer thanks to its piquant edge. “This beer goes well with spicy crayfish and spicy shellfish,” Szweda said. This popular beer won World's Best Herb and Spice Flavored Beer 2012, Europe's Best Herb and Spice Flavored Beer 2012, and Best New Danish Beer 2009. Then we tried the Chili Tripel Ghost, an upgraded version of the Chili Tripel, in which there are 100 grams of ghost chili powder per every 2,500 liters beer. That was enough to burn my tongue and almost make me burst into tears. This is certainly one for the chili-lovers our there.
We also tried the Xporter, a co-brew between Midtfyns Bryghus and De Molen from Netherlands; the Barley Wine and Imperial Stout, which won European Beer Star Gold 2015; and the Russian Imperial Stout with 11 percent ABV.
Szweda finished by suggesting a number of suitable food-beer pairings: Midtfyns' Rough Snuff or Barley Wine should be drunk alongside Beijing duck, Double IPA should be eaten with very spicy Sichuan food, and oysters go particularly well, again, with Rough Snuff.
If you feel like you missed out then don't worry too much as Szweda finished by promising that "I'll come back to China and present my own beer at the next big international beer festival in Beijing."
More stories by this author here.
Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photo: Midtfyns Bryghus, Wang Mianzhi, Tracy Wang