Archive record · Brewery
Carlsberg Group
Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark
- Founded
- 1847
- Archive ID
- TB-SJTVN3N4
- Last checked
- 2026-08-05
Who owns this brewery?
The direct owner is recorded. No company is held above it.
- Carlsberg GroupThis brewery
- Carlsberg GroupConglomerate
From the record
Summary
The Danish macro giant. Famous for its pilsner and for quietly buying up stakes in craft breweries across Europe. Not an acquisition: this is the founding brewery of the group that bears its name, so there is no purchase date to record.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
Carlsberg gave the world pure lager yeast for free in 1883 and has spent the last thirty years quietly buying stakes in the breweries that use it.
Ownership & corporate history
- Controlled by Carlsberg Foundation (Carlsbergfondet)1887
What the sources say
Researched 2026-09-13 (Wikidata parent lead); no held claim preceded it. An enterprise foundation, not a holding company: charter-bound to at least 51% of the votes (amended 2013; from 2007 more than 25% of the capital). Around 76% of votes and 29% of equity. Controlling shareholder, filed as an institution, never as a direct owner.
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1847Founded
Carlsberg Group begins brewing in Copenhagen, Capital Region.
- 1883Milestone
Carlsberg gave the world pure lager yeast for free in 1883 and has spent the last thirty years quietly buying stakes in the breweries that use it.
The People
Behind the beer
Founded 1847; his laboratory isolated the first pure lager yeast and published the method rather than patenting it.
The Beer Library
Beers
Carlsberg
Year-RoundPilsner
The Carlsberg Laboratory isolated the first pure lager yeast strain and invented the pH scale — then gave both discoveries away free to the world, competitors included.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Carlsberg Elephant
Year-RoundStrong Lager
Named for the elephant gates at the Copenhagen brewery. Carlsberg's laboratory isolated the first pure lager yeast strain in 1883 and published it rather than patenting it — a remarkable amount of the world's lager descends from that decision.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Carlsberg Group is controlled by Foundation / nonprofit.
Carlsberg Group Annual Report 2025 · Carlsberg Group · 2026-02
PrimaryHigh reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-05Claim last checked 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Carlsberg Group
- Who owns Carlsberg Group?
- Carlsberg Group is owned by Carlsberg Group. Carlsberg Group is based in Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark.
- Is Carlsberg Group still independent?
- No. Carlsberg Group is owned by Carlsberg Group and is no longer independent.
- When was Carlsberg Group founded?
- Carlsberg Group was founded in 1847 in Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark.
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