Copenhagen. The first taste of something cosmopolitan and sophisticated for us Norwegians or, at least it used to be. Sure, we had been to the Steen + Strm department store in Oslo to ride the escalators, but this was way beyond that. Palaces and castles, parks with peacocks. Zoo and the Tivoli gardens. When we grew older we went interrailing, and Copenhagen was the bottleneck between the Scandinavian and Continental train systems. Some hours to spend before the Hamburg train, an Elephant beer and, wide eyed: The city of sin. Just behind Hovedbanegrden, the Central Station, starts Istedgade, where the porn shops, blue cinemas and the hookers (sorry Galway) ladies of the night. In broad daylight. Fast forward a few (three, actually) decades. I walk along Istedgade again, and, as expected, the same thing has happened here as in most inner cities of Europe. The low life is replaced by the chattering classes, and there far more toddlers in prams than prostitutes. Sure there are a few pitiful cellar bars where they offer topless waitresses, but not more than you will find in any provincial Danish town. Compared to whats on offer in Holland or Belgium this looks rather Calvinist. But I am not here to assess the developments in the porn industry. There is a festival in town. Ten years ago, a few, well, enthusiasts founded the Danish Beer Enthusiasts . Their membership has grown ever since, and we are now talking about an organization with salaried staff, a monthly glossy magazine and a wide range of activities. Their flagship event is the yearly beer festival, which has attracted foreign visitors since the beginning, but this year they have profiled it as a European Beer Festival . It is bigger than before, and, it takes place on a historical site. Carlsberg is winding down their Copenhagen brewery and moving it out of town, which meant there was ample space available. Sure, there would probably be very few among the members who would name a Carlsberg beer as their favourite, but there is still a part of the Danish and indeed European beer history that is connected to Carlsberg and their yeast.  read more »