torsdag den 27. oktober 2016

Interview: Megan Hennesy (Jameson) om samarbejdet med Amager Bryghus og andre bryggerier.

I midten af maj måned skrev Stovt om samarbejdsbryg, blandt andet med udgangspunkt i et par atypiske samarbejder. Fjorten dage senere lancerede Amager Bryghus Green, Green Banshee, et samarbejde mellem bryggeriet og Jameson Whisky. Amager Bryghus er dog ikke det eneste bryggeri Jameson har samarbejdet med. Jeg tog fat i Megan Hennesy fra Jameson for at høre mere om, hvad De har gang i. 


Jameson Whisky bliver produceret på Middleton Destilleriet, ikke langt fra Cork i det sydlige Irland. Hvis man vil have en ide om, hvilken størrelse man har med at gøre, så prøv lige at tygge på de her to tal. Destilleriet importerer 140.000 Bourbonfade årligt, og har pt. 1.300.000 fade whisky liggende. Trods størrelsen og verdensomspændende distribution, så startede Jamesons samarbejde med bryggerier alligevel ganske lokalt. 

”The collaboration between craft brewers and Jameson was born out of a conversation a while back between one of Jameson’s Distillers, Dave Quinn, and his friend Shane Long. Shane is a local brewer at the Franciscan Well Brewery located in Cork, Ireland. The brewery is only twelve miles from the Midleton Distillery where Jameson Irish whiskey is distilled.” 


Samarbejdet blev en succes og lagde grobund for samarbejdet med Amager Bryghus og det samarbejde man pt. har med syv amerikanske bryggerier, hvor Great Divide og Cycle Brewing nok er de mest kendte på disse kanter. 

Jeg spørger Megan, hvordan man hos Jameson udvælger de bryggerier man ønsker at samarbejde med. Til min overraskelse behøves bryggerierne ikke engang at have et eksisterende fadlagringsprogram. Det handler om noget så uncorporate som ægthed og arbejdstilgang. 

”In Denmark, quite simply Amager Bryghus makes amazing craft beer. Similar to Jameson, they are dedicated to craftsmanship, quality, and creativity. They don’t hesitate to make bold decisions when they feel this is worth it, and taking those moves can make their beers even more interesting. Jameson Irish whiskey values “real” people - which means honest, hard-working, plain spoken and genuine people. The guys out in Amager Bryghus are top of their game for craft beer not only in Scandinavia but around the world, but if you go out there with an Irish coffee and some pastries, they will take time out of their busy day to chat. That is what makes a great collaboration and why we decided to work together”. 
I forbindelse med samarbejdet udtalte direktør for Amager Bryghus Morten Lundsbak til Fødevarewatch "Det, der tændte os rigtig meget, var muligheden for at få helt friske fade. Lige så snart de havde tømt fadene for deres indhold, så kunne de sende dem dagen efter. Fadene skal helst være tomme i så kort tid som overhovedet muligt, inden øllet kommer på, for det giver mere smag. Det var simpelthen ild på bålet for den indre ølnørd".  

Megan uddyber ”The quality of the barrels is extremely important. The barrels should arrive to the brewery in perfect condition and the whiskey should have been freshly emptied from the barrels. The idea is that the brewery can start filling the barrels straight away. This allows for the whiskey left in the casks to start working into the brew”. 

Tilbage står så spørgsmålet, hvorfor Jameson involverer sig med bryggerier. Ikke overraskende handler svaret om markedsføring. 

“Launching the “Green Green Banshee” stout along with Amager Bryghus is not a big scale first step into the craft beer market for Jameson, as it is was a limited production. We consider this project as a way to diversify a bit our marketing activations in a new unexpected way, working along with an industry very different from Pernod Ricard usual partners. It’s an exciting way to get even closer to our Danish consumers by bringing them something new. But in saying that, the current American trend to match craft beer with a sip of Jameson is a reality that we don’t ignore, and we definitely feel a potential for this trend to land and develop in Denmark. In that case, Jameson would be ready for it, and would have already gained some legitimacy and experience by running the HOPS project with Amager Bryghus”. 

Så vidt vides er der endnu ikke planlagt nye samarbejder mellem Jameson og andre danske bryggerier.