Mikkeller

thumb|Mikkeller Baghaven is an event center in Copenhagen focusing on DJ music. Mikkeller is a craft brewery founded in 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark, that was originally based on the so-called "cuckoo", "phantom" or "gypsy brewer" ethos; that is, the company does not operate an official brewery and, instead pays a brewery in Belgium to produce their beer. The company now operates several brewpubs, such as Warpigs in Copenhagen and Mikkeller Brewpub London. Mikkeller was founded by two home brewers: Mikkel Bjergsø, a high school teacher, and journalist Kristian Klarup Keller. Both sought to introduce their home-brewed beer to the public and to "challenge beer friends with intense new tastes", drawing inspiration from the American breweries that "aren't afraid to play and break all the rules". thumb|A glass of Mikkeller beer thumb|Mikkeller Bigworst Bourbon Barley Wine beer thumb|Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast beer

==History== ===Inception and development: 2005–2007=== Before founding the company, self-taught home brewers Bjergsø and Keller experimented on brewing, first by trying to clone existing beers. After success in blind tastings, the two started creating their own recipes and entered many home brewing competitions in Denmark, eventually winning many of them. The brewery's activity was small, with a low level of public visibility, as the brewing was kitchen-based and the beer was only served at a few beer enthusiast meetings and in small local bars. Bjergsø's brother founded a beer shop in 2005 and began to distribute the pair's beer to select destinations in numerous countries. In 2006, encouraged by wider appeal, Bjergsø and Keller founded the Mikkeller brewing company, named after their home brewery operation.