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Maybe you know, or maybe not, but I still write it. Danes are enthusiast, because this week finally opened the first Mikkeller Bar in Copenhagen. As you can imagine, this is a premises owned by the Danish brewer, which will offer house beers both on tap (15-way system) and bottled. Will also host many productions from America and the rest of Europe, among which is easy to imagine the Italian Revelation Cat (Alex Liberati, the founder and brewer, and Mikkel, are great friends). Besides being a new address to be reported in the Danish capital, the Mikkeller Bar also offers the opportunity to reflect on the new trend of pubs owned by brewers.

The Mikkeller’s project is not in fact an absolute novelty in the international scene. Recently there are a lot of similar openings, showing that we are not facing impromptu action, but a kind of new trend. It almost seems that the traditional model of English business, where the breweries usually are also owners of pubs, has suddenly crossed the borders of the United Kingdom to spread among brewers worldwide.

Curiously (or perhaps it is no coincidence) the names involved in this phenomenon are the most “fashionable” of the scenario. Could Brewdog miss the wave? No! In fact, James Watt and Martin Dickie will shortly open their own local in Aberdeen, Scotland. It will not be a simple bar, but a proper brewpub, with an area for brewing. Will be brewed specialty beers, organized visits to the plant, offered tastings and pairings with meals prepared on purpose.

We need to go back just a few months ago to find other similar projects. In early 2010 we spoke of the Stone’s project to open his own bar in Europe, although it was a project still in embryonic stage. In the meantime there have been no updates about it, as far as I know. Since a year is active in the United States the Pannepot Cafe, in which the Belgian brewer Struise had to be involved, who then chose to open a local in Oostvleteren.

And in Italy? We cannot but mention the Open Baladin… Almost a year ago Teo Musso started the project of a number of pubs that should result as showcases for Italian craft beer. As you may know, the premises are not the exclusive expression of the two brewers involved in the project (Baladin and Birra del Borgo), but offer ample room for a large number of Italian brewers. Despite this difference, the project can be compared to foreign ones mentioned above.

The brewers most active on the international scene seem therefore to have addressed towards this direction. What pushes them to embark on such adventures? Perhaps the need to provide a “home” to their beer to set off them as much as possible. Or the need to diversify their business, in order to get freed from the bound of brewing only. Marketing experts could cite brand strengthening, idealists the desire to improve the opportunity of spreading beer culture.

What do you think? Do you think that every new beer place is always a good news, or you see hidden dark implications behind such operations?