‘Probably NOT the best beer in the world… so we’ve changed it!’ Carlsberg launches new recipe

‘Probably NOT the best beer in the world… so we’ve changed it!’ Carlsberg concedes its lager is not up to scratch as it tweaks 46-year-old slogan with launch of new recipe and a £20million ad campaign

  • Brewer to unleash Carlsberg Danish Pilsner television advertisement on May 23 
  • It teased campaign online by admitting its original recipe isn’t up to scratch 
  • Firm admitted: ‘Probably not the best beer in the world. So we’ve changed it’
  • Comes after it promoted posts slamming original recipe as ‘rancid p*** of Satan’ 

Forty-six years after Carlsberg bragged its lager was ‘probably the best beer in the world’, the brewer has admitted that it isn’t.

The Danish firm has backtracked on the boast to launch a new drink, acknowledging its original wasn’t up to scratch with a campaign saying: ‘Probably not the best beer in the world. So we’ve changed it.’ 

It is unleashing a revamped version of the beverage, brewed in Northampton since 1973, with a new name and recipe.

Carlsberg Danish Pilsner will have more of a hop flavour but will still remain at 3.8 per cent strength. A £20million advertising campaign has poked fun at the original slogan, by placing a crudely scrawled ‘not’ after the word ‘probably’. 

The brewer has tweaked its original slogan (above) to launch a new lager called Carlsberg Danish Pilsner, which will have more of a hop flavour 

Pictured: How Carlsberg used to sell its lager before the more modest approach it will pursue for its Pilsner

Pictured: How Carlsberg used to sell its lager before the more modest approach it will pursue for its Pilsner 

Carlsberg is launching a new beer and is finally admitting that its original recipe probably isn't the best in the world as it teases the TV advert due to air next month

Carlsberg is launching a new beer and is finally admitting that its original recipe probably isn’t the best in the world as it teases the TV advert due to air next month 

Pictured: The new Carlsberg that is set to replace the original recipe. It will remain a 3.8 per cent beer but the brew has changed with the aim of offering a flavour with more depth

Pictured: The new Carlsberg that is set to replace the original recipe. It will remain a 3.8 per cent beer but the brew has changed with the aim of offering a flavour with more depth 

The full television ad will first air on May 23 but prior to that Carlsberg has embraced the ridicule of its original recipe faces by posting critical reviews of the drink from social media users.

They included one saying ‘Carlsberg tastes like stale breadsticks’ and another comparing the flavour to ‘cat p***’ and one branding it the ‘rancid p*** of Satan’.

It also teased the promotion on social media as it confirmed the launch of a new drink with an admission reading: ‘Probably the best lager in the world. Once true, but today? Probably not. Somewhere along the line, we lost our way.

‘We focused on brewing quantity, not quality. We became one of the cheapest, not the best. So there was only one thing for it. We had to create a better beer. A new Carlsberg, that’s been completely rebrewed from head to hop.

‘The result? A perfectly balanced Danish Pilsner with a crisper, fuller flavour than before. Finally, a beer that lives up to its promise? Probably.’ 

Carlsberg’s ‘probably the best beer in the world’ tag had already been discontinued before the launch, but the iconic slogan inspired spin-offs.

They included a huge poster in Brick Lane, East London, in 2015 featuring a protruding tap that dispensed free beer under the phrase: ‘Probably the best poster in the world.’ 

Another memorable poster from the brewer mocked a Protein World advert that appeared on the London Underground. The fitness product brand asked commuters: ‘Are you beach body ready.’ 

Carlsberg's legendary campaigns included this poster in Brick Lane, East London, where a tap protruded from an advert to offer passers-by free beer

Carlsberg’s legendary campaigns included this poster in Brick Lane, East London, where a tap protruded from an advert to offer passers-by free beer 

The question appeared next to a skinny model wearing a yellow bikini, prompting Carlsberg to respond by subverting the advert.

It placed a poster next to the Protein World one that showed a Carlsberg bottle wearing yellow swimming trunks with the caption: ‘Are you beer body ready?’

Recent promotions also include one backing the England football team ahead of their World Cup quarter-final match against Sweden last year.

It mocked the country’s leading furniture brand, Ikea, with that statement: ‘Time to send the Swedes flat-packing.’

Carlsberg took it upon itself to mock this Protein World advert with an ad asking London Underground users if they were 'beer body ready'

Carlsberg took it upon itself to mock this Protein World advert with an ad asking London Underground users if they were ‘beer body ready’ 

This was Carlsberg's subversive response  to the Protein World poster that cropped up on the capital's Tube network

This was Carlsberg’s subversive response  to the Protein World poster that cropped up on the capital’s Tube network

The brewer also reference the ‘It’s Coming Home’ refrain of England supporters with the statement: ‘It’s coming home… probably.’

It appeared alongside a man holding a pint while dressed in a waistcoat and tie identical to manager Gareth Southgate’s M&S match day attire.  

Celebrities to have appeared in campaigns for the beer brand include Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and comedian Paddy McGuinness. 

This World Cup campaign celebrated the match day attire of England manager Gareth Southgate and used the phrase 'it's coming home' from Baddiel and Skinner's classic song Three Lions, which they recorded with the Lightning Seeds in 1996

This World Cup campaign celebrated the match day attire of England manager Gareth Southgate and used the phrase ‘it’s coming home’ from Baddiel and Skinner’s classic song Three Lions, which they recorded with the Lightning Seeds in 1996  

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