The beer market in Denmark is dominated by the brands Carlsberg and Tuborg. Since Tuborg was acquired by Carlsberg in 1970, Carlsberg has held a near-monopoly. A number of regional breweries, however, managed to survive, and most of them merged into Royal Unibrew in 2005. As of 2020, Ratebeer lists over 300 active breweries in Denmark, most of which are microbreweries. Economy The Danish market is dominated by pale lager, with more than 95% of total sales. However, stout and other dark beers are increasing in popularity, a trend driven by the market growth of premium-priced beers. The local microbreweries are strong innovators and produce a wide variety of beer styles, including strong IPAs and stouts. Danish beer production was 723 million litres in 2001, and increased to 870 million litres by 2005. Imported beer accounted for only 8% of total volume sales in 2006. This indicates that beer sales in Denmark are dominated by domestic brands; however, imports increased by 14% in 2006 to reach 36.3 million litres. Germany is the most important source market for imports. Danish beer exports was 296.1 million litres in 2006. Germany continues to be the most important export market for Danish beer. The German market accounted for 30% of exports in 2006. Based on data from the Danish Beer Association (), beer consumption for 2005 was 539 million litres. Jacobsen Danish industrialist J. C. Jacobsen revolutionized the world of brewing when his brewery, Carlsberg, bred a pure strain of lager yeast, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. This enabled the breweries to achieve a large and consistent output, and lager has been the most popular style of beer in Denmark since Carlsberg started selling it in 1847. Smaller breweries in Denmark suffered greatly under the Carlsberg market dominance, especially during the middle of the 20th century, and this led to a large reduction in available beer quality and styles. In recent years the interest in higher quality beer has risen sharply, and the Danish beer landscape is now dotted with several small breweries and brewpubs, producing a wide range of beers. Common types of beer Classic An all malt pale lager with more colour and taste. The classic type is named after the Tuborg or the Carlsberg.da Guld Guld (Gold) is a name commonly applied to pale lagers with a strength around 5.7% abv. Examples include: Tuborg Guld (5.8%), Carlsberg Sort Guld (5.8%), Harboe Premium Gold (5.9%),