I did not know it had been served at Noma! In my researching, I’ve found a lot of ‘traditional’ dishes, like this, that bear very little resemblance to the original.

How do you roll your rye?

I haven’t eaten ‘øllebrød’ this century or even longer. The traditional version is probably only served these days at retirement homes for nostalgic food memories.
This is the original hvidtøl: https://www.carlsbergdanmark.dk/produkter/kb/kb-hvidtoel/?CKey=12497.
You did the right thing: Upgrading a rather dull dish. Same happened in the ‘New Nordic Kitchen’ wave – with ‘øllebrød’ on the menu in a gourmet version at Noma in Copenhagen and Restaurant Agern in New York. The only thing these fancy, tiny dishes share with the original is probably the name.
PS: I came to you website not for ‘øllegrød’ but for your overnight oats with rye. I have for some years now made overnight oats and added rye flakes (because I like them) and chia and kefir + water. Didn’t know about the phytase before – so big surprise. I have rolled the oats – but now know it is more important to rool the rye. One thing I did change (just a few days ago after reading your blog) is to leave the mix at room temperature instead of the fridge.

Hey Michael, thank you for this note. It’s great to hear from someone who ate it! Do you still eat it now? I would love to try traditional, sweet malt ale. I have often made a cardamon syrup to go with it and yes, the flavours are wonderful together. I’m guessing, if you had it for dessert, it was sweetened?