Brewdog-The End of History
July 26, 2010
We wrote recently about the ongoing battle to brew the world’s strongest beer between Scottish brewers Brewdog and Schorschbrau in Germany.
And more recently, at the 2010 IBC Awards I was lucky enough to taste Sam Adams Utopia.
Well today Brewdog announced ‘The End of History” which sounds like it should be a Doctor Who episode, but which they have declared is their last installment in their “efforts to redefine the limits of contemporary brewing.”
They don’t describe the method of production, but I suspect this must be another eisbock. They describe it as a “blond Belgian ale infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and Fresh juniper berries.” It’s brewed to an eye watering 55% ABV and only 12 bottles are being made of which 11 are for sale.
This is where it gets even more bizarre, each bottle is encased in a stuffed animal!
Seven are being sold ‘wrapped’ in stoats, and four in grey squirrel carcasses, all roadkill (no rodents have been harmed in the packaging of this brew) and each comes with a certificate of authenticity. The ’stoats’ are priced at £500 ($760) a bottle, the grey squirrels at £700 ($1070).
Needless to say, at those prices I’ll pass, and on this occasion I’ll decline to comment.
But I look forward to hearing your views, and if you’re so interested, here’s the Brewdog video on the subject.
Bob the Brit.
Posted in Other Stuff, Views from a Brit
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July 26th, 2010 at 11:11 am
One word: Boooooooo!!!!!
July 26th, 2010 at 11:13 am
And I didn’t decline to comment on our blog. I’m done with these clowns: http://wp.me/pBL4g-Fa
(sorry for the linking in the comments!)
Jim´s last blog ..BrewDog Jumps the Shark or Squirrel- to be more accurate
July 26th, 2010 at 11:13 am
BrewDog is pushing their limits, for me anyway. I am interested in beer much more than marketing tricks. I will never be able to taste this expensive beer and don’t care for the roadkill wrapping.
When they make another interesting, accessible, and drinkable beer I’ll check back in with them; for the record some of their recent team-ups (with Stone and Mikkeller for instance) have been pretty interesting. I’m not writing them off as a brewer yet, but I’m not interested in shenanigans.
Royce´s last blog ..Happy Friday! DMX and Dropkick Murphys
July 26th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
@Royce – I couldn’t have said it better. I think Brewdog has come up with some great publicity stunts and this has certainly generated a lot of buzz. For that I give them credit, but otherwise its looking more and more adolescent, although I got a chuckle out of it!
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
July 28th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
There is a lot of unified hate about these guys right now. I think they are screwing themselves in a lot of ways.
michael reinhardt´s last blog ..Wikileaks- Beer As Weapon In Afghanistan
July 29th, 2010 at 9:34 am
@michael, I agree but in a market becoming more and more crowded, they are certainly getting attention. Tasteful, no, but I give them an A for effort!
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Dundee Summer Wheat Beer Review
July 29th, 2010 at 9:40 am
…and let’s be honest, whether tasteful or not, the release sold out within 24 hours.
Okay, so not many bottles, but still some serious money coming in!
July 29th, 2010 at 11:34 am
I don’t really mind their stunts. I don’t lose any sleep over it or take any personal offense. The great thing as a consumer is that we have a choice. We don’t have to buy these beers and can simply ignore Brewdog if we wish. But let’s face it – their videos are funny and the give us something interesting to talk about. I know I’ve had a bunch of fun conversations at the bar about their antics. That’s good stuff. Instead of taking it such offense to it, I wish people would say “Oh those Brewdog guys are at it again”, and have a good laugh. Do they really inconvenience our lives that much? That’s my take anyways. Good write up Scott.
Billy Broas´s last blog ..Beer Cocktail Taste Test- What’s the Best Shandy
July 29th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Indeed. Again, I’d say it was more of a successful publicity stunt than something they would make a ton of money on. Every few months, these guys get the whole beer blogosphere buzzing about something. Not easy to do.
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Sea Dog Blueberry Beer
July 29th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
@Billy – thanks for the input, and I agree. People have a choice to buy it or not buy it, but in reality, only 11 or so people on earth can really buy this stuff and try it so its completely a PR gimmick. That said, the more I think about it the more I have to tip my hat to them for really making a splash an a very crowded arena.
BTW, Bob the Brit was the author of this post, I need to add that.
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
July 29th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Crap. Sorry Bob. One day I will look for the signature line before I comment.
Billy Broas´s last blog ..Beer Cocktail Taste Test- What’s the Best Shandy
July 30th, 2010 at 3:24 am
@Billy & Scott
Like Billy said, we have a choice. I agree with this, but at the same time they need to hear from the craft beer community. Not because we need to vent our anger, or because we need to tell them how unhappy we are by writing them a letter telling them how unhappy we are….
But because over all, I would like to think that the craft beer and brewery community is a close knit one that’s worked hard to get where they are today. We hold a love of all things beer and passion for people first….
When certain craft breweries, especially he bigger named craft ones do PR stunts like this, I feel it damages a lot of what craft beer really stands for. I have to give them credit for pushing the envelope a bit here, but I feel they did it the wrong way a bit.
But please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to be the Jesse Jackson here of beer. Those are not my intentions, and I haven’t and don’t plan to contact Brew Dog in any way and so on. But the opinions of the craft beer community have been heard I think, and I feel that’s important.
BUT…saying all of this….I will also admit that like Scott just said, that they have made a big enough splash in a pretty busy area. So perhaps, just perhaps their intentions go a bit deeper and we have yet to see some great stuff happen here. AND if…and I say IF for a reason…this stunt can bring more positive attention and draw more people into the craft beer community and everything great beer is about, than perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Ilya
July 30th, 2010 at 8:07 am
@Ilya – great comment, thanks! I think it can have a greater impact though the attention they are getting, but as you mentioned they seem to be getting a lot of blowback from the core fan base – craft beer drinkers.
I’m not sure I understand the blowback entirely though. As I mentioned somewhere, it seems when craft beer goes off the storyline of “blood, sweat and tears” or the made with “angel tears, unicorn breath and the laughter of children” people get upset.
Look, its a business and they need to sell product. To sell product, I’m starting to think brewers need to do more than rely only on the merit of their beer. Stunts like this help – particularly if the beer can back it up. (Which isn’t to say the BrewDog extreme beers can or do.)
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..St Bernardus Witbier
July 30th, 2010 at 8:15 am
@Billy – not your fault! Our theme here is a little creaky and it doesn’t tag the author, so if I forget to put it in the post…well you know. I’m also in a habbit of not tagging my own posts, so I suppose its forgetfulness on my part. Sorry for the confusion.
I just think its important because while we’re all ‘The Brew Club’ here, we don’t think as a collective.
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Magic Hat Brewing Company – Wacko
July 30th, 2010 at 10:04 am
That people occasionally confuse our posts is flattering; it means we’re on the same page as it were. Although this post is perhaps less verbose than most of mine.
What I will say, categorically, is that in a world where it’s difficult to grab the attention of the general public, Brewdog – through their various antics – have raised their corporate awareness beyond what would reasonably be expected of a young microbrewery from the topmost tip of Scotland. Imagine a craft brewer from Pullman WA gaining such awareness.
That said, their regular brews are fine. I have enjoyed their Zeitgeist dark lager on draught and in bottles and their other brews are pretty good – expect some more reviews here soon.
At the end of the day, they can gain as much fame and notoriety as the want, if they want to succeed in the long term, they need to brew and sell beers that people want to drink, again and again.
And I’m please to report that, behind the hype, that’s what Brewdog does.
Bob the Brit´s last blog ..Malt and Barley Blues