Brewdog: Good for Craft Beer??

Now that the rodent filled furor of Brewdog's latest headline grabber has started to subside & the avalanche of press coverage it's created wanes, it's time the look back on their eventful year and ask the question;

'Are Brewdog good for craft beer?'.

If you look at it from a beer purists point of view they have sent craft beer hurtling into the world headlines thus raising the profile of the entire craft scene in the UK & all over the world. I am in no doubt that there must be more craft beer lovers in the UK now than before Brewdog's 2007 conception.

Brewdog have been heavily criticised over the recent year not least for the abv's of some of their offerings but some of their marketing tact too. However if you look a little deeper at Brewdog, past the headlines and into their business brains, what you will find is two savvy young business men who have managed to engage such a captive audience who hang on every latest announcement with bated breath like some kind of mass hypnosis!

In marketing terms you cannot buy this kind of coverage & access to media, regardless of your personal stance on Brewdog, EVERYONE is talking about them and they wouldn't have it any other way!

In my opinion Brewdog have earnt the right (to use an Americanism): 'run their mouths' because the beers they are producing are world class & get people talking about great beer isn't that what WE ARE ALL ABOUT?

From a business point of view what Brewdog have achieved in just 3 short years is staggering & unprecedented for a small brewery, surely they at least deserve some credit for this alone.

I only hope now they have hopefully settled the crazy quest for the world's highest abv. with 'The End of History'  beer,  they will get back to producing great innovative beers in sufficient volume for us all, after all we don't want their creative energies burning out just yet.


Whilst Brewdog won't be receiving Christmas cards from, Alcohol Concern, Portman Group, over zealous animal lovers,(although how taxidermy of roadkill is offensive I'll never know) oh & maybe a few Germans, this is a list I'm sure James, Martin & Co. nor the Craft Beer world will lose any sleep over. As long as no-one gets hurt, what's the problem?? It's all good natured with one thing at it's heart, something that James Watt has stressed again & again;

It's about Great Craft Beer!

And if they want to have fun in the process of raising the Craft Beer World's profile, why the hell not?!!

But lets get back to sanity & reality. & brew some beers we can all buy & drink....

So guys ...What about this new 15% stout loaded with Cocoa & Coffee...?

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article.php?id=331

* Disclaimer: No Squirrels or Stoats were harmed in the production of this post.

It's a Revolution...

As this is my first post I will keep it short & sweet, I want to try and set the tone for the kind of things you'll find on my blog, I will attempt to chronicle the goings on in the world of craft beer.

As a beer blog reader you will probably be well aware of the kind of transition the beer world is going through from the huge volume downturn from the multi-national conglomerates and the huge explosion of the Craft Beer movement all over the world.

We are in very important & exciting times in our embryonic industry what happens in the coming decade or so will lay the foundations & framework for the future proliferation of Craft Beer worldwide.

The craft scene in the UK, US & mainland Europe is already diverse & wonderfully complex leading the the very thing that is driving this amazing phenomena: variety & choice!

The sheer number of styles and strengths of beers appearing the world-over have really given the consumer a never ending stream of new exciting beers to get to grips with & most importantly availability has exploded, this must surely be a product of the simple forces of supply & demand through a plethora of beer retailers both on-line & shops like the fantastic Beer-Ritz at Headingley in Leeds. The customer is now demanding more choice than ever before, the very word 'choice' must be the buzzword of our burgeoning industry right now.

No-ones beer holding need ever be dictated by large volumes of unremarkable ubiquity again, flavour & availability are now in the driving seat, I foresee years & years of enlightening the masses to come, you may have experienced it yourself, the moment a friend tries one of your beers and their eyes widen & glaze over as they hand you back the glass whilst savoring the flavours & utter the very words that are music to any craft beer lovers ears...

"WOW! I didn't know beer could taste that good!" at precisely that moment your conscience whispers "my work here is done..."

I will never forget the look of amazement on our fantastic new draymans face (a lowest common denominator lager drinker of 25 years) face when he chugged back his first mouthful of our our American Pale 'Apache' and uttered the immortal words after a long pause... 'all those wasted years!'

As you probably well know once your senses are opened to the world of craft beer there really is no going back....

The Revolution has begun.