BrewDog has gotten it’s fair share of praise and fair share of angry comments and in a move that I wish other breweries and bars would do, have immortalized the bad (now funny) onto t-shirts.
My thinking is that if you starve a troll of oxygen, they lose interest. These shirts might rile one or two up but if BrewDog makes money off their not-so-wry tweets, that could work too.
Build Border Bars Instead
We knew that Columbus would not be the only site for BrewDog in America. Other bars were hinted at but the first to be blogged about by them is on and over the edge.
BrewDog is planning to build a craft beer bar on the border between the USA and Mexico. Whether it comes to fruition or not. The sentiment and politics is strong and I think really cool.
From their post, “Our ‘Bar on the Edge’ will take back the great frontier between the US and Mexico before it is taken away forever. Half in each, with amazing beer from both. Heck, you can order up a four-beer flight and drink two Mexican craft beers in the US and two from our Ohio brewhouse south of the border.”
I hope my passport will still be valid by the time it is ready.
Doghouse
I am of mixed mind on this craft beer hotel project from BrewDog that will be placed next door to their new Columbus, Ohio brewery and sour beer facility. Partially because I think it lets hotel chains off the hook for having mediocre to poor beer choices and if chains don’t improve then how will the majority of Americans who don’t have Ohio in their travel plans going to benefit.
Yes, there are hotels like the Four Points near LAX that have promoted craft beer, and yes, Stone will eventually have their own hotel in Escondido but if I go to a hotel in Solana Beach and they have a poolside bar with little to no local taps when there are close to a bajillion breweries in the San Diego area, well it seems like a drop in a bucket.
Now if they could franchise a chain or sign up with a boutique hotel with national presence, that would be different.
Not that I wouldn’t visit the Doghouse even though the in-shower fridge scares me because the other amenities do sound cool….
• Craft beer tap in every room serving IPA
• Hot tub filled with IPA in the luxury suite
• Craft beer spa with beer-based treatments and products
• In-shower fridge so guests can sip whilst they scrub
• Deluxe breakfasts, lunches and dinners, all infused and paired with artisanal craft beers
Elvis to Francis
Brewdog doesn’t seem to ever sit still long enough to pin them down. From beers to PR to design. Speaking of, they have done all three with this small batch beer. Talk about a cool can design. And a name. I have always wondered how some people think so strangely different from me. Most of the time that is good. Especially in this case.
Oh and the beer is a coconut-ish porter….”A porter of papal proportions, [with] aromas of cocoa powder, vanilla bean, coconut, and bitter chocolate, with hints of roasty black coffee and dark fruit, followed by a smooth, velvety mouthfeel and a rich, bittersweet finish.
The End of History – Again
Some of you may remember the lovable little feud that led to ever escalating ABV beers including Brewdog’s End of History which got up to 55%. A number considerably higher than the bottles of beer that were released.
Now the End of History returns as the first beer brewed at the upcoming American Brewdog brewing facility in Ohio. Quite possibly as a nod to the fact that Ohio recently repealed a law that prevented beer over 12% ABV to be sold in the Buckeye state.
Even though it will be brewed here, the rarity of it will probably be just as high depending of course on if they decide to used taxidermy specimens this time around.
No Label
The new BrewDog beer has a lovely label even though the beer is called, No Label. And maybe, when their planned Ohio brewery is up and running, it will be available over here because the cause behind the beer is very worthy and with their usual Scottish aplomb they have used the ingredients of the beer to highlight the issue.
The brewery says that, “No Label is the world’s first ‘non-binary, transgender beer’ designed to reflect the diversity of the area and champion inclusivity,” according to the company’s website, which goes on to explain further that, “This 4.6% ABV Kölsch has been brewed with hops that have changed sex from female to male flowers prior to harvest. We have used these to emphasize that, just like humans, beer can be whatever the hell it wants to be, and proud of it.”
My smattering of agricultural knowledge did not include memory of binary hops so back to my beer library to see what else I can learn about the Jester hop that was used in the beer.
BrewDog will donate all proceeds from sales of the beer will be donated to the LGBTQI+ organization Queerest of the Queer, a U.K.-based group, to support charities for transgender youth.
BrewDog’s in America
Columbus, Ohio to be specific for the brewing operations plus unknown cities for branded bar expansion of BrewDog in America.
It now looks like TV was just the opening gambit in the BrewDog attack of the U.S. craft beer market. The brash Scottish brewery will be opening a huge 40+ acre facility in Columbus which will include a brewhouse, tap room, restaurant and office space from which to manage the whole shebang plus up to (5) BrewDog bars that will be built in the US.
Of course the West Coast will be a possibility but will they head to the NW, San Francisco, San Diego or here to Los Angeles? All of the above have been visited by the TV show and presumably scouted to an extent.
If you believe in a BrewDog’ged America, you can buy into the Equity for Punks USA and buy a share.
You Can Never Check Out
If Stone ever gets around to building their Escondido hotel complex, one could travel from San Diego then on to the Dogfish Inn on the East Coast and then hop ‘cross the pond to stay at the coming BrewDog Hotel…..
…one out of three open for business ain’t bad.
Review – BrewDog TV (shows 4-6)
Onto Round 2 of the BrewDog TV review!
This post revolves around the Seattle, Portland and Denver episodes.
Since I wrote a small piece about a coffee beer for November BeerPaper LA and I am writing a larger piece about coffee and brewing for December, I was glad to see that the show went with the obvious for the Seattle episode. And though the molecular gastronomy was enlightening with the beer pairings, I would have skipped the added caffeine boost section and given more screen time to the chocolatier and the baristas and Elysian. That’s a personal preference though.
The Denver / Boulder show scared me a bit with the meat smoked thing though I liked the choice of pale ale. On the whole this one is probably the weakest so far. Maybe because it was titled Denver, I was expecting more of actual Denver but no mention except for brief bits on Great Divide and Strange. Plus they like Falling Rock which might be good outside of GABF but has a Toronado SF vibe that I don’t like. I much prefer Freshcraft. The gourmand section was fun too. It is my favorite segment of the show by far.
I was really excited to see the Portland show seeing that it is my hometown. A little strange to see them partner with Deschutes. Nothing against them but they don’t scream Portland to me. Much like my issue with the Denver show, call it Oregon or Colorado if you are going farther afield. The beer style was inspired though and takes a play from the Beers Made by Walking idea. My favorite beer that I won’t get to try. The food section ranks second behind the Philly donut section.
Overall, the show really works for me though. I enjoy the accents and the self-deprecating humor. They seem to be enjoying themselves which helps the viewer to enjoy the show!
BrewDog TV
Next month, BrewDog takes to the small screen. Will it be able to contain their hijinks?
Here is the 411, ““Brew Dogs” premieres September 24 at 10 p.m. It stars Scottish “beer evangelists” James Watt and Martin Dickie, who own the UK’s fastest-growing brewery. James and Martin have come to America with a vital mission: to prove that the drink of the masses doesn’t need to taste mass-produced. In each episode, they will visit a different American beer town, celebrate distinctive craft beers and create their own locally-inspired draft.”
One of their stops along the way is the fabulous Belmont Station in Portland. I am anxious to see how they view one of my favorite beer locales.