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Back into the big ol’ Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails and to my favorite entry from the options in the letters M, N and O.
This month I choose a divisive term, one of many ways that spirits makers can try to cheat code / barrel hack aging but can also be used well if used with the right intent.
BrewDog somehow manages to straddle the line of being grandstanding while still being true to the beer. And this later Twitter inspired brew is a perfect example of that, “Inspired by the passion, knowledge and enthusiasm of craft beer drinkers, we set out to create a truly democratic craft beer. We entrusted all the important decisions to our fans, customers and anyone who wanted to learn more about the craft brewing process and cast their vote. We gave up complete control of every single decision which shaped the final beer that the #MashTag project produced.”
And what did #MashTag become? A big 7.5% “American Brown Ale loaded with New Zealand hops and aged on Hazelnuts and Oak chips.” Whether that combo works is another story but I am intrigued.
Now how do I hashtag a #mashtag?