That was standard operating procedure, back in the day - I'm sure I remember my Ma talking about it.After my mum gave birth to me, the midwife told her there were 'bottles' outside in the hall and she was to help herself. She assumed it was for milk or whatevs, but in the hall was a stack of Sweetheart Stout for the mums. High in iron.
#thegoodolddays
That's a long advert.In-depth article on BrewDog in Thursday's Guardian.
Plenty in there that'll (correctly) make you despise the main two for being publicity-stunt-obsessed wankers.
But there's also some pretty good broader analysis of the brewing scene today -- UK and to an extent US as well.
Writer didn't mention the stupid prices BrewDog charge in their vile poncy 'bars' but bar that obvious fault, I thought overall it was a really interesting/worthwhile piece -- definitely not a hagiography to me.
That's a VERY long advertThat's a long advert.
That's a VERY long advert
Meant these. Must have been before your time.
Fuck Brew bitches ; support your local independent brewery.
Guardian said:Jon Kyme, a thoughtful small real ale brewer in Ulverston, Cumbria, is one such sceptic.
People “like to identify strongly with something; hang their identity on it”, Kyme said. BrewDog has set itself up – brilliantly – to embody that identity: young, hip, rebellious, championing quality, battling a mediocre status quo. In fact, Kyme said, while the brewer undeniably makes good beers, there are lots of people pushing the craft boundaries at the moment and “very few are making beers that are vastly superior to anyone else’s”.
And that, he reasoned, is why the hype is so crucially, critically important to BrewDog: “In a sense, it’s their main product. It’s only in the hype that there is an absolute, quantum gap between BrewDog and the rest. Their entire existence, basically, is marketing.”
Really like the draught 'Wandle', but every time I have a pint I hear that voice on the shoulder reminding me that the owner was a city fund manager.*Fuck Brew bitches; support your local independent brewery. This is mine, and some damn fine beer they brew
Sambrook's Brewery
I always favour this. Our largest local one, Tomos Watkins, is boring and bland in its beer (IMO!), but we now have a few other micros in our area (Swansea, fairly recently an appalling beer desert) that are improving and innovative. But they all have to bow down in respect to Tiny Rebel all the way over in Newport.
TR are at least as innovative with hops and recipes and new beers as BrewDog purport to be, but their (sadly few) pubs are reasonably priced and they don't fuck about with publicity stunts
So there are plenty of other breweries around that really are excellent. I thought this comment quoted in the Guardian article above was perceptive :
I question the word 'brilliantly' but otherwise, in an understated way, those words look pretty condemnatory.
Is that brewery in Ulverston the one that does Stringers IPA? Nice beer that. Always have a couple when I'm up that way. Though another local brewery - Hawkshead - is even better imho.
Tiny Rebel is often in my local (well, it's not my local local but the nearest that has a decent pint). Yet, the excellent beers from Siren, West Berks and Binghams (our local small Brewers aren't .
Light(ale)weight!We get Siren down in Brighton at my local and very nice too...although I don't think their breakfast stout (at a claimed 6.5% on the pump) would really be a good idea for breakfast!
Cheers - Louis MacNeice
I dunno, I found it pretty interesting, not so much about the nature of the company and its ATTITUDE! but the shifts in brewing and drinking that have led to such a company being able to do what they do. I've only ever drunk craft ale in Bangkok (tenner a pint!) and the 'movement' is empty as fuck, but its emergence is fascinating. The writer of that Graun piece could've given us more on that and less of their shocking punkiness, but even the latter is intriguing in itself.A very long, free, advert.
A very long, free, advert that is smug enough to rub your face in the fact that it's s very long, free, advert.
Aye, they barely mentioned Michael Jackson (although he was more of a whisky man, to be fair) and his influences. had they talked to other craft brewers more extensively it would have been an interesting readIt could've been an interesting look at "craft beer" but it wasn't.
Are they in full wanker costume?I am at brewdog's shareholder pissup just now. How the fuck did I manage to blag this one. ?