BrewDog: yet another hip company using 'rebel' language to sell its stuff

[killer b]

Like it or not, the marketing concept of 'craft beer' has done huge amounts to popularise small scale brewers of all types to an audience who had previously been mostly uninterested. It's been a while since I had a proper look at the figures, but cask beer was the only growing section of the market when I last looked (a quick scan of some more up to date figures suggest this is still the case).

Craft beer houses all have wide selections of more established European & English beers which newly adventurous drinkers will end up drinking where they wouldn't before. In the round, it's been a positive development for the drinking scene in the UK IMO.

 

[editor]

Like it or not, the marketing concept of 'craft beer' has done huge amounts to popularise small scale brewers of all types to an audience who had previously been mostly uninterested. It's been a while since I had a proper look at the figures, but cask beer was the only growing section of the market when I last looked (a quick scan of some more up to date figures suggest this is still the case).

Craft beer houses all have wide selections of more established European & English beers which newly adventurous drinkers will end up drinking where they wouldn't before. In the round, it's been a positive development for the drinking scene in the UK IMO.

Of course. But ending up with a dominant bunch of hypocritical cunts like BrewDog heading up the scene isn't so good.

 

[killer b]

No, I agree - this page seems to have descended into generic craft beer/hipster bashing rather than being specific to brewdog though.

 

[killer b]

(sorry, the last page).

 

[William of Walworth]

There's no such thing as craft beer -- the term has no specifically identifiable meaning.

That's been my position for a while anyway. But unfortunately some others in CAMRA circles disagree

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Craft ale doesn't taste like anything because it doesn't exist. Unless you happen to be yeast, you can't 'craft' a beer. And even if you could, the correct way to describe the beer so produced would be 'crafted ale'.

Putting beer in tiny cans does not make it special. Drinking it does not make you special. It makes you a credulous fool.

It does actually taste good though.

 

[alex_]

It does actually taste good though.

The little tins of moor taste fantastic and meet the definition of real ale too.

Definition of craft beer - Craft Brewer

 

[SpookyFrank]

Like it or not, the marketing concept of 'craft beer' has done huge amounts to popularise small scale brewers of all types to an audience who had previously been mostly uninterested. It's been a while since I had a proper look at the figures, but cask beer was the only growing section of the market when I last looked (a quick scan of some more up to date figures suggest this is still the case).

Craft beer houses all have wide selections of more established European & English beers which newly adventurous drinkers will end up drinking where they wouldn't before. In the round, it's been a positive development for the drinking scene in the UK IMO.

Much 'craft ale' isn't even cask though. It's usually from a keg or sold in a can. If I've made the effort to put clothes on, leave the house and walk all the way to the pub, and if I'm in a position to pay pub prices, then I'm not drinking out of a fucking can.

 

[killer b]

I know. That wasn't my point - my point was that it's been a positive development for small brewers.

 

[alex_]

I know. That wasn't my point - my point was that it's been a positive development for small brewers.

I think the uk has gone from 400 breweries total in 1986, to the total number of uk breweries increasing by 400 in 2011 to 2013, to 1700 total in 2016.

data here Turnip Ale: Success?: The Number of New Breweries in the UK 1993-2013

So massive growth in the last 10 years, craft is a big part of this.

Alex

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Much 'craft ale' isn't even cask though. It's usually from a keg or sold in a can. If I've made the effort to put clothes on, leave the house and walk all the way to the pub, and if I'm in a position to pay pub prices, then I'm not drinking out of a fucking can.

Turns out you can make proper beer with decent ingredients and then serve it in different ways. The increase in variety of types we've got in the last 10 years is fantastic.

 

[alex_]

Turns out you can make proper beer with decent ingredients and then serve it in different ways. The increase in variety of types we've got in the last 10 years is fantastic.

And actually a part of this will be because the shelf life of keg is longer than cask, and therefore places can stock a larger range than if they were just selling cask.

Alex

 

[isvicthere?]

I'm staying for a few days in the New Forest. Gale's HSB pisses all over any "craft" bollocks.

 

[William of Walworth]

The little tins of moor taste fantastic and meet the definition of real ale too.

Definition of craft beer - Craft Brewer

Moor of Bristol do fantastic beer, and they're not up themselves wankers either (we visited them on a recent Bristol trip, and they were really nice. and enthusiastic). Just drawing the contrast with Brewdog really.

 

[billy_bob]

Agree. There's half a dozen breweries within delivery distance from me which do much nicer beer than brew dog, and they're just quietly getting on with being properly small and independent instead of just trying to market themselves like they are.

 

[belboid]

Not sure why brew dog are credited at all with reviving/creating the craft/small brewery trend. They took the main brewer from Thornbridge, who had been creating their (far nicer) ales for years. All they did was added marketing.

Still, that's modern capitalism I guess, the product is almost irrelevant, only the imagined lifestyle that goes with it counts.

 

[editor]

I know. That wasn't my point - my point was that it's been a positive development for small brewers.

They like to view themselves this way, but there's nothing 'punk' or underdog about Brewdog: they're just another cash raking bunch of capitalists out of fill their fat pockets, and smartly using all the right buzzwords to market their average product.

The only thing punk about them is they way they reflect the immediate post-punk era where majors re-positioned themselves to appear more like indies. So they should really be described as post-punk cash-in outfit, bearing almost none of the spirit, style or ethos of punk. They're just all style and posturing with zero substance.

 

[killer b]

I'm not talking about brewdog, like I just said.

 

[billy_bob]

They like to view themselves this way, but there's nothing 'punk' or underdog about Brewdog: they're just another cash raking bunch of capitalists out of fill their fat pockets, and smartly using all the right buzzwords to market their average product.

The only thing punk about them is they way they reflect the immediate post-punk era where majors re-positioned themselves to appear more like indies. So they should really be described as post-punk cash-in outfit, bearing almost none of the spirit, style or ethos of punk. They're just all style and posturing with zero substance.

"Postcard-Punk IPA"

 

[hash tag]

I have just looked at their Wiki entry which tells me they do keg beer as well as bottles and cans. They are a massive (multinational) brewery don't you know. Personally I wouldn't give you tuppence for one of their tins or bottles of fiz.
I'm still out on what craft beer is. All I know is that I have sambrooks almost next door to me Sambrook's Brewery.
Unfortunately, I see they market themselves as craft brewers. That said Wandle and the pale ale are damn fine ales

 

[killer b]

Craft beers are often in kegs these days hashtag - it's often a sore point with CAMRA traditionalist, but in and of itself isn't the same black mark it once was. If you're serving a cold, fizzy american style IPA or continental style beer then a handpull isn't appropriate anyway.

 

[hash tag]

I'm just old and like my traditional style ale. I hold no truck with all this modern trendy stuff. I bet our Nige makes a point of drinking a pint of craft!

 

[chilango]

It isn't just about super hoppy Sierra Nevada clones either. Stuff like saisons and sours are more widely available now.

That said it's a bit shit that every chain pub with Punk IPA in the fridge is shoving "craft beers" on its signage.

All academic for me as I've (almost) given up anyway.

 

[killer b]

All academic for me as I've (almost) given up anyway.

Ha, yes - I have little skin in this game too. I haven't had a beer, craft or otherwise, for 4 years.

15 years of CAMRA membership is difficult to shake off...

 

[chilango]

Ha, yes - I have little skin in this game too. I haven't had a beer, craft or otherwise, for 4 years.

15 years of CAMRA membership is difficult to shake off...

Yeah

 

[killer b]

(that said I did have a half of Nanny State on your recommendation the other week, and found it fairly basic. I won't be bothering again)

 

[chilango]

(that said I did have a half of Nanny State on your recommendation the other week, and found it fairly basic. I won't be bothering again)

It is just a Becks Blues with a squirt of artificial hops flavour in it.

But that is still better than the alternatives anywhere I'm normally at.

 

[editor]

It isn't just about super hoppy Sierra Nevada clones either. Stuff like saisons and sours are more widely available now.

That said it's a bit shit that every chain pub with Punk IPA in the fridge is shoving "craft beers" on its signage.

All academic for me as I've (almost) given up anyway.

Punk IPA is now available on Easy Jet flights. So fucking alternative.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Punk IPA is now available on Easy Jet flights. So fucking alternative.

If it's between them and most of the stuff made by Inbev then I'd choose the BrewDog any day. Not because they are rebel or alternative or any of that, but they do actually make nice beer. Sure there are plenty of great small brewers I'd choose any day, but the fact that we can now get something approaching a decent beer on an easy jet flight shows the revival of beer that tastes of something. Sales from the big companies are actually falling in most of their developed markets, which of course means they will be looking for more companies to buy.

 

[8ball]

It is just a Becks Blues with a squirt of artificial hops flavour in it.

It's way better than that - it's definitely the best alcohol free beer I've tasted (I did extensive sampling when I first went on warfarin, before I said 'fuck it' and carried on drinking anyway).
Good to see Brewdog getting a kicking over their attempt to trademark 'punk', mind.