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

[krtek a houby]

I vaguely remember something about half pints of snakebite being illegal because it would mean serving a quarter pint of each drink, which wasn't allowed. Probably nonsense.

Urban myths were a way to amuse ourselves before the internet!

Definitely myth. Bought a half of it in a Camden pub in 88 or 89.

However, the following year they weren't keen on serving snakebites or punters drinking outside the venue.

 

[xenon]

snakebite and black a.k.a. the purple nasty, was something I drank a lot back in college days. A shot of cheap whiskey in it too if you were feeling particularly reckless.

 

[xenon]

I last drank one sans whiskey, probably about 10 years ago. For old times sake. I forgotten how easy they go down.

 

[Chz]

I last drank one sans whiskey, probably about 10 years ago. For old times sake. I forgotten how easy they go down.

I had one a few months ago while reminiscing about the days of Uni with some friends. Yeah, there's a reason that and alcopops were a popular thing. There's less predilection amongst the younger generation to go out and get wrecked purely for the purposes of getting wrecked now, so those things are dying out. And at my age, I want to be reminded I'm drinking something that will have a morning after effect.

 

[PR1Berske]

There's a thread about drinking culture which perhaps we need to start. BrewDog has its role to play in changing the culture in this country, even by a tiny bit, in the Americanisation of bars (alongside the craft revolution and everything else).

 

[Spymaster]

There's a thread about drinking culture which perhaps we need to start.

This is it. Hopefully equationgirl will stop trying to derail it with her trolling.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Is snakebite still a thing?

As long as Goths are a thing, snakebite will be.

 

[Silas Loom]

As long as Goths are a thing, snakebite will be.

I thought that their evolutionary niche had been colonised by emos, and that they had died out as a result, like red squirrels.

 

[Spymaster]

As long as Goths are a thing, snakebite will be.

When was the last time you saw a Goth?

 

[teuchter]

There's a thread about drinking culture which perhaps we need to start. BrewDog has its role to play in changing the culture in this country, even by a tiny bit, in the Americanisation of bars (alongside the craft revolution and everything else).

The last 2 or 3 pages of this thread show that in the end people here are much more interested in talking about drinking than employee conditions.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

When was the last time you saw a Goth?

I actually work with a proper self-declared Goth!

So they do still exist. I'll have to check with her that they do still drink snakebite.

 

[Silas Loom]

I actually work with a proper self-declared Goth!

So they do still exist. I'll have to check with her that they do still drink snakebite.

Real goths always deny that they are goths. Andrew Eldritch refused to accept that the Sisters of Mercy were a goth band, just as their goth fans were fiercely insisting that they were individuals with complex and eclectic personal tastes in clothes and music and mixed drinks.

Your colleague is probably a Hun or a Vandal.

 

[The39thStep]

The last 2 or 3 pages of this thread show that in the end people here are much more interested in talking about drinking than employee conditions.

" What you don't seem to understand Terry, is that socialism is something you do in the pub "

 

[brogdale]

Nobody on here really thinks that, tbf. They just say it because they want to be part of a gang.

Whenever I've been in a BD it's been an eclectic mix of punters from youngsters taking advantage of the wifi and hot-desking, tourists, lunchers, after-workers, commuters etc. There's no "type" that uses them, just a "type" who avoids them, and you can see who they are from this thread.

tbf I don't think I've ever made any reference to the customer demographics for BD pubs, largely because I've never frequented one. I'm very happy to bow to the greater knowledge of those, like yourself, who have. I know how disappointed Ive been to see lazy stereotypes repeated on here about the 'types' of customer found in 'Spoons; I do know from experience that those assumptions are often very wide of the mark. For instance, i tend to frequent 'Spoons during the day on weekdays and I often see groups of women enjoying wine and other drinks and appreciating the app-based table delivery service that avoids the bar queue.

 

[Orang Utan]

According to this (2020) UK polling data asking respondents to name their favoured beer types, it is true that bitter has the most obviously age-skewed profile of all of the major beer types, but obviously Orang Utan is exaggerating when claiming that no-one under 60 likes bitter. Around 30 to 35% of 25 - 54 year olds named bitter as a favourite.

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I wasnt exactly exaggerating, but I didn’t expect to be taken so literally. It’s just a turn of phrase

 

[Chz]

I think it's more location dependent with the 'Spoons. Outside of city centres, they tend to be in locations that do attract the daytime "kids and alcoholics" crowd. But it's not exclusive. Where I am, the local Stonegate pub attracts the kids and hardcore drinkers and leaves the Spoons to a less annoying (but definitely older) crowd. BD is of course only in city centres, and will always attract a more diverse crowd for it. I tend to avoid them purely because they go for the "no ceiling" thing that makes the whole place boom and echo such that I can't hear a word anyone is saying. Other than that, they serve a decent selection of non-BD beers and have decent enough food.

 

[Orang Utan]

snakebite and black a.k.a. the purple nasty, was something I drank a lot back in college days. A shot of cheap whiskey in it too if you were feeling particularly reckless.

IIRC a purple nasty also had a shot of Pernod in it

 

[Orang Utan]

When was the last time you saw a Goth?

About half an hour ago

 

[Orang Utan]

The last 2 or 3 pages of this thread show that in the end people here are much more interested in talking about drinking than employee conditions.

More likely that no one disputes the terrible working conditions and pay, so no point discussing it. We’d rather disagree about stuff instead

 

[Orang Utan]

IIRC a purple nasty also had a shot of Pernod in it

there was also Green Death, which was a snakebite with a shot of Blue Bols in it

 

[equationgirl]

All at 0.5% though. Not really alcohol free in my book.

It's the legal definition of alcohol free, 0.5% or less.

 

[equationgirl]

More likely that no one disputes the terrible working conditions and pay, so no point discussing it. We’d rather disagree about stuff instead

Any time it's been discussed somebody always brings up what a great employer/genius marketing company they are. Gets a bit tedious.

 

[lazythursday]

I remember visiting a Brewdog for the first time about 10-12 years ago. It was in Newcastle, and at the time I think one of their few bars outside Scotland. I enjoyed it - I liked the beer (I've always liked the grapefruity hoppy thing that now has been overdone and gets so slagged off) and the staff and clientele were friendly, and cool without being pretentious twatsabout it. It was one of the many highlights of that visit to the city (first and only time I've been). It felt fresh and different and somewhere I'd want to go again and I'd recommend to people. But then suddenly they were everywhere and no longer particularly interesting even if the company and founders hadn't turned out to be arseholes. Why this desperate need to expand and expand? (yeah, I know, the capitalist imperative...) If Brewdog had remained a regional brewery it might have found a sustainable business model that paid its staff well and would be a much loved local institution rather than what it has become.

 

[The39thStep]

About half an hour ago

In Leeds?

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

If Brewdog had remained a regional brewery it might have found a sustainable business model that paid its staff well and would be a much loved local institution rather than what it has become.

This seems unlikely in that the places that are much loved local institutions don't pay their staff well do they? Bar staff are badly paid pretty much universally AFAIK. That's one of the issues with this thread IMO. Is it A Bad Thing that Brewdog don't pay their staff better? Of course it is. But to present it as some sort of particular Brewdog thing whilst ignoring the sector more widely just seems a bit disingenuous.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

This seems unlikely in that the places that are much loved local institutions don't pay their staff well do they? Bar staff are badly paid pretty much universally AFAIK. That's one of the issues with this thread IMO. Is it A Bad Thing that Brewdog don't pay their staff better? Of course it is. But to present it as some sort of particular Brewdog thing whilst ignoring the sector more widely just seems a bit disingenuous.

Exactly. They are no better and no worse than other employers in the sector so it's weird that they get so much hatred.

 

[Spymaster]

This seems unlikely in that the places that are much loved local institutions don't pay their staff well do they? Bar staff are badly paid pretty much universally AFAIK. That's one of the issues with this thread IMO. Is it A Bad Thing that Brewdog don't pay their staff better? Of course it is. But to present it as some sort of particular Brewdog thing whilst ignoring the sector more widely just seems a bit disingenuous.

This is true of the entirety of the criticism of BD on this thread.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

All at 0.5% though. Not really alcohol free in my book.

It’s low enough to be classified as such, unless you’ve got an allergy or religious/other objections…

 

[Silas Loom]

It’s low enough to be classified as such, unless you’ve got an allergy or religious/other objections…

Yeah, the classification regime really misses the point for teetotallers with previous alcohol addictions; Chz suggested in a good post earlier that the issue might be dopamine triggers. I feel comfortable with 0.05% (which gets labelled as 0.0%) but nothing higher.

 

[equationgirl]

It’s low enough to be classified as such, unless you’ve got an allergy or religious/other objections…

For those of us with an allergy it's a pain in the arse.