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

[editor]

Big companies can do this sort of thing because they can take the hit of it failing plus they can still work with the exposure it brings.

Indeed. It takes far more commitment and risk if you're an independent pub/restaurant. London's first vegan only pub launched over a year and a half ago.

 

[killer b]

Sainsburys have recently tried a card only only (fail)

I know a few places - indie coffee shops for the most part - that don't take cash. I'd say in that case it's small ventures serving a very specific clientelle that can experiment. I expect to see it a lot more over the next few years though.

 

[killer b]

(in fact in general I'd say innovation in the field is driven by small operators who get copied by bigger corporations. who often get it wrong)

 

[8ball]

I know a few places - indie coffee shops for the most part - that don't take cash. I'd say in that case it's small ventures serving a very specific clientelle that can experiment. I expect to see it a lot more over the next few years though.

We have a couple of small places in the city's 'trendy quarter' that don't take cash.
Said on the door of one that I went into (very small sign), which I missed.

Left a tip in coins and won't be going back.

 

[Teaboy]

I know a few places - indie coffee shops for the most part - that don't take cash. I'd say in that case it's small ventures serving a very specific clientelle that can experiment. I expect to see it a lot more over the next few years though.

Oh for sure. There are a few little places doing it, I've noticed street food vendors increasingly doing it. Sainsburys was a 1st in a bigger store of its kind doing it as far as I know and I was using it as an example of how bigger companies can afford to try things and fail (which it did).

 

[killer b]

We have a couple of small places in the city's 'trendy quarter' that don't take cash.
Said on the door of one that I went into (very small sign), which I missed.

Left a tip in coins and won't be going back.

why?

 

[8ball]

why?

Srsly?

edit: not meaning to be a dick but not too long ago we used to have interesting discussions about whether we wanted all of our actions, whereabouts and doings to be traceable by the authorities

 

[discobastard]

Have any sites been mentioned for the new 100% vegan pub yet?

I just googled it for you and it says Dalston. This month.

 

[Teaboy]

I wonder how much of their beer is vegan? Doesn't a lot of booze have weird fish liver in it or something?

 

[discobastard]

I wonder how much of their beer is vegan? Doesn't a lot of booze have weird fish liver in it or something?

Most of them. Think I read 9X% last night.

BREWED FOR VEGANS

 

[8ball]

I just googled it for you and it says Dalston. This month.

Proper trendyland.

 

[equationgirl]

I wonder how much of their beer is vegan? Doesn't a lot of booze have weird fish liver in it or something?

Yes, isinglas is used as a filter and comes from fish iirc.

 

[editor]

I wonder how much of their beer is vegan? Doesn't a lot of booze have weird fish liver in it or something?

Most modern/new breweries reject the use of isinglass, which is a weird product derived from dried fish bladders. I imagine most if not all of their range is vegan, as it should be.

 

[equationgirl]

I just googled it for you and it says Dalston. This month.

Thank you, hipster central then. Not surprising really.

 

[8ball]

Yes, isinglas is used as a filter and comes from fish iirc.

It's used to make beer go clearer faster. It's a mixture of the swim bladders from certain fish, and sodium metabisulphate.
You can get either 'unfined' (ie. cloudy) beer or beer fined by other means if you want to keep it vegan.

 

[Teaboy]

Most of them. Think I read 9X% last night.

BREWED FOR VEGANS

That's good. I always wondered how essential that fish stuff was. Maybe its more of a wine thing.

 

[killer b]

Thank you, hipster central then. Not surprising really.

is veganism a hipster thing now?

 

[Teaboy]

is veganism a hipter thing now?

Everything is hipster now.

Except U75 obvs

 

[8ball]

That's good. I always wondered how essential that fish stuff was. Maybe its more of a wine thing.

Unless you're fussy about your beer being clear, I'd say it's pretty irrelevant.
People associate clarity with cleanliness.

 

[8ball]

is veganism a hipster thing now?

Only insomuch as vinyl is.

edit: by which I mean, it's associated with a particular subculture, but that's very different to saying it is quintessential to a particular subculture

 

[killer b]

what particular subcultures are vinyl and veganism associated with?

 

[8ball]

what particular subcultures are vinyl and veganism associated with?

Google can help you here. Keywords: vinyl AND vegan

<edit: could lead to some unexpected kinky places depending how far down the rabbit hole you go>

 

[Spymaster]

Let's get back to Brewdog and their new 100% vegan pub.

Not many vegan pubs out there (or am I wrong?) - so they seem to be blazing a bit of a trail there.

Thoughts?

Well firstly we need to dispel this silly notion that they're trying to convert people to veganism or anything else. They're not. Like most companies they're seeking to do one of two things; make money or improve their image. They're tapping into the vegan thing in the knowledge that they're big enough for it to lose money for a period but support it with profits from elsewhere, or even for it to fail completely. With any marketing program, what appeals to X people will annoy group Y, etc, as has been clearly demonstrated here, so firms are extremely careful to identify their target markets. Brewdog have done that very successfully. There will obviously be vegans working there, perhaps even on the board or as investors but the primary motivation is to make money, like any business big or small.

So, as a genuine attempt to get people to eat less meat or become vegan it's pretty insignificant. It will probably have the side-effect that it benefits some of those people and raises awareness more generally but that's not their main driver. However, as a marketing campaign which will raise their brand awareness and get more people to like them, it's excellent.

 

[teuchter]

what particular subcultures are vinyl and veganism associated with?

First-wave Brixton gentrifiers.

 

[brogdale]

First-wave Brixton gentrifiers.

The term you're reaching for is pioneer gentrifiers.

 

[8ball]

There will obviously be vegans working there, perhaps even on the board or as investors, but the primary motivation is to make money, like any business big or small.

That's the weird and slightly depressing thing about trying to actually do anything. Everything has to be filtered through the needing to make money thing, especially if investors are involved. Your motivation might be all about having a good time working with your mates and making some really great quality beer* , but once you are a business it all either becomes mostly money, or everyone assumes it must be.

* - I am thinking of a small local brewer by the way, not Brewdog, when I say this

 

[alex_]

I wonder how much of their beer is vegan? Doesn't a lot of booze have weird fish liver in it or something?

most expensive craft beer is vegan aka unfined

 

[8ball]

most expensive craft beer is vegan aka unfined

According to bumph from beer festival I'm going to on Friday, unfined beers are on the up and up.
Fining beers without the fish bits is either a matter of using certain chemicals which aren't ideal for various reasons, or expensively storing the beer for a long time until it clears naturally. Sometimes a bit of a combination of both.

 

[equationgirl]

is veganism a hipster thing now?

No, Dalston is.

 

[killer b]

No, Dalston is.

Why is a vegan pub opening there not surprising then?