Another Brewdog publicity stunt

I like the letter. I think the ruling is ridiculous and the idea, that such a line would lead to anti-social behavior or the one which was posited before, that beers such as sink the bismarck, while a publicity stunt, lead to alcoholism is the height of absurdity.
Are Brewdog over top with their marketing and publicity? Sure
Do they make some good beers? Yes, imo.

I find the "Brewdog should spend more time on brewing beer..." argument a bit banal and platitudinous at this point.

 

Pretentious? Well when many receive a pretentious communication they tend to respond in kind. When both founders of an award winning, successful brewery are under 30 it's not surprising that they haven't learned yet a more effective technique. So they'll probably continue brewing new beers they like and that some customers who pay the bills seem to enjoy.

 

Thank you for promoting their "publicity stunt" (I had no knowledge of this until you posted it). Glad to see irony is not lost these days.

 

Why do people hate these guys? I just don't get it, I guess. The beers of theirs I've had weren't that great, they weren't bad, but I have to imagine for a continent where a lot of American craft beer is probably hard to procure it's nice to have a brewer (I'll throw Emilesse, Evil Twin, Nogne O, and Mikkeller out there as well) do "different" beers closer to home.

I saw people hating on BrewDogs (the show) too, and I didn't understand that either. I think if you asked them whether they made a "gimmicky" type of beer for every episode, I think they'd probably agree with you and laugh. Myself, I thought it was a pretty well thought out show. They have to straddle a line where they appease the part of their audience that knows their shit (which I thought they did pretty well), appease the part of their audience that is watching leisurely (which I thought they did) and be funny in the process (which, I also, thought they did). You think Esquire Network is going to renew a show that only 10,000 beer geeks are watching and no one else is? I, for myself, was happy to watch a show that wasn't embarrassing, was actually informative enough to keep me happy and discuss a good amount of the beers in each city they were in, not just the usual suspects.

Sorry for the mini-rant, but I saw this yesterday on another non-beer site, and I say, kudos to them. If it means more people buy this particular beer...then good for them.

 

Brewdog is hardly the only brewery making USA style or USA-inspired beers these days in Europe. Just to give an example, Zythos the biggest beer festival in Belgium allows its visitors to choose what their favourite beers are every year. In 2013 4 out of the top 5 beers chosen were IPA’s. The top 10 also included a Brandy BA beer and an BA Imperial stout. We are talking here about a large, commercial beer event where AB-InBev has a well-visited stand. Brewdog isn’t very good either in making USA-style beers in my opinion. UK is full of quality brewers making USA-inspired beers: Kernel, Siren, Thornbridge, Magic Rock, Brodies, Moor, Beavertown, Buxton, Partizan, Fyne all come instantly to mind. All of them are head and shoulders above Brewdog.

 

I was just giving my "other side of the pond" opinion on BrewDog. I didn't realize the OP was from the UK until after I posted what i did. I, myself, said their beers are nothing special right at the beginning of my post, just that it has to be nice to have as much variety as possible. I just don't understand why these guys get so hated on, that's it. My post really had nothing to do with the quality of their product.
I cut my teeth many moons ago on European beer, so I know there are a lot of breweries over there that are doing it right.

 

I think it's only healthy for people to be less than impressed by bombastic and aggrandizing rhetoric coming out of any group or organization. On the other hand, I've found Brewdog beers like Punk IPA, Dead Pony Club and Zeitgeist and 77 lager to be tasty, quality beers judged on their own merits. And I think they do an excellent job with brewing Evil Twin's Yellow Cab Lager. I haven't had their more expensive beers, as I wont pay that kind of money for beer, but I can imagine that the stakes are higher when you charge that kind of money, people will be expecting alot from those beers and it is easy to disappoint. If you combine the lofty rhetoric with potentially disappointing beer experiences (due to a percieved uneven price-to-value ratio) then I can see why people would become negative towards Brew Dog as a brand and brewery.

 

the marketing is annoying and the beer ranges from bad to "okay but lol @ paying import prices for this shit" ("bartender, please serve me your oldest, most expensive IPA. the greater the distance it's traveled, the better!").

@article, not exactly NSFW unless you work in a temperance hall. "i opened this article about brewdog expecting male nudity and instead i get THIS???" when SEO goes flagrantly wrong.

 

Shouldn't it have said they're NOT sorry for NOT giving a $hit?

Either way I agree with Brewdog in this case. I'd expect this kind of correspondence if their label had a picture of someone's junk on it but for just naming it "dead pony club"? Seems the Portman Group is having a hard time just trying to justify their jobs.

 

Take your stinkin paws off me, you damn dirty ape!!

(PS: the member companies of Portman Group. hint: no surprises)

 

But it seems like they do give a shit...

I don't have any ill-will towards BrewDog, but I guess I don't see how this kind of rant serves any purpose. At least, not any purpose related to "fighting for the growth of craft beer" or whatever. This kind of response is designed to do one thing: appeal to their fans and perhaps win over new fans who like the Devil May Care attitude that they display, which, in fairness, fits with the image that they are trying to portray.

Posting that kind of response to their blog isn't doing a damn thing to fight large company bullying and growth suffocation in the craft beer industry. To the contrary, it may even alienate those who are in a position to help affect positive change. Maybe not. I believe the saying goes you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Well... unless your flies are big fans of sour beer.

 

You're going to find a lot of opinions in regards to BrewDog on BA. I happen to think their beers are solid. Some of them are quite good. A few of them are really awesome. You palate may be different than mine...live and let live.
I appreciate the way they do what they do. They remind me of a more aggressive Stone...with a healthy dose of UK mixed in. Their "non-apology" was priceless, especially considering the hack "group" that put out the hit on their beer. A "group" who is bankrolled by millions of dollars from companies who want to see BrewDog fail. The Portman group is laughable at best...a secular "fundamentalist" group who will bust on the little guy if they're not "in-line" with being "decent." All the while the massive crap-beer companies can hawk sex and violence and the Portman group doesn't give two shits about it. Kudos to BrewDog for calling them out. It would be awesome if more people had the balls to do it in the industry. Kudos to BrewDog for making great beer. My palate has enjoyed many of your beers here in San Diego!

 

The childish sarcasm hurts their arguement. Why not just be sincere. You don't have to be an asshole when you are right.

 

But I'm pretty sure their labels say you do have to be an asshole when you're right.

 

It would be out of character for them to do that

We now have Brewmeister to take the immature brewery crown anyway. They really are a bunch of muppets

 

I disagree completely that brew dogs makes average beer. They make great beer (especially IPAs) and I loved the letter. The ruling was crap and it's nice to see someone using humor both with the faux pretentiousness and well written response to a dumb ruling.

 

A bunch of in your face guys, with an in your face brand that makes in your face beer write an in your face letter?



this is a surprise how?

 

I don't think the response is gorgeous poetry or anything, but I applaud any effort that brings more anger into the beer community.

Also, the average beer blog is written at, what, a 5th grade level? Maybe? Dense writing is often necessary if you're trying to express dense ideas, and I don't think we should react so angrily just because a dude wrote some long sentences with some semi-obscure words.

Then again, I am nothing if not a rambling and pretentious bastard, so maybe I'm a little biased here.

 

If I was Brewdog, I would have shortened that whole blog to a simple "go fuck yourself".

 

I liked the letter. I thought it was rather funny.

 

Gotta say, I do love the attitude. Never tried any of their beer though, because it costs too much money. Still not gonna try any now.