BrewDog: Anarchy in the U.K.

BrewDog's grassroots financial campaign: Equity for PunksScottish nonconformist beermaker, BrewDog, just released the world's strongest beer: at 32% alcohol content, Tactical Nuclear Penguin is almost as strong as whiskey and will sell for 30 pounds (about 49 dollars as of press time) per bottle.  Founded in 2007 by 24-year-old friends James Watt and Martin Dickie, BrewDog has been in business for less than three years, but those three years have been loud, boisterous, and whirling: nearly everything BrewDog has done in its short rise to greatness has been very public and very controversial.  From the company's website: "BrewDog is about breaking rules, taking risks, upsetting trends, unsettling institutions but first and foremost, great tasting beers." 

In less than three years, BrewDog has won the 2008 Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a Gold Medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup in the Wood and Barrel-aged Strong Beer Category, the Tenon Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Demonstrating Exceptional Vision and Leadership at the 2008 National Business Awards for Scotland; BrewDog's beer "The Physics" won the World's Best Strong Pale Ale Award, and "Rip Tide" won the World's Best Imperial Stout Award at the 2007 World Beer Awards, an annual competition organized by Beers of the World magazine. 

During its short existence, BrewDog has also had a very public feud with U.K. beer industry "watchdog", the Portman Group, comprised of representatives of Guinness, Bacardi, Carlsberg, Coors, Pernod Ricard, and Newcastle, among others - in other words, "the establishment".  From the Portman Group's mission statement:

(1) the drinks industry has a legitimate and important role to play in combating alcohol misuse; (2) enlightened corporate social responsibility is positively good for business; (3) the consumption of alcohol in moderation (as defined by the current responsible drinking guidelines in the UK) is compatible with a healthy lifestyle; and (4) effective alcohol policy balances legislation, self-regulation and personal responsibility. 

The Portman Group criticized BrewDog last year for "associating alcohol consumption with antisocial behavior".  Don't these guys know anything about punk?  Throughout the feud, the Portman Group has continually played directly into BrewDog's hand, like an inept villain in a B-level skateboarding movie.  From BrewDog's response to the Portman Group:

Ironically for a body funded by the UK’s leading alcohol producers, those responsible for the supermarket pricing debacle, (the Portman Group has) decided to target a small craft beer producer for the apparent evils beyond imagination contained on our labels.

According to their website, one of their beliefs is:

“Enlightened corporate social responsibility is positively good for business” Anyone who can understand that callous concoction of management paradigms and in fashion corporate buzzwords which were pieced together by a marketing agency deserves an honorary PHD (and maybe some free beer)...

BrewDog then goes on to mercilessly make fun of the Portman Group, like any good punk, enhancing its street cred in the process:

...Anyway, we are in breach of the Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks.  I quote directly from the correspondence:

PIPC considered Rip Tide to be in potential breach of Code rule 3.2b for the following reason:“The product is described as a “twisted merciless stout” associating its consumption with anti-social behaviour”

PIPC considered Hop Rocker to be in potential breach of Code rule 3.2j for the following reason “Description of the product includes "nourishing foodstuff" and "magic is still there to be extracted from this drink" implying it could enhance mental or physical capabilities”

PIPC considered Punk IPA to be in potential breach of Code rule 3.2b for the following reason:“This product is described as an “aggressive beer” thus associating its consumption with anti-social behaviour”...

...What is the new meaning of anti-social behaviour (which BrewDog is apparently encouraging) if it is not some new buzzword to replace crime by some lame criminologist with a PHD and zero real world experience? In fact anti-social behaviour is not coming out of your room for supper when all your friends and relatives have dropped by.

The Portman Group's contentions are indeed laughable: while consumption of alcohol in moderation is not something to joke about, an organization comprised of stuffy industry types complaining that an up-and-coming "beer for punks" encourages "antisocial behavior" is strikingly ironic and self-defeating.

The 32% Tactical Nuclear Penguin is only BrewDog's latest attempt to stick it to the Portman Group: in 2008, BrewDog released "Speedball," inviting the Portman Group and the Scottish Parliament to conclude that drinking BrewDog could only encourage consumption of that potent mixture of cocaine and heroin responsible for the deaths of John Belushi and River Phoenix.  Speedball was subsequently banned. 

BrewDog responded by suing the Portman Group for defamation (yeah right) and releasing "Tokyo*" this past July.  At 18.2 percent alcohol, Tokyo* was then the strongest beer in the U.K., and one bottle contained twice the recommended daily maximum amount of alcohol.  The establishment tried to ban the beer after receiving several anonymous complaints from the public, one of which, it was discovered (not surprisingly), came from BrewDog co-founder, James Watt, who subsequently covered himself: "complaining about our own beer was intended to illustrate just what an elaborate and ridiculous waste of time the Portman Group really are (sic)."  Tokyo* was subsequently banned in the U.K., the official reason being a provocative passage on the label which stated, "Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. What logically follows is that you must, from time, have excess."  BrewDog responded to the ban like typical punks: the company released a beer with 1.1% alcohol content called "Nanny State."

Comments

[Crockstar]

Carr-- I definitely dig the article. BrewDog is one of my favorite breweries here in the UK as they are pretty much the only brewery that tries anything different/risky here... the only thing that comes close to some of the great microbreweries in the States. Good looking out and good read!