UPCOMING BREWS - THE LATEST FROM HQ

There’s never a dull moment in our constantly-buzzing brewhouse, so it’s always fun to dive in to the hive of activity and see what our amazing brewteam have been up to. As it turns out on this occasion - brand new beers, returning favourites and firstly, one very special group effort…

BREWHOUSE

Deschutes Collaboration

Whenever visiting brewers come to town we love letting them run riot with our brewteam on whatever madcap beer takes their fancy. This week, the guys from the incredible Deschutes Brewery in Oregon have been in Scotland, and thankfully needed little persuasion to join forces with us on a collaboration.

Deschutes are one of the most adventurous and skilled breweries in Oregon – which is saying something – and, like us, they love dark beers (if you haven’t tried The Abyss, seek it out – it is stunning). So the collaboration beer we came up with is, in the words of the brewers who were there, a "big bad imperial porter". As yet un-named, look out for this one, it’s going to be immense.

FERMENTATION

FV 105 – Born to Die

Just undergoing primary fermentation is our time-sensitive India Pale Ale, Born to Die. Produced as an homage to ‘Enjoy By…’ from our friends at Stone Brewing Co, this beer is very much on the clock. It will be conditioned until just, absolutely, exactly perfect, and then the resulting Amarillo, Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra-hopped IPA is over to you to enjoy as quickly as humanly possible. That said, our yeast isn’t going to hang around – so when Born to Die hits the shelves and bars, neither should you!

FV 205 – Rip Tide

Speaking of time, something else that waits for no man (or woman, or canine) is the pull of the oceans – and after consulting both brewchart and tidal chart, the brine-soaked guardians of the deep decreed the return of Rip Tide. Well, we decided to brew it again as it’s been just too long. Yes, our thumping imperial stout is back. Currently on fermentation, the thick roasted cocoa and coffee notes are evident already, even at this early stage. They will only get more prevalent as this old favourite develops in tank.

FV 107 – hinterland

Our second batch of hinterland is right where the first one was last time we took a round-up of our brewhouse – in FV 107. Fermenting away is the latest iteration of our brand new 9% imperial stout, brewed with lactose, chocolate and oats. Destined for bottles, if you’re wondering where the first batch went, it has gone into barrels to pick up a resonance of flavour that will be truly special. Once ready, the barrel-aged hinterland will be an Equity Punk exclusive for those who have notched up five or more referrals in Equity for Punks IV.

MATURATION

FV 106 – Nanny State

For another returning beer, look no further than the recurrence of our 0.5% abv ‘imperial mild’ Nanny State. First brewed in 2009 in Fraserburgh, as a liquid rebuttal to the hysteria that surrounded the release of Tokyo* (how would an 18% beer now be greeted by the mainstream media?), our hop-laden protest beer has become a firm favourite of those who want a full-on beer, but without the alcohol. In fact, if you order a Nanny State in one of our UK bars as a designated driver, we’ll give you 15% off!

FV 101 – ‘Future Paradox’

Also in tank is a very special beer, waiting for the right match. Our latest Paradox is maturing away in tank nicely, primed for a trip away from metal and into the welcoming embrace of wooden barrels. This one, however, has something of a twist to it; one which relates to another beer entirely.

Black Eyed King Imp was such an immense beer, in pretty much every respect, that in our planning meeting for the new Paradox, we suddenly had the thought…what if we…? It was a lightbulb moment. So, the next Paradox will be based on Black Eyed King Imp, and it will be like nothing else we have released to date…

FV 103 – Mutant Monarch

Our hopped-up Vienna Lager is still in tank; the wings of Mutant Monarch remaining furled for now. The very simple reason being; it is still lagering. Conditioning time is all-important when it comes to beers of this style, they simply need the time to foster those classic toasty, floral elements you expect from the style. Being BrewDog, of course, ours also contains a late – but significant – addition of Cascade and Centennial hops, and their citrus edge is really starting to bloom.

FV 102 – Deaf Mermaid

Finally on maturation, we have our latest small-batch release. Set to beguile from the taps of our UK bars, Deaf Mermaid is a sonorous emanation from the deep, a lilting chorus to the majesty of the hop. This beer is a hop forward pale ale, and is shaping up to be an unmissable introduction to the start of summer. Almost ready to go, Deaf Mermaid will be a keg-only release.

PACKAGING

Jack Hammer

We’ve just packaged a run of fresh-off-the-line Jack Hammer, our 7.2% ruthless India Pale Ale. But because we can’t brew enough of it, we’ll be putting together another brew very soon that will be destined not for glass…but for aluminium. Yes, these patiently-waiting cans will soon be filled, topped and winging their way anywhere you need intensely resinous IPA in easily-portable format. So, pretty much everywhere, right?