A promise from me to you

I realise that this blog has come to a point where I need to make a choice. I now work for one of the breweries which features quite heavily on this site and that means that many people are now put off whenever I talk about beer at all because it is hard to be fair and balanced.

The promise that I make to anyone reading this now is that from now until september (when I finish my job with Brewdog) I am going to make an effort to keep the reviewing down to other beers. There might from time to time a couple of mentions about Brewdog beer but I intend to channel my writing down two roads

1. Writing about my time with Brewdog and anything that may be of inteterest such as new beers or mad goings on at the brewery

2. Reviews of other breweries beer, starting with a review on Jaipur very soon.

I dont want people to think that this blog is paid for by brewdog and this is an issue which has been brought to my attention recently by a fellow blogger. For the next few months I want to use this blog to give you an insight into the brewery I work in but also to objectively review other beers and this is why I will keep my reviews on Brewdog beers to a minimum this summer.

Thanks for reading

VBlog 15- Cheap beer is good beer right?

Not sure why I agreed to this but a VBlog about cheap beer

Brewdog- The first week

Well it's been an interesting week. I started working at brewdog on Monday and I've had a blast so far. I've seen most of the backroom goings on I.e brewing, bottling and packing. Next week I plan to see a bit more of the sales and marketing aspect. Good news all round.


There is one thing which has become apparent though. Bottling is a secret way to put you off beer for life. I spent most of my week on the brewing side of things and I'm thankful for that. However I did get a taste of bottling on Wednesday and I have to say that the whole process destroys any romanticism you may have with craft beer. Bottling turns beer into a commodity. Naturally this is true, beer is a commodity and I am probably the one at fault for having such a romantic view of craft beer. I would like to imagine that it is made by a very highly skilled craft brewer and then somehow ends up in my hand thanks to some sort of intricate pully system. This is not the case though. This is not an attac on brewdog at all as every brewery in the land naturally has to have a method of getting the product out of the fermentors and into a glass.







All I say at the end of week one is that I am having an absolute blast. Also be very wary of thinking too much about the mystery of craft brewing. Maybe we have the marketing to blame. Something which I am sure by this time next week I will have changed my tune on. Just think about the long and difficult process that beer making is and do not take it for granted.

Lecture over, have a good weekend.

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Location:Provost Milne Dr,Fraserburgh,United Kingdom

Brewdog- Day 3

Well a long time has passed since my first day at Brewdog, ok 2 days have passed but I do feel like part of the team already. I never thought I'd hear myself saying this but I am loving the grind of being a 'brewer'. I say 'brewer' and not brewer because I am infact still being shown the ropes and probably would make a large batch of toxic, sour cat piss if left to my own devices.


There is a very strange sense of reward that comes with making beer. Im sure this is something only micro-brewers and home brewers will understand. Even although I havent tasted any of the beer that I have actually made yet there is still something rather rewarding about making beer that you know is going to make people happy. People will use this social lubricant you have made to do all manner of things; hopefully the main one being having a good time.

Yesterday was the culmination of a huge order of Saison which is going to the Tate Modern for its 10th Birthday. Every bottle was hand labelled and this took a lot of man power and time. It was worth it though and I encourage you to go to the Tate this weekend if you can. It is afterall the only place you will get a bottle. Except if you are me that is ;-)

I must say that TM 10 is the most un-Brewdog beer that I have tasted made by Brewdog. Not that this is either a good or a bad thing but rather it is a step away from heavy hops or barrel aging and its a little more restrained. TM 10 plays itself very well though, it may be restained but I think it is a very elegant beer. Delicately spicy and quite polite but most of all VERY well balanced. I think Brewdog have hit the nail on the head here by producing a beer that will go down well with loyal fans but also wont scare the pants of any Brewdog virgins at the Tates birthday weekend.

Yesterday also included a visit from two lovely Americans who are on a tasting tour of Europe. My morning included talking with them about the brewery and tasting all our core range and some very special ones too! I may have had a sip of Tokyo* before noon! My point is though, do feel free to pop around and ask for a special tour, it gives me a chance to talk beer and more importantly sample some too (hope James isnt reading)

Today was more hand on (and less boozy). Our next batch of Trashy is almost ready to meet my three others in the fermenter and will be on their way to a supermarket near you soon. I will tell you all the batch number when I know it! Haha

In other news 12hr shifts make you tired and I want to go to sleep soon. More Brewdog news soon, off for a Punk and an episode of Oz and James!

Day 1 at Brewdog

For those of you who havent been following today was the day that I started my new summer job at Brewdog. I will be up in the north east from now until September and dont panick, this blog isnt about to become a paid for Brewdog advert. Although I cant promise that I wont report quite a lot about them. So if you are a Brewdog hater look away now!

Today started by meeting all the cool gals, guys and dogs in the brewery. Everyone seems great and I can see why James and Martin are so passionate about what they do because they have such a great team backing them up. A great deal of my day today was spent on a secret project. Something that not only am I uncertain about whether Im allowed to tell you about, but also something which you will probably never see so there isnt much point.  Not unless you have tickets of course.

Anyway.....this afternoon I mashed a batch of Trashy Blonde. So if your Trashy tastes particularly good in the coming months personal cheques can be made out to Michael J Ironside!

Whilst still giving reviews on other brews that I try and general beer news and critiques from world breweries I plan to use this blog to give you an insight into life in a VERY busy brewery. Now that I am back in the UK updates will be coming much more thick and fast.

Updates soon....

Election beer

No this isnt some sort of cruel joke. On May 6th I will be sitting down after a long day of pushing for last votes in at least two Scottish constituencies (yes Scotland has more than one). I will be helping my party out and then it will be time to sit down and watch the results come in.

Aside from the fact that I will only have been home for one day and will probably want to get stuck into some of the lovely beer I have waiting from Crown Brewery, Thornbridge, Brewdog, Marble.........I also want to have a little drink to celebrate the election.

Ive not been able to do much campaigning for my party (being in France for 7 months) but I still want to show that some of us are watching the election and do feel that this may be an important one.

Anyway the point is......I want to find a beer which speaks for each of the leaders. Whatever your political views are it would be nice to have some suggestions. For example should I toast old Gordon Brown and his party with a bottle of 'Stella'- Watery, worn out and a bit bland. Or maybe you think Gordon and the Labour guys and gals deserve a bottle of Old Speckled Hen- There is something you dont quite like about it but its better than that bottle of Green King IPA lurking in the wings. Maybe Nick Clegg and his smooth performance in the debates mean he deserves to be toasted with a bottle of BrewDog/Stone Bashah- Dark, stronger than it seems and a little bit confusing. Is David Cameron and his party a bottle of the same but with a different label?

Who knows? Have a think about it. I know I will be and I will be posting my choices on the eve of General Election day. Happy thinking

Am I still a hop head?

Its been a while since I posted. Just checked and apparently the date is the 19th of April! Woops. I havent forgotten about you all, honest. Rather Ive just not had that much great beer recently which has inspired me to write. I tend to find that I only get in a beer mindset if I am drinking some nice beer or I am anticipating a box of nice beer. Since I am currently in France and all my boxes of nice beer are in the UK, this is a problem.

Recently though I have been questioning my self declared status of 'hop head'. That was until the other night anyway.....but more about that in a bit. The reason I question whether I am such a hop head is because I seem to have been drinking a large amount of beer that I wouldnt really class as hoppy. Since the weather got nice again in France ive switched to a lot of Lambic, which the more clever among you will know use aged hops and therefore do not have that zingy hop taste. Also on the darker cloudless nights Ive been sticking with a bottle of Orval or something equally lovely and Belgian. My excuse for this though is because I am in France. Its not that I dont enjoy these beers, I do, a lot! Rather my status as a hop head will just have to be put on hold until I get back to the UK in May (if the volcano stops by then).

I was reminded the other night though of why I do classify myself as a hop head. Valeir Extra.

Image from RateBeer, my own image to follow

On a recent visit to my regular Belgian beer bar the local called me over and told me she had a bottle for me. Something that she wasnt selling because it was only a sample from the brewery so she could decide if she wanted to stock it. I was quite excited, not because I was getting a little exclusive but because I know she thinks of me as a hop head and immediately I knew it might be something good. Anyway, she produced a bottle of Valeir Extra, this is a beer I have never seen or had before. In short its a Belgian IPA and it is probably the most hoppy Belgian I have had maybe aside from De Ranke XX Bitter. The two beers are hoppy in different ways though. Whilst De Ranke has a dry refreshing hop bite Valeir has a lovely tropical and fruity hop body. It reminded me of a certain little Scottish beer I have a thing for!

Proper tasting notes will follow, but I thought I better let you all know that I am still here and that normal posting will resume soon. There is after all a very large collection of great beer waiting for me at home.

Stay tuned folks.....