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Brewdog Punk IPA Beer Review – The Controversial Craft Brewers

Punk IPA, the craft beer that kickstarted success for one of Scotland's biggest breweries. Still to this day the beverage keeps its owners and creators, BrewDog, afloat. Taking in 60% of the brand's entire earnings despite years of controversy and upset with consumers, advertisers , and employees.

Brewdog was founded in 2007, in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire by James Watt and Martin Dicke, beginning with just the two, brewing small batches and selling from their van at local markets. Punk IPA was the first beer the duo ever created and was named after their ambition to take the industry by storm how punk rock had done with the music industry. The brand grew incredibly fast, turning what started as Watt, Dickies and their dog in the garage into a brand worth millions. Their story is incredible and could be inspiring without the controversies that followed. The original idea of the brand was to create alternative beers, something different and that is exactly what they did . Brewdog was something completely unique and that is why it is still a huge brand to this day. The duo opened their first bar in Aberdeen, in 2009 only two years after the company launched. A fitting example of the rate of their success.

Interestingly, Brewdog gained some of its recognition from a brewing war between themselves and the German brewery Schorschbräu. The two breweries each had the world record for the strongest beer and over the years swapped the title back and forth. Brewdog started off with their drink Tactical Nuclear Penguin which came in at 32% ABV, at the time making it the world's strongest beer. Schorschrau then released their record beating beer which was an insane 40% ABV, before Brewdog then again just claimed the title with The End of All History, a craft IPA with 41% ABV. Coming in stronger than most straight rums and 35% stronger than Punk IPA. The record now again belongs to Schorschbräu with their whopping 57.5% ABV beer, Schorschbock. There are reports of stronger beers, however this has not been confirmed. This battle for the strongest beer is interesting and really brought light to Brewdog across Europe. It also leaves us curious if Brewdog will again try and take the title by beating their incredible 57.5% brew .

It seems everything was rather good for Brewdog thanks to Punk IPA, however, there is a vast history of controversies, something the brand is famous for, maybe even more so than its craft beers. One of the ways in which BrewDog got so successful was through provocative and controversial marketing which got a lot of attention for causing a stir with the Portman group (The company responsible for alcohol labelling) and with advertising laws. From beers named after drugs to packaging that was accused of promoting underage drinking, the craft brewers have had multiple beers banned and many advertising scandals. The Portman Group tried to get some of the earlier beers banned for “aggressive marketing” eventually losing the 8-month battle. Despite winning, Brewdog responded by making “a beer worth banning” called Speedball which was for obvious reasons, was banned at once. This offensive and insensitive advertising really gave the brand a disliking within the alcohol industry, however the idea of “any publicity is good publicity” really came into play here as all this scandal acted as advertisement for the brewery .

There were several other issues for the brewery, mostly to do with aggressive advertising. They also had copyright scandals and petitions against the brand, however nothing much came of these. Despite all this, Brewdog stayed popular and pretty much untouched until 2021, when controversy became something the brand was known for. A group of old employees published a letter sharing their apparently negative experience working for the company, even saying James Watt was like a ‘cult leader’. Watt and Dickes obviously denied these allegations, claiming it was a smear campaign and people were divided on who was being honest, the employer or employee. That was until January 2022 when people's opinions were swayed by an episode of the BBC’s investigative series Discover, titled The Truth About BrewDog. The special was focused on bringing a voice to these employees, the tagline being “Just how punk is BrewDog?”, a direct reference and dig at the beer that started it all, Punk IPA. Within the documentary, the company is described as toxic, miserable and even misogynistic. A lot of people's views on the company shifted and the brand got a bad rep which was worsened when Watt tweeted out saying the documentary was nothing but slander. However, there was then an apology issued, and everything discussed was claimed to be in the past and “behind the company”.

Being the beer that created BrewDog, Punk IPA stays a staple for the company; it's very recognizable with a bright blue can and a large Brewdog logo. Its popularity also stems from the fact that it is widely available in any store and on draft in most bars, helping keep it at the top spot for business. The beer is notably light with a golden colour, and is almost cider-like in taste, making it very drinkable even for non-beer lovers. It has been described by its creators as having “bursts of caramel and tropical fruit with an all-out riot of grapefruit, pineapple, and lychee, precede a spiky bitter finish.” All of this is true, the beer has tropical and fruity elements and is pretty sweet for a beer but is as enjoyable as it is unique . That is if you can ignore all the drama involved with its creation.

It is interesting seeing how much of a dark element can been hidden behind such a popular company. Despite having amazing craft beers and vast selection, will consumers, beer lovers and craft beer enthusiasts be able to look past the scandal? Ignoring it all and focusing in on their drinks and Punk IPA that started it off, there's some incredible and interesting flavours. Even if the ethics of the company are questionable, Brewdog and Punk IPA still remain popular yet controversial.

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Written by Kirsten Moreton.

You can follow Kirsten on her Instagram @keeksymo or by clicking here.

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