Brew Your Own Penguin...

March 10, 2016 3:41 PM

Scottish brewing outfit Brewdog have open-sourced all their beer recipes, scaling them down for home brewing. 215 recipes in total, and yes, it includes both "Sink The Bismarck" and "Tactical Nuclear Penguin".
posted by 43rdAnd9th (21 comments total)

I downloaded the recipes. The pdf includes this:

"So here it is. The keys to our kingdom. Every single BrewDog recipe, ever. So copy them, tear them to pieces, bastardise them, adapt them and most of all enjoy them.
They are well-travelled but with plenty of miles still left on the clock. Just remember to share your brews, and your results. Sharing is caring."

Awesome!
posted by dfm500 at 3:51 PM on March 10, 2016 [5 favorites]

They seem to be selling a "business for punks" thingy for 15 quid... are they strictly a beer business still? Pepsi blue?
posted by hleehowon at 4:23 PM on March 10, 2016

Like I didn't already love Brewdog enough...
posted by Hildegarde at 4:28 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Considering the state of the hops market, good luck making half of these.
posted by beerperson at 4:42 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Okay, but where do I get a taxidermied squirrel?
posted by uncleozzy at 4:46 PM on March 10, 2016

On the other hand if you like Brewdog beers it is a much better idea to make them at home rather than supporting a horrifyingly transphobic company
posted by beerperson at 5:00 PM on March 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

If we were going to go to Outlander filming locations on our trip to Scotland, I requested that I at least get to go to a Brew Dog. I did and it was great - I wish I'd been able to go later in the trip so as to be less jetlagged, but it was everything I expected it to be (hipster beards, hats at precise angles, good beer, a dog). I ordered a Sink the Bismark (it comes in a small snifter) and a glass of water to go with it. Due to my accent, the bartender would not serve me until I promised not to pour the Bismark into the water.

Looking back, given the who punk ethos they espouse, I really should have. Just dump the snifter into the water and chug the whole thing, slam the glass down and chant USA USA USA. Many a mustache would have curled that day, let me tell you!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:02 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

41%, that's weak. Now 67.5%, that's beer!
posted by Huck500 at 5:57 PM on March 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

Okay, but where do I get a taxidermied squirrel?

I had the chance to taste this from the squirrel's mouth several years back. It was at my favourite hangout in Shanghai, Jackie's Beer Nest. The Brewdog folks had stopped in to meet Jackie and had samples in hand. Of course, being one of Jackie's best / most frequent customers at the time, I got to join in the tasting session. Yummy.
posted by michswiss at 7:18 PM on March 10, 2016

Damnit, they want my e-mail address?

I'd like to see this, but I'll pass.
posted by Mezentian at 12:39 AM on March 11, 2016

I love lots of things about Brewdog, but not the beers. I particularly love how they have exchange schemes set up with Brooklyn etc where brewers go and learn from others.

For me they're the OK Go of brewing - they get lots of buzz, but the core thing they're meant to be doing (making beer / making music) isn't all that great.

There are far better Scottish brewers in my opinion, especially Fyne Ales, Black Isle, and Cairngorm. But then they don't make beers that are 25% and have dumb names.
posted by DanCall at 2:04 AM on March 11, 2016

For those homebrewers that use special software like Brewtarget, redditor /u/a1brit converted all the recipes to BeerXML : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w82kw6i5bgaa1lr/AAA21F7ROuz7snkP8qq9L8bCa

This will allow me to brew beers that are hard to find.
posted by thatjoachim at 4:53 AM on March 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

uncleozzy - Okay, but where do I get a taxidermied squirrel?

I don't know about squirrels, but there are a number of stuffed animals somewhere on the black market following a recent robbery in Wandsworth

A chimpanzee wearing a top hat, a lion and a zebra are some of the stuffed animals worth £100,000 that have been stolen from a south London warehouse.

Are we judging Brewdog's transfobia on the fact that they release a beer called No Label, or is there some other reason that I am not aware of?

No Label was designed to reflect the diversity of the area and champion inclusivity, Brewdog said. It plans to donate profits from the sales of No Label to LGBTQI+ events organisers Queerest of the Queer, which supports charities for trans youth communities.

"This 4.6% ABV Kölsch has been brewed with hops that have changed sex from female to male flowers prior to harvest. We have used these to emphasise that, just like humans, beer can be whatever the hell it wants to be, and proud of it," BrewDog said in a statement.

I would agree with DanCall on this 'For me they're the OK Go of brewing - they get lots of buzz, but the core thing they're meant to be doing (making beer / making music) isn't all that great.'. Good on them for releasing their recipes and methods though, that is pretty cool!
posted by asok at 5:09 AM on March 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

@asok

No, I'm a latecomer to this but I think the issue predates No Label. No Label seems to have been created as a mea culpa for an ad campaign perceived as transphobic. See here. Despite the link, I haven't actually seen the ad, but it sounds suspect. It also sounds like they were making a good faith effort to address the issue but didn't quite get it right.
posted by nequalsone at 6:59 AM on March 11, 2016

I'm confused now. Is this free as in beer?
posted by automatronic at 7:02 AM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure how much No Label can be taken as a mea culpa given that Brewdog's actual response to the outcry over their transphobic ad was that it was 'in the spirit of fun and sending ourselves up – it's a shame that some people have taken offence where none was intended.' Here's a thing a friend of mine wrote about No Label.
posted by beerperson at 7:30 AM on March 11, 2016

@beerperson

Thanks, that was very interesting, and, linked from your friend's site, there was some interesting follow up here.
posted by nequalsone at 8:18 AM on March 11, 2016

> Damnit, they want my e-mail address?
> I'd like to see this, but I'll pass.

No need, their system just wants AN email address.
posted by anadem at 9:51 PM on March 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

I am ashamed.
posted by Mezentian at 5:41 AM on March 12, 2016

[e-mail].
posted by Mezentian at 5:42 AM on March 12, 2016

Oh, my kingdom for an edit window!
(At least I didn't post my luggage combination.)
posted by Mezentian at 5:42 AM on March 12, 2016