BrewDog stirs strong feelings
When I hear that an organisation has banned something I get a powerful image of men in brown uniforms burning books in the 1930s.
Nothing good comes from bans, as was proved graphically in the 1920s when alcohol was outlawed in the US and the Mob moved in to control illegal sales of booze.
I could scarcely believe the headline last week: "Portman Group bans strong beer". The beer in question is called Tokyo, it weighs in at 18% abv and is produced by BrewDog, a micro in Fraserburgh, north of Aberdeen.
BrewDog founders Martin Dickie and James Watt enjoy pushing the boundaries of beer and, at the same time, giving the finger to the Portman Group, the industry watchdog that rules on labelling and packaging that could give brewing a bad name.
In this case, Portman is not attacking the strength of the beer. Many other brewers have produced beers of that strength or more. The objection is to the wording on the label that says "you must from time have excess. This beer is for those times". Leave aside the bad wording — it should obviously be "from time to time" — and you are left with the clear message, according to the watchdog, that BrewDog is encouraging drinkers to get totally Brahms and Lizst.
A pompous statement from the Portman Group says Tokyo will be banned in bars, clubs and shops. But what legal authority does the group have to ban a beer? It doesn't have policemen at its disposal to physically carry out the ban and I don't think anyone in the brewing industry or pub trade wants to see bottles of beer being seized from retailers and the contents poured down the drain.
Martin Dickie hit back at the Portman Group, pointing out that Tokyo is not widely available, costs £10 a bottle and is available online or in just five specialist retailers throughout Britain. He said the group should concentrate its attack on brewers who sell 24 cans of lager in supermarkets for £7, which he added, is doing a great deal to fuel Scotland's drink problem.
I can't disagree with that, but I'm left with the uneasy feeling that Dickie and Watt welcome the bad publicity and seem determined to make controversial beers that win them headlines and the inevitable knee-jerk reaction from the Portman Group.
There should be research into new beer styles, using modern technology to see how far the boundaries can be moved. In 1979, the Swiss brewery Hürlimann produced a beer called Samichlaus with a strength of 14% abv. The beer wasn't meant for commercial sale, but was produced to see if brewer's yeast could make
a beer of more than 12% — the strength at which yeast gives up and goes to sleep.
After years of research, scientists at Hürlimann, using different temperatures, managed to boost the strength to 14% abv after storing or lagering the beer for close to a year. When news of the experiment leaked to the press and the public, the beer was produced commercially and was called Samichlaus or Santa Claus as it was released every year in time for Christmas.
In Germany, some brewers make Ice Bock, a strong lager of around 13% abv, with the strength of the beer boosted by freezing it, which concentrates both alcohol and water. Such strong lagers are the result of careful research. They are not made to court publicity or to encourage people to drink to excess. Nobody is threatening to ban them.
But BrewDog is not content with making just the 18% abv Tokyo. It has now launched a beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin with an astonishing 32% abv. The brewery claims it's the strongest beer in the world and I know of no other contenders for the title. The strength is achieved by freezing the beer and then maturing it for a year or more in Scotch whisky casks.
Is this serious brewing or another attempt to win media publicity?
A video on the BrewDog website shows Dickie and Watt dressed as penguins as they explain the brewing process. Is it fun or is it madness? The jury is out.
One thing is certain: the activities of BrewDog are dividing both the brewing community and beer drinkers. When I criticised BrewDog on the blog section of my website last week, I was attacked with an astonishing stream of abuse. "Twaddle" was one of the nicer epithets thrown at me. More extreme critics called me "scum" and even "a commie".
On the other hand, I have just paused to take a call from a leading figure in the Scottish craft brewing industry. He expressed his full support for me and said he was appalled at the level of abuse hurled at me.
More importantly, he said BrewDog was doing terrible damage to craft brewing in Scotland. That surely is the pertinent point. By all means let craft brewers research and develop new styles of beer. Strength should not be a barrier, but it might be sensible if, in future, Dickie and Watt wore white coats and lost the penguin suits.
