BrewDog, an independent brewery based in Scotland has launched a beer-based spirit called WattDickie. It’s named for the two owners whose keyboard seems to be missing the space bar. (Their website is here.)
But their creativity seems to be working okay. Although, the idea has been done before, but the other way around. Therein lies the tale.
Messrs Watt and Dickie developed the new product using a “radical brewing and ice distillation process.” It’s 35% AbV and is created using an IPA style beer. At 70 proof it must pack a wallop.
I’ve been following these gents for some time (see May 16, 2012 posting) and admire their independence and cheekiness (for those of you in the States, that’s called chutzpah). Martin Dickie, had this to say about their new creation:
“What we have here is not a beer, but its alter-ego. This is Mr. Hyde. This is the shiver down the spine of the grease slick adman relying on people lapping up the ‘same old-same old’ from their sticky bottle of snake oil. This is a drink by the misfits, for the misfits. It’s a beautiful, absurd experiment.”
It will sell for £2.99 for a 6cl bottle and will be available in BrewDog bars and their online store at the end of June. Get this – according to Just Drinks, it is expected to be available in 700ml bottles later this year.
I wonder what it tastes like.
Back in the day, Seagram, spurred on by the vagaries of the owner, produced a beer-flavored whiskey called Old Breed. (See the May 24, 2010 posting for the full story.)
Failure does not begin to describe the reaction to this neither fish nor fowl new product. The comments were universally negative (with “awful taste” at the forefront) and the product was pulled faster than a New York minute. That is, of course, when management mustered enough guts to tell the owner his baby was ugly.
Now, I’m not saying that WattDickie is in the same class as Old Breed. But, calling their brew or concoction a “new style of spirit,” makes me wonder. Is it indeed a new worthwhile alcohol product or a bad idea whose time has come again?
As they say, “the proof of a pudding is in the eating.” So, to my readers in the UK – try it and let me know what you think.
(My thanks to Drew DeSarno who brought this to my attention and supplied the Old Breed photo.)