BrewDog’s Alternative Festival

BrewDog, ever the contrarians, have for the last couple of years hosted their own Edinburgh-based beer festival, timed to overlap with CAMRA’s Scottish Real Ale Festival. Last year, it served as a handy change of pace from the real ale jamboree occurring (literally) round the corner. I’m still not really sure if their Edinburgh based beer fest was designed as a two fingers to the Campaign, or as a genuine alternative – but either way, both are very popular.

For this year, the SRAF has shipped out to the Corn Exchange – and was much the better for it – but BrewDog are still there in the Cowgate. Whereas last time around, their bar had a fair bit of ‘beard-baiting’ sloganry on the walls, this time it’s just the usual quotes from the Book of Watt that greet the thirsty punters. Maybe – hopefully – both ‘sides’ are realising that they can co-exist and flourish without the constant sniping.*

The 2012 BrewDog alternative festival was run on a UK theme, so whereas for a long while no British breweries would be seen on draught in their bar – this weekend it was a veritable who’s who of the modern craft scene. Magic Rock, Lovibonds, Kernel, Summer Wine, Tempest, Brodies – there’s no doubting the quality of that lineup. As you’d expect, there were plenty of BD beers on as well.

Libertine Black Ale was the pick from the home side, with the best of the guest going to the sublime Brodies All Brett Citra IPA. For 8%, it had fantastic balance – the Brett creating a mild funk similar to Orval, along with sweet, grassy fruit. Just a fabulous beer – when the guys at Leyton are on form, their beers are really something. BrewDog’s Hunter Foundation Pale Ale was a miss, with the Nelson Sauvin coming out as a vague soapy edge, unfortunately.

Also occuring on the Saturday was the release of BrewDog’s latest in the Abstrakt range – AB:10, an imperial brown ale aged in Malaga wine barrels. It sounded pretty interesting, but at the prohibitive price of £5.45 a third we left it alone. Off the top of our heads, only the Ghost Deer has topped it on price, at £6 a third. It’s astonishing – I’m assuming people will pay that much, otherwise they wouldn’t price it accordingly – but I just couldn’t justify it.

Apart from that, the beers were great. These festivals really do complement each other. If proof were needed, we ended up (in one of those wonderful happenings that you only get in pubs) drinking with a group of Swedes over on a beery tour of Scotland. After a short chat, it turned out we were drinking with the guys behind Närke Kulturbryggeri – including head brewer Hå-Ge Wiktorsson, a man as lustrously bearded as any CAMRA stereotype.

The Swedes had all been at the SRAF and were busy taking photos of BrewDog Edinburgh – both of which they loved. In between trying a stunning bottle of Green Flash Double Stout, HG’s wife Berith was saying how much she enjoyed Houston’s beers at the SRAF. San Diego and Renfrew in one sentence – at the end of the day, pithy soundbites aside, if the beer is good then that’s really all that matters.

* At least, I thought that until I read BrewDog’s preview of their beer festival