UPCOMING BREWS – THE LATEST FROM HQ

Last month we retrieved the barrel store key from underneath the brewhouse flower pot and had a closer look at what was going on with our ageing programme. Yet it’s been a while since we merely stepped through next door and checked what beery delights are coming up from our amazing team of brewers at our Ellon HQ. So it’s time to leave the protective barrel store hard hat on its peg and go and open some metal hatches instead!

Here’s a preview of the soundtrack to your summer…

Paradox Islay

As ever, this particular ‘what’s in tank’ blog begins with a beer that has said goodbye to stainless steel and hello to our packaging department. Next week we have another double beer launch on the cards, and the first of those to break cover is set to return our world-beating Paradox series to its roots. The first barrel-aged imperial stout we ever produced was aged in an Islay whisky cask in Martin’s garage, so it is a true BrewDog milestone. And next week, Paradox Islay returns.

Bourbon Baby

Also set to launch next week is another dark-tinted wonder, as we get reacquainted with our baby Scotch Ale. Bourbon Baby packs all of the varied flavours of the US whiskey spectrum into a beer that can be enjoyed without having to seek out the nearest armchair. So expect a fusillade of vanilla, spiced fruit and oaky woody notes interplaying with deeply resonant chocolate and cinder toffee backdrop. And all of that comes in at under 6% abv.

Blitz

After the update on our upcoming Sour Facility started the week, we have a few Blitz beers on the horizon for your enjoyment in the interim. Our series of Berliner Weisse have been going great guns since their re-introduction (look out for Bramble Blitz at your nearest BrewDog bar at the moment) and over the next few weeks our sour-loving brewteam are dialling up another batch of Raspberry Blitz plus two new tart and puckering stablemates – Blueberry Blitz and Honey & Lemon Blitz.

Black Hammer

Also on the horizon we will be unleashing the second in our series of canned Jack Hammer spin-offs. The first of these riffed on the theme of yeast as Monk Hammer gave a Belgian twist to our bitter piledriver. For the next in line, we are looking instead at the malt bill. Black Hammer will be a no-holds-barred rendition of Jack Hammer brewed with dark malt. This single variation will result in a fascinating interplay between the two cornerstones of our ruthless IPA, as the dark, roasty malt meets the resinous and citrus-heavy hopload. Black Hammer breaks cover in June.

#MashTag

Also pitching up over the next couple of months will be the fourth iteration of our crowd-sourced beermaking challenge, #MashTag. Thousands of votes were cast across our different platforms, and the result of #MashTag week 2016 was a 100IBU 10.5% triple IPA hopped with Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo and Mosaic before being aged on oak chips and sour cherries. Our brewers are rolling up their sleeves as we speak, ready to create this year’s beer that will – true to style – be adorned by a label also voted on by our readers – the winning entry above by Marty Breslin.

Electric India

As the sun reaches its highest arc (which in Ellon is somewhere just above the horizon), our summer seasonal appears on the brewhouse calendar. The seasons are changing, and our beer for the longest days is our hop-forward saison Electric India. Released between July and September, the blend of heather honey and peppercorns adds an extra dimension to the fruity citrus hops and saison yeast, providing the perfect beer to pair with those long, hot, shimmering days of summer.

Born to Die

As the antithesis of a beer to be enjoyed over the span of a long season, our time-sensitive IPA is due to return in the summer marked for your immediate attention. Born to Die is back in August, and once again will be best enjoyed as soon as you can get your hands on it. A eulogy to the hops that sacrificed themselves during its creation, Born to Die is the best possible showcase of Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe and Mosaic and as such deserves to be put on the clock to keep all of the flavours as unrelenting – and undiminished – as possible.

A Restorative Beverage for Invalids and Convalescents

Speaking of returning IPA’s, we have a small piece of news about a beer with a long name that could make your summer. We first brewed our Restorative Beverage over a year ago and it proved so popular we couldn’t not bring it back. So we are – and this time, we are canning it. Our tribute to the origins of the style, it is mashed at low temperatures to yield the palest, driest IPA we have ever made. We ferment the living daylights out of it before hopping it to the brink and back. If you are bored of IPA’s, or think they are all the same, this will restore your faith.

Ace of Citra

Finally, we can look into the furthest reaches of the longer days to come and discover the third of our barnstorming Ace of Hops series of beers. Arriving in late August we will have the single-hopped session IPA that showcases one of the formative hops of the last five years. Citra has won a lot of fans with its balance of lemon and grapefruit, and we are ready to put it to the forefront like never before. Following on from Simcoe and Chinook, Ace of Citra will be a celebration of the the majesty of the hop.

That’s it for our most recent rundown of beery goodness that will soon be making their way to your glassware – which are you looking forward to the most?