Brewmeister (brewery)

Brewmeister is a Scottish brewery based in Keith, Moray. It was founded in 2012,[1] and has subsequently grown to export worldwide.[2]

Company history

The brewery began life on a farm in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire with a student loan.[1][3] The first beer produced was Armageddon, which the company claimed in press releases was the world's strongest beer at 65% alcohol by volume (ABV).[4] Some batches of the beer were incorrectly manufactured to a strength of 15.2% ABV.[5]

In 2013, Brewmeister replaced Armageddon with a stronger beer called Snake Venom claiming 67.5% ABV, and put a warning label on the bottle[6] advising consumers to only drink one per sitting.[7] It retailed at £50 for a 275ml bottle. Brewmeister claimed that the beer "tastes like a liquor and has a whole host of different flavours, ranging from bubblegum to caramel."[8] However, Guinness Book of Records still consider the strongest beer ever sold the Brewdog's "The End of History" with 55% ABV.[9]

In March 2014, the company announced they would move to new facilities at the Isla Bank Mills in Keith and quadruple beer production[3] while in May of the same year, the company won the BQ Scottish Business Award for Export.[10] Richard Lochhead, member of Scottish Parliament for Keith, said that the move would be "a successful addition to Moray's strong food and drinks sector."[1] The brewery currently employs 13 people.[11]

Production

The strength of the beer comes from fractional freezing, which involves cooling the beer to a low temperature to the point where water freezes but alcohol does not. The ice is then removed, leaving a higher percentage of alcohol behind.[4] The company claims to use natural spring water for brewing and claims to use unusual ingredients in their beers.[12] In 2014, they announced that 90% of their product was being exported.[13]

Controversy

In early 2014, an article arose on an online blog written by Richard Taylor of the Edinburgh-based Beercast, which claimed Brewmeister had knowingly sold batches of Armageddon which were not the strength advertised. Taylor also wrote several other articles criticising the brewery.[14] In October 2014 it emerged that Taylor had previously worked on a contract basis for BrewDog, another Scottish brewery. There is, however, no evidence to suggest that this impacted or influenced upon his writing for his own personal blog.[15] Taylor admitted "one of my long-standing contracts has been with the aforementioned BrewDog, writing posts on their website, pieces for Hop Propaganda, label copy etc."[15]

Investment

In 2014, Brewmeister re-launched following the formation of a Board of Directors which came about after Brewmeister was partially bought by a syndicate of Scottish business figures. This included Scott Carnegie, a former Chairman of Dundee United Football Club. Brewmeister also received investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Investment Bank.[16] Scottish Enterprise are also holders of shares in the company.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Boost for Moray food and drink as 'Armageddon' switches to Keith". Heldon & Laich SNP Independence. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Where to Buy". Brewmeister (official site). Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 McCulloch, Scott (27 March 2014). "Brewmeister looks to quadruple beer production at new facility". Daily Record. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 DeNinno, Nadine (October 25, 2012). "World's Strongest Beer: Brewmeister's Armageddon With 65% ABV Made In Scotland". International Business Times. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Crowther, Stuart (4 June). "Beer storm over alcohol content sees apology from Keith craft brewery". Inside Moray. Retrieved 20 June 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ↑ "Brewmeister Snake Venom". Brewmeister (official website). Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "World's strongest beer 'Snake Venom' launched". The Scotsman. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "'Bubblegum-flavoured' Snake Venom beer is world's strongest – and certainly has a nasty bite...". The Metro. 26 Oct 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Guinness Book of Records". 21 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Lingo24 talk the language of Scottish success at inaugural BQ Scotland Export Awards". BQ Magazine. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Brewmeister quadruples production capacity thanks to new facility". BBC News. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ Whitelaw, Jonathan (24 April 2014). "Brewmeister launches a collection of quirky beers". STV Edinburgh. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Brewmeister reveal a new look. But how 'new' is it?". The BeerCast. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  15. 1 2 "Making a change". The BeerCast. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.