The Midweek Drink - BrewDog Nanny State

The Midweek Drink - BrewDog Nanny State

It’s Wednesday, we’re halfway through the working week and to make things better it’s the second edition of The Midweek Drink. So raise your coffee mug, cup of tea or breakfast spoon in delight as we push on!

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome back and thank those who read my first blog last week and a warm welcome to those who are new.

Now on this week’s edition, I will be talking about an ale brewed by our neighbours in the North - and its name alone was a real ‘Why is it called that?’ moment for me (It’ll all become clear soon). My choice for this week’s beverage goes by the name Nanny State, brewed by BrewDog.

A brief history on BrewDog and the origin of Nanny State

In April of 2007, two lads from Scotland found the selection of alcohol in the brewing industry a tad boring, so they got together and decided to produce and bottle their own beers. Once they brewed their first batch, they began selling from the back of a van at local markets. In 2012, they moved from Fraserburgh to Ellon to continue to increase their catalogue of ale, stout and lager.

But turn the clocks back to 2008, something would happen that would prove just how passionate and creative they really were.

In 2008, they managed to brew the UK’s strongest beer that would touch the peoples lips: Tokyo. When the media got a whiff of this, they took up the opportunity to give huge backlash plus receiving a ban from a trade group for alcohol.

BrewDog’s response for this backlash and ban came in 2009 when they successfully brewed an ale with an alcohol content of 0.5%, and chose the name Nanny State.

To go from brewing the UK’s strongest beer to brewing an ale with 0.5% alcohol content was just an excellent response to a then PC government.

This is a great example - how can I explain, subtly - of a child poking their tongue at another child claiming to have ‘caught them out’ in a game of Had. Well played, BrewDog.

Three senses and a beverage

Now that you know how the name came about, it’s time to talk about the ale.

When the contents was poured into a glass, the colours I could only think of to describe it was cola or dark amber, with minimal carbonation and a foamy off-white head that quickly dissipated.

At the beginning, I could clearly recognise the malts (8 in total) and a citric taste to it with a noticeable crisp bitterness and hoppy aftertaste.

For the smell, it was easy to detect the aroma of hops, citrus and fruit. With an alcohol content of 0.5% and vegan friendly, BrewDog Nanny State is a great choice if you are looking for a new ale to have in your household to enjoy alone or to share with others who may already be ale drinkers themselves looking for a new alternative.

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