CenterBHSFan
Posts: 6,115
Jul 23, 2010 11:42am
Would you be willing to pay the price for a novelty??
You'd expect a lot from a bottle of beer costing $765. What you get is 55 percent alcohol — and served in a squirrel.
According to Scottish firm BrewDog, "The End of History" is the "strongest, most expensive and most shocking beer in the world." Just 12 bottles were made and the company has already sold out. They will be shipped out to buyers in the United States, Canada, Italy, Denmark, Scotland and England next week.
The dead animals which were used to create the beers' unusual appearance were four squirrels, seven weasels and a hare. All were roadkill, James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, told msnbc.com.
The name of the blond Belgian ale is taken from the title of a book by philosopher Francis Fukuyama, "The End of History and the Last Man" which the company said had been chosen to imply "this is to beer what democracy is to history." Watt said the beer should be treated with care when drinking.
"It tastes more like a whisky and you have got to handle it in that way as opposed to the way you would handle a normal beer," he told msnbc.com. It contains juniper berries and nettles, and its taste, Watt said, has hints of cinnamon, orange and an "American hops flavor."
He said this was the last in a series of high-strength beers that the company had produced and there were no plans to go higher.
'Degrading' to animals
The decision to wrap the bottle in a dead animal was taken to indicate how special the beer was, blending brewing, taxidermy and "art."
"We were making such a tiny amount that we wanted to do something epic," Watt told msnbc.com. "We wanted to challenge people's perceptions about how beer can be packaged; taxidermy helps open people's eyes to the fact that beer doesn't have to be made by a multi-national organization."
However the decision was described by Ross Minett, campaigns director for the U.K. charity Advocates for Animals, as "terribly out of date" and "degrading" for the animals.
"The modern approach is to celebrate the wonders of animals and respect them as individual sentient creatures," he said, according to the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper. "I'm sure this would have much greater appeal with the animal-loving public."
Asked about animal rights concerns, Watt said: "It was all roadkill we got from a taxidermist. They are all animals that were dead anyway. We think to use dead animals in this way is much better than for them to be left to rot on the roadside."
You'd expect a lot from a bottle of beer costing $765. What you get is 55 percent alcohol — and served in a squirrel.
According to Scottish firm BrewDog, "The End of History" is the "strongest, most expensive and most shocking beer in the world." Just 12 bottles were made and the company has already sold out. They will be shipped out to buyers in the United States, Canada, Italy, Denmark, Scotland and England next week.
The dead animals which were used to create the beers' unusual appearance were four squirrels, seven weasels and a hare. All were roadkill, James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, told msnbc.com.
The name of the blond Belgian ale is taken from the title of a book by philosopher Francis Fukuyama, "The End of History and the Last Man" which the company said had been chosen to imply "this is to beer what democracy is to history." Watt said the beer should be treated with care when drinking.
"It tastes more like a whisky and you have got to handle it in that way as opposed to the way you would handle a normal beer," he told msnbc.com. It contains juniper berries and nettles, and its taste, Watt said, has hints of cinnamon, orange and an "American hops flavor."
He said this was the last in a series of high-strength beers that the company had produced and there were no plans to go higher.
'Degrading' to animals
The decision to wrap the bottle in a dead animal was taken to indicate how special the beer was, blending brewing, taxidermy and "art."
"We were making such a tiny amount that we wanted to do something epic," Watt told msnbc.com. "We wanted to challenge people's perceptions about how beer can be packaged; taxidermy helps open people's eyes to the fact that beer doesn't have to be made by a multi-national organization."
However the decision was described by Ross Minett, campaigns director for the U.K. charity Advocates for Animals, as "terribly out of date" and "degrading" for the animals.
"The modern approach is to celebrate the wonders of animals and respect them as individual sentient creatures," he said, according to the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper. "I'm sure this would have much greater appeal with the animal-loving public."
Asked about animal rights concerns, Watt said: "It was all roadkill we got from a taxidermist. They are all animals that were dead anyway. We think to use dead animals in this way is much better than for them to be left to rot on the roadside."
S
Swamp Fox
Posts: 2,218
Jul 23, 2010 11:49am
I agree that the use of dead animals in this instance has a certain esthetic correctness when compared to rotting roadkill, but my moral objection has nothing to do with the use of roadkill. The price of this beer is wacko and I could never get home driving if I drank one of them. And you can be very certain that my wife would not come and pick me up. I think that walking would be entirely out of the question, as well.
CenterBHSFan
Posts: 6,115
Jul 23, 2010 12:06pm
For some reason, the squirrel in that picture just looks vulgar!
BORIStheCrusher
Posts: 1,893
Jul 23, 2010 12:49pm
I read about this a few days ago, I love beer as much as anyone, but I think the overall concept is stupid. I'm sure a lot of the high price tag goes into the fact that it's in a squirrel, and the fact that they only made 12 means nobody can drink it. BrewDog makes some good beers, but this just seems like a waste.
BORIStheCrusher
Posts: 1,893
Jul 23, 2010 12:56pm
Swamp Fox;430728 wrote: I could never get home driving if I drank one of them.
I'm not sure you could drink an entire bottle, it's not meant to be drank in one sitting.
Jughead
Posts: 1,261
Jul 23, 2010 7:21pm
CenterBHSFan;430721 wrote:
It contains juniper berries and nettles, and its taste, Watt said, has hints of cinnamon, orange and an "American hops flavor."
Wait, WHAT? I had no idea that nettles could be used in a drink or food. All I remember is burning my arm burning and aching like hell when I brushed up against them several years ago.
D
DESCENTdmc
Posts: 372
Jul 23, 2010 7:52pm
only at a certain time of the year can nettles be consumed, rest of hte year theyre poisonous
G
gut
Posts: 15,058
Jul 23, 2010 7:58pm
I'd live to try a snifter, but assuming it's a 12 or 15 oz bottle (as opposed to a 5th) that would be over $50-$60, plus mark-up, for a shot.
It is a novelty. I'm not offended - pretty pathetic to call this degrading to animals (newsflash: so is roadkill). I have to assume, however, that this is not meant to be refrigerated.
It is a novelty. I'm not offended - pretty pathetic to call this degrading to animals (newsflash: so is roadkill). I have to assume, however, that this is not meant to be refrigerated.
Curly J
Posts: 7,282
Jul 23, 2010 8:40pm
I'd love to give it a try. BrewDog has some awesome beers.