The end of the beer wars?

I’ve written before about the Scottish brewery Brewdog and their over-the-top beers. Last year they released ‘Tactical Nuclear Penguin‘, a beer with a 32% alcohol content. This was topped by German brewery Schorschbrau in January this year with an 80 proof (40% alcohol content) beer; so Brewdog came right back with ‘Sink The Bismarck!‘, with 41% alcohol content.

It seems that Brewdog has decided to settle the argument about who brews the strongest beer once and for all. They’ve just released a (very) limited edition of ‘The End Of History‘, which has a staggering 55% alcohol content. That’s right up there at moonshine levels! Even single malt Scotch normally contains only 40%-45% alcohol by volume.

Brewdog has this to say about their new beer:

The End of History: The name derives from the famous work of philosopher Francis Fukuyama, this is to beer what democracy is to history. Fukuyama defined history as the evolution of the political system and traced this through the ages until we got the Western Democratic paradigm. For Fukuyama this was the end point of man’s political evolution and consequently the end of history. The beer is the last high abv beer we are going to brew, the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer.

. . .

This blond Belgian ale is infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and Fresh juniper berries. Only 12 bottles have been made and each comes with its own certificate and is presented in a stuffed stoat or grey squirrel. The striking packaging was created by a very talented taxidermist and all the animals used were road kill. This release is a limited run of 11 bottles, 7 stoats and 4 grey squirrels. Each one comes with its own certificate of authenticity.

In true BrewDog fashion we’ve torn up convention, blurred distinctions and pushed brewing and beer packaging to its absolute limits. This beer is an audacious blend of eccentricity, artistry and rebellion; changing the general perception of beer one stuffed animal at a time.

The impact of The End of History is a perfect conceptual marriage between art, taxidermy and craft brewing. The bottles are at once beautiful and disturbing – they disrupt conventions and break taboos, just like the beer they hold within them.

Brewdog have also released this video about their new beer.

All eleven bottles have already been sold, unfortunately. The seven stoat bottles went for £500 (currently US $771) apiece, and the four squirrel bottles for £700 (currently US $1,080) each. That’s quite a price to pay . . . but then, there’ll probably never be another beer like it. I wonder how many of those bottles will end up being drunk, compared to those put away as investments?

Peter