BrewDog stout takes a dig at Diageo

Scottish independent brewer BrewDog has launched a milk stout – Jet Black Heart (4.7%) – with a spoof of a Guinness ad called Tick Follows Tock. BrewDog co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie don a pantomime horse outfit and brave the cold waters of a local swimming pool to give their latest beer the sort of launch  -- they say – that “over financed stouts historically enjoyed”.

The beer was chosen by BrewDog drinkers as their favourite froma range of possible new brands.

Jet Black Heart is launched three years after Diageo, owners of Guinness, told the organisers of the Scottish Bar Operator of the Year awards that it would pull its sponsorship of the event if BrewDog received the top award.

Available in all BrewDog bars and Bottle Dog shops, Jet Black Heart is an oatmeal milk stout with a deep, smooth but roasty flavour. Coffee and chocolate notes deliver a full-bodied richness.

Milk Stout, made famous by the success of Mackeson Stout post World War Two, is made with the addition of lactose, also known as milk sugar. It’s a bi-product of cheese making and cannot be fermented by conventional brewer’s yeast, which results in a creamy richness in the finished beer.