BrewDog goes wild over sour beer

Scottish craft brewer BrewDog has released the first batches of wild and sour beers from its spontaneous fermentation facility, Overworks, as it continues to push the boundaries of what beer can be, inspiring new drinkers and mobilising the craft beer revolution. 

Launched in April last year, Overworks in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, is BrewDog’s standalone state-of-the-art sour beer facility, an ambitious project designed to redefine the wild beer category. 

The first 10 beers, which include Cosmic Crush Raspberry, a Scottish sour ale fermented with raspberries aged in red wine barrels, and Aplomb Bomb, a Scottish sour ale fermented with plum and vanilla, aged in foeders (foudres in French: large oak casks for ageing wine), represent months of hard work by the brewing team, experimenting with the brewing process and flavour combinations. 

Sour and wild beers are typically recognised as some of the oldest beer styles, associated with traditional methods originating from Belgian brewers. Their refreshing yet tart character is achieved by introducing wild yeast into the brewing process, which results in an intentional acidity. Overworks will utilise these traditional techniques but with the classic BrewDog twist, blending traditional ingredients such as cherry and raspberry, with more unique flavour combinations such as blueberry and lavender, and rosehip and roses. 

All 10 beers will be available in bottle and on draught in BrewDog’s 36 UK bars from Thursday 7 February. Equity Punks will be able to buy bottles online at www.brewdog.com/shop from 6pm 8 February, and bottles will be available online for the public to buy from 6pm 8 February. The bespoke range will also be released to a select number of independent bottle shops and bars across the UK from 16 February. 

Richard Kilcullen, brewmaster at BrewDog Overworks commented: “Since launching this ambitious project, we’ve been working tirelessly to take the traditional sour beer to exciting new heights, with bold, brave flavour combinations that must be tasted to be believed. BrewDog has always pushed the boundaries of what beer can be, and this first batch of sour beers epitomises that ambition. We’re obsessed with big flavours that will challenge people’s palates and conceptions. We couldn’t be more excited to release these incredible beers and can’t wait to open up our world of sour beer to more people than ever before.” 

The 10 Overworks beers are: 

• Funk V Punk 5.5% ABV - India Pale Ale fermented with Brettanomyces aged in foeders
• Cosmic Crush Tropical 5.6% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with mango, pineapple, guava, papaya and aged in wine barrels
• Cosmic Crush Cherry 6.3% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with cherries aged in red wine barrels
• Cosmic Crush Quince 5.6% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with quince aged in foeders
• Cosmic Crush Raspberry 5.8% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with raspberries aged in red wine barrels
• Panavision Pink 5.5% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with rosehips and roses aged in foeders
• Gooseberry Fool 6.0% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with gooseberry and elderflower aged in foeders
• Bedrock Red 6.0% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with redcurrants and lemon verbena
• Aplomb Bomb 6.0% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with plum and vanilla aged in foeders
• Electric Blue 7.2% ABV - Scottish sour ale fermented with blueberries and lavender aged in foeders 

Overworks will continue to release more beers throughout the year, including a number of exclusive collaborations with the likes of Deya, The Bruery and Speciation, as well as creating small-batch cocktail-inspired sours and spontaneous fermentation releases later in 2019.                                              

Richard Kilcullen adds: “The future of Overworks is wildly exciting, with so much creative potential for us. We can’t wait to release more amazing beers, work with other awesome brewers and to continue to welcome more new beer fans into the bold world of sours. This first batch of 10 is just the start in a long journey welcoming thousands more new beer fans into the BrewDog fold.”