BrewDog
BrewDog is located in Ellon, north of Aberdeen. The Scottish brewery, known for its innovative Craft Beers, is one of the most technologically advanced in the world and also produces Rum and the LoneWolf Gin.
| Information about the Distillery | |
|---|---|
| Scotland, Highlands | |
| -2.053743 57.370909 | |
| Active | |
| 2007 | |
| James Watt & Martin Dickie | |
| https://www.brewdog.com/uk/locations/brewery/ellon |
| Average tasting notes Tasting notes |
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Nosing
Zitrus:
Herbs:
Zitrus:
Fruit:
Spices:
Herbs:
Heather:
Heather:
Spices:
Melon:
Lemon:
Lemon:
Sweet:
Peach:
Fruit:
Tropical Fruit:
Sweet:
Tropical Fruit:
Peach:
Chili:
Grapefruit:
Lime:
Caramel:
Floral:
Lime:
Melon:
Floral:
Caramel:
Vanilla:
Grapefruit:
Chili:
Vanilla:
Lemon Peel:
Lemon Peel:
Blackberry:
Berries:
Tasting
Fruit:
Zitrus:
Zitrus:
Sweet:
Spices:
Spices:
Berries:
Berries:
Sweet:
Nuts:
Lime:
Lime:
Blackberry:
Lemon:
Lemon:
Clove:
Pineapple:
Vanilla:
Coconut:
Oil:
Ginger:
Clove:
Cinnamon:
Herbs:
Herbs:
Caramel:
Pineapple:
Cinnamon:
Vanilla:
Coconut:
Oil:
Ginger:
Fruit:
Floral:
Floral:
Grapefruit:
Honey:
Oak:
Heather:
Almonds:
Lemon Peel:
Heather:
Lemon Peel:
Oak:
Grapefruit:
Almonds:
Honey:
Herb:
Tropical Fruit:
Melon:
Cherry:
Cherry:
Melon:
Tropical Fruit:
Finish
Zitrus:
Fruit:
Sweet:
Sweet:
Lime:
Zitrus:
Coconut:
Vanilla:
Vanilla:
Coconut:
Fruit:
Lime:
Peat Smoke:
Alcohol:
Alcohol:
Lemon:
Lemon:
Lemon Peel:
Herb:
Spices:
Grapefruit:
Pepper:
Herbs:
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The Whisky
Master Distiller Steven Kersley, who has been working in the Whisky industry for over 15 years, is responsible for the Whisky production. Even when the distillery was built, the aim was that there should be no restrictions on Whisky production, neither in terms of the various distillation methods nor the possible flavours. However, it will still be a few years before the first finished BrewDog Whisky can be tasted.
The Gin
The secret of LoneWolf Gin, which has been produced since 2016, lies in the strong juniper that comes from Tuscany, the fresh-tart grapefruit and spicy lavender. The Gin gets its unique Scottish character from pine needles. Other botanicals are lemon peel, coriander seed, cardamom, angelica root, orris root, Thai lemongrass, pink pepper, kaffir lime leaf, mace and almond.
Dry ingredients and those that are more difficult to dissolve are first macerated for 12 hours. The fresh ingredients, such as lemon peel, are distilled directly. Some of the neutral alcohol used for distillation is BrewDog's own Vodka.
In addition to the original LoneWolf Gin, the distillery produces other bottlings. Under the motto 'Gin meets Limoncello', the LoneWolf Cloudy Lemon is macerated for seven days in fresh Sicilian lemon peel, which gives it its intense citrus aroma. The Peach & Passion Fruit Gin is refined with white peach, sweet passion fruit and a nuance of yuzu citrus sharpness. The exotic Cactus & Lime Gin is flavoured with a special cactus flower that only blooms after sunset and fresh lime.
The Rum
The BrewDog distillery, which is always keen to experiment, is dedicated to the production of its 500 CutsRrum in addition to its Gin. It imports Caribbean molasses to Scotland especially for this purpose. Each batch of Spiced Rums is fermented for several days with Rum and Red Wine yeasts and double distilled in copper stills before being refined with various botanicals.
The BrewDog 500 Cuts Coconut & Vanilla Rum uses tonka bean, clove, lavender, cardamom, orange peel, mace, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and ginger, as well as roasted coconut and vanilla. To the BrewDog 500 Cuts Pineapple & Mango Rum, a little muscovado sugar, pineapple and mango are also added, as well as a bit of lime. Other ingredients for the BrewDog 500 Cuts Spiced Rum are ripe figs and a drop of cola.
The Production
Sustainability is generally very important to the company. So, it has switched to renewable energies, reduced air travel and uses electric delivery vehicles. Since 2020, BrewDog has been the first brewery in the world to produce CO2-negatively. In order not to waste water resources, an anaerobic digestion plant is also to be used in 2022, which converts the brewery wastewater into pure H2O and biomethane for reuse.
Through the production of craft beer, the distillery already has a lot of experience in handling malt. Outside, BrewDog has several 40-tonne silos of pale malt, which is transported inside via a conveyor belt.
Various other types of malt are available for mixing in 1 tonne bags. There are also smaller 25-kilogram bags for other flavours, such as chocolate malt, roasted malt and stout malt.
The Stills
The innovative spirit of the BrewDog Distillery is already evident in the equipment of its distillery. There are three large Whisky stills, a column still for the Vodka and an additional column still to filter the methanol from the Vodka. For the production of its Gin, the distillery has a 20-metre-high rectification column still and a 50-litre pilot still for experimentation.
The wash still has a capacity of 10,000 litres and is equipped with three large reflux bowls. The smaller 3,000 litre spirit still also has reflux bowls for a lot of copper contact. For an even higher reflux, a rectifier could also be added. The third still has constrictions and a lamp shape, and a rectifier can also be switched on here for more reflux. The high copper contact should result in a tropical, fruity and light distillery character.
Double distillation is aimed for as standard, but triple distillation would also be possible. The distillery can play with various settings to achieve the desired result.
The Mashing
The mashing process begins at a temperature of 55 degrees. Water and malt are continuously mixed here and the temperature is also continuously increased.
In contrast to Malt Whisky production, the production of Rye Whisky results in a doughy mass that would stick together and only seep away slowly. BrewDog therefore carries this out in a separate mashing process and also uses a mash filter, which is normally used for beer production or large grain productions. After passing through the mash filter, you get a nice Rye Wort.
The Fermentation
The liquid word is heated again to 100 degrees and thus sterilised. As a result, no lactic acid-producing lactobacilli are produced, which could turn the whole thing sour. Only the flavours of the yeast should be produced here.
The distillery has two 80,000 litre tanks outside, in which fermentation takes place for 100 hours. Inside, there are also several small tanks, each with a volume of 15,000 litres, to experiment with different yeasts.
The Warehouse
The newly built BrewDog warehouse has a modern air conditioning system that can not only heat and cool. The humidity can also be adjusted. This means that different climate zones around the world can be simulated.
For the standard bottling, the distillery will use 25 per cent ex-Bourbon barrels and a mixture of Sherry and Port Wine casks for the rest.
The History
Martin Dickie and James Watt founded BrewDog in Fraserburgh in 2007. Tired of industrially brewed beer, they started out on their own to bring some variety to the brewing landscape and have been successfully making their craft beers ever since.
To finance it, they set up the crowdfunding project 'Equity for Punks' in 2009, whereby private investors could buy shares in the company. The demand was so great that in 2020 the project entered its sixth round with Equity for Punks Tomorrow and has over 200,000 Equity Punk shareholders around the world.
With BrewDog's rapid growth, the old space eventually became too small, and the company moved to a new state-of-the-art brewery in Ellon, BrewDog's headquarters, in 2012. In addition to other breweries in Columbus, Brisbane and Berlin, the BrewDog universe now also includes over 100 bars worldwide and hotels in Scotland, England and Ohio.
The Visitor Centre
Visitors get to see both the original brewhouse and the Lone Wolf distillery on the 90-minute 'Dog Walk' tour. The tours, including tastings, can be booked online.
BrewDog PLC.
Balmacassie Commercial Park
Ellon
Aberdeenshire, AB 41 8BX
Email: hello@brewdog.com
User Notes about the Distillery
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