Update on Battle Between BrewDog and Schorschbräu

Amidst recent noise generated about a battle for the strongest beer in the world between Scotland’s BrewDog and Germany’s Schorschbräu, the BBC has released an interview with founders on both fronts. Schorschbraeu’s Georg Tscheuschner and BrewDog’s James Watt spoke on BBC’s Radio 5 Live.

Interesting points from the interview:

BrewDog James says this was done in “good spirits.” Schorschbräu Georg says he appreciates the humor though “as a German, I can not play this war card, of course, because that’s not what people would understand from a German. But I think it’s a great kind of humor that is comparable with Monty Python (or) something like this. And, congratulations (to BrewDog). I really laughed a lot about this (Sink the Bismarck) video.” It appears that Schorschbräu is not finished. Says Georg “We are waking up…or coming up from the ground now…we have lab results now that make us have very positive thinking that we can beat this 41% (beer).” BrewDog James says the focus was more on building an IPA style brew that was along the lines of a whiskey or vodka. He claims the idea is to open up the public perception of beer and it’s potential outside of the “fizzy yellow” beers that are commonplace in his country. Schorschbräu Georg says the problem in Germany is the confined selection available in his country (“Bright beer, wheat beer, dark beer and Pilsner”) though, like Scotland, it’s a community of people who are yearning for new flavors. He adds that “the battle between two breweries makes it more interesting for both of us.” Both breweries agree that this marketing component behind this “war” is sparking more interest in not only their products, but in the craft beer revolution as well.

So where will it all end?

“I think we will both lie at the ground very tired of this and have the same alcohol (strength)” says Schorschbräu Georg. “It won’t get more and we’ll say ‘Ok, it’s 50-50. It’s alright.” How high will this reach? James say “about 10,000 percent.”