This is puzzling, Warsaw had a Brewdog, but it was open for just under one year. I can’t work out why they shut it, whether it was a lack of trade or there was a problem with the building. It must have been an expensive exercise to open the bar for just one year and I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t the trade for it. There was a lot of press attention when they opened, but very little coverage of the closure. It also means that there are no Brewdog outlets at all in Poland, surprising given that some neighbouring countries have them…..
Tag: Brewdog
-
Norwich – Brewdog (Out of Office)
How marvellous, Brewdog nationally this week are running an “out of office” campaign, so anyone who comes to one of their pubs between 12:00 and 14:00 can claim a free pint of beer from a handful of choices. Quite marvellous. Technically, since I take my laptop and get so much work done in pubs, cafes and restaurants, I sort of ‘came to the office’ to take part in this promotion.
But, nonetheless, a generous campaign and the pint of Punk IPA was all very acceptable.
-
Norwich – Brewdog
I’ve been slowly working my way around numerous Brewdog outlets across the UK and mainland Europe, having been won over by their beer and food. Although, it’s the service element that Brewdog seem equally strong at, all combining to make this a popular and on-trend location.
I had reserved a table for James and myself to try their unlimited chicken wings. This allows diners to have as many chicken wings as they’d like for £10, with the staff bringing out more on request and there is also a vegan alternative involving cauliflower. We didn’t really investigate this option, but I’m sure it’s, well, lovely. We managed to arrive early and the staff member at the bar was helpful and suggested that we order drinks and then we could take a seat in the bar whilst waiting to be shown through to the restaurant area. This all happened efficiently and our table was reserved with a clear sign, it was just like being back in Liverpool for my Deskdog experience….
This is the first plate that is brought out, with something like twelve chicken wings on it. This is a perfectly generous portion in itself, with a blue cheese sauce and the wings looked appetising and well presented. They also tasted of an excellent quality, with the outside being crispy despite there being quite a thick sauce on them. The sauce was also flavourful, with a slightly hot taste to them, mixed in with some honey. The chicken was also tender and they were very moreish. Which is handy. Also, they were served hot and they seem to have been freshly cooked.
One thing which is quite unlike Brewdog is that they seem to have fixed some rules to this promotion, although I’m not sure what they are. The first rule is the clearest and is that this promotion must be booked in advance, whether on-line or in the bar in advance (although perhaps it’s possible to negotiate with the bar staff and take part if it’s otherwise quiet). With regards to the other policies, I’ve only discovered these rules from reading reviews of Brewdogs across the country, where some people think they have one hour to order, others two hours and others mention no limit. We weren’t told of any limit and nor we were stopped at any stage, so I imagine that the process is a little informal and flexible. James kept going much longer than me, as I’m far too concerned about maintaining my recent weight loss.
Another policy is that the blue cheese sauce provided with the first set of wings is expected to last the entirety of the promotion. When diners finish their first twelve wings, they can request another portion and then five wings are brought over. This seems sensible and avoids waste, although the staff member varied in pro-activeness in offering more wings. When James wanted more blue cheese, they didn’t mention this was possible only with an extra payment, which seemed unusually unclear for such a precise chain. It didn’t seem worth querying this 50p when the bill arrived, although if they’re going to charge like that, they should perhaps mention at the beginning that only one portion of blue cheese sauce is included.
Overall, I was entirely satisfied with the whole promotion and the staff were warm and friendly. Service was sufficiently prompt, although it could have been more pro-active for anyone who wanted to plough through a lot more wings, and I’m sure that there are some. But, Brewdog didn’t fail in terms of providing a clean environment, as well as a comfortable and fun atmosphere. All rather lovely. But they should have mentioned the blue cheese sauce.
And, I don’t want to make this some Man vs Food blog post, but James went through ten more wings than I did (I think I stopped at 22 wings) which was very impressive.
-
Shoreditch – Brewdog
Having arrived into London Liverpool railway station, I had no shortage of food and drink options in the Spitalfields and Shoreditch area of the city. I’ve been converted to Brewdog now, after initially taking a slight dislike to them for their corporate practices (which seem to have now been moderated somewhat), so I thought that the ten-minute walk to their Shoreditch location was worth it.
Not particularly busy at 16:00 in the afternoon, although it did get busier later on. Lots of different seating styles, including bar stools, tables and booths. All clean as well, with the surfaces not being sticky, which is an irritating feature of some large pubs.
The Brewdog beer fridge, with choices to take away, or for a premium, drink at the pub.
The beer choice, but my preferred option of Zombie Cake had run out and the only other dark option was an imperial stout and I didn’t want that strong a beer.
Half a pint of Dead Pony Club and a sample of Clockwork Tangerine. There are a lot of hops in the Dead Pony Club, which is fruity and citrusy. Not my preferred type of beer, but full of flavour and very drinkable. Incidentally, I didn’t think that the Clockwork Tangerine had quite the strength of tangerine that I was expecting, but it was also light and drinkable.
The meat feast pizza, which was a slight challenge to eat as the ingredients slid off the base with some ease. But, food should sometimes be messy, so it’s all about the taste. Actually, it’s about the temperature as well, which was very hot and I was a bit too eager to get started so nearly burnt the top of my mouth.
As a pizza, we’ve established it was served at a hot temperature, but the ingredients were decent, the base was light and the sauce rich and flavoursome.
The manufacturers of Dalston chillies say that “there is no junk” in their products and I have to say, I liked it. Quite a powerful little kick without being stupidly hot, so this complemented the pizza well. Although I might have got a bit exuberant with the amount of the sauce I put on one piece of the pizza, which required another emergency drink of beer.
It’s painfully clear from the customers that this is a very on-trend brand and it’s perfectly suited to Shoreditch. There’s a contemporary and modern feel to the whole proceedings, which is also coupled with excellent customer service.
If I could find fault, it’s one of those locations where some of the staff seem to be doing the majority of the work, whilst some of the others were perhaps preening themselves just a little too much. But, all told, the surroundings are comfortable and everything was as I’d like it to be. Other than they needed more darker beer selections.
-
Hamburg – Brewdog
Part of me doesn’t really like Brewdog for some of their corporate practices, but more of me is liking Brewdog as they have interesting and intriguing beers, as well as friendly and engaging staff. The Brewdog in Hamburg only opened last week, so given that, I thought I’d pop in. It’s located on the Reeperbahn, which is perhaps the most suitable street for such a bar in the city. Which would explain why they put it there….
The beer fridge, with numerous tempting options.
The beer menu above the bar.
Photos of the interior, all looking contemporary, on-trend and welcoming.
And the nitro milk stout, which is Jet Black Heart, which I’ve had before, but it’s a delightful drink with a richness of flavour and a slightly sweet edge. It was at the slightly chilled temperature that I’d expect and I liked the depth of taste that the stout had. It’s not the cheapest of drinks, although Brewdog isn’t really known for being entirely cost effective.
The staff member who served me was enthusiastic, helpful and engaging. The process was made particularly easy for me as not only did the staff member speak English, she was British, which made selecting a beer much easier. There’s a friendly atmosphere in the entire bar and the selection of craft beers was extensive, the widest that I’ve seen in Germany.
So, if nothing else, here’s to Brewdog at least bringing craft beer to more people. Perhaps in a few years there will be tens of these innovative bars opening up across northern Europe, and perhaps even southern Europe.
-
British Airways – Speedbird 100
British Airways have got a bit of a partnership going with Brewdog at the moment, including a new bar at their New York Lounge run by the Scottish brewing company and they also have a new beer which has been brewed for the airline.
The beer which has been produced is Speedbird 100 which is available for purchase in Euro Traveller and is being given free to those in Club Europe. It’s also available free of charge in the British Airways operated lounges in the UK.
I’m not an enormous fan of Brewdog as a company, but their beer is, generally, excellent. There’s a depth of flavour to the beer that they brew and some innovative and interesting flavours. Best of all, it’s progress for British Airways to be looking at craft beers in the way they are, something which should be encouraged in my view.
The Speedbird 100 is also rather drinkable, with a strong citrus flavour of grapefruits and oranges. As a summer drink it’s refreshing, although a little strong with an ABV of 4.8%. I do like this development from BA, I hope it’s something that evolves in the future.
Also being stocked now in the lounges is Brewdog’s Punk IPA. I go on about this a lot, but I’d like a darker beer and Brewdog do this to a very high standard. However and nonetheless, Punk IPA is entirely acceptable and it’s positive that there is a choice of two beers from the company. The lounge also has cans of Tribute Pale Ale, the largest choice of beers they’ve had in years.
The next step is to increase the options from three to four beers and I shall help BA by sampling numerous beers every time I visit their lounges.
