UPDATE:

As you will all have probably guessed by now James is still in Scotland and with all flights suspended today will not be able to attend tonight’s BrewDog party.

I have also had to concede defeat and will miss the beery fun too. My flight from Umeå to Stockholm has been cancelled and my epic trip to the BrewDog brewery on Sunday has now been put on ice.

I’m trying to think of something positive and funny to say but right now I can’t think of anything – it feels like the beer equivalent of making the team for the World Cup final only to snap your Achilles tendon in the pre-match warm-up.

I used to love watching footage of volcanoes erupting on the Discovery Channel but from this day on I’m going to be switching over if I see even the faintest glimpse of magma.

Move over Jo, now it’s BeerSweden Darren Versus the Volcano – The Sequel. And this time it’s personal!

Yes it’s true. Sweden’s most ‘Get Up and Go’ beer blog is packing its bags and is on its way to Scotland later this week to spend a bit of quality time with those maverick brewing chaps at BrewDog.

As you already know BeerSweden likes to be at the centre of all things beery and there’s little doubt that the epicentre of alternative beer brewing in Europe (and arguably the world) right now is focused on the small fishing town of Fraserburgh situated a little way north of Aberdeen in Scotland.

That’s because it’s here that James Watt and fellow BrewDog founder and Brewmaster Martin Dickie hatch plans for world domination and create some of the most avant garde beers coming out of Europe right now. Their role call of brands makes for more extreme reading that the beer list at Akkurat in Stockholm, including the already classic Punk IPA, Trashy Blonde, Hardcore IPA (which just picked up a gold medal at the World Beer Cup) and the two alcoholic monsters Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink the Bismarck.

When they’re not brewing beer here they’re often flying off somewhere else to do it, recently to the US to collaborate in the brewing of the first ever black pilsner.

I’ll be meeting up with James when he headlines a BrewDog event in Stockholm this Saturday night organised by their importer Cask Sweden. Check out their FaceBook page for more details and if you’re in the capital be sure to come along as there will be the largest selection of BrewDog beers ever seen in one place in Sweden available to try at reasonable prices.

I’ll then be flying back with James to Scotland the next day for 48 hours of hanging out with the BrewDog pack. Rest assured I’ll be taking my camcorder (Sorry Trev – you’re going to have to stay at home this time) and plan to record a very special episode of BSTV from within the brewery itself. I’ll also be live blogging while sniffing out all the news about what other BrewDog beers might be making their way over here to Sweden, including (hopefully) an advance tasting of the new Abstrakt range I wrote about a little while back.

One thing’s for sure – it’s going to be an extreme brewery trip so make sure you come along for the ride!

Beers and Cheers!

BeerSweden Darren

One of the most controversial and sought after names in world brewing right now is James Watt, who along with best friend Martin Dickie is the man behind maverick Scottish micro BrewDog.

BrewDog Head Brewer Martin Dickie (left) and Managing Director James watt are self-confessed rule-breakers.

In between creating radical new brews, inviting people to own a piece of BrewDog, planning the construction of the world’s first carbon-neutral eco-brewery and generally drawing up plans for world domination BeerSweden managed to track James down for an exclusive interview.

So here, in the first in a series of ‘5 Questions‘ interviews with the leading Swedish and international brewing industry figures behind the beers you’re drinking today is James Watt, BrewDog’s self-titled Head of Stuff.

.

BeerSweden: BrewDog has been a huge hit since launching Punk IPA at the Systembolaget. Why do you think your beers have been so popular with Swedish beer drinkers and how important is the Swedish market for your company?

James: Sweden is a great place to be for great beer. There are plenty of awesome beers available in Sweden. For me the whole craft beer movement is so much stronger in Sweden than the UK and I think that is why our beers do well there. The Swedish market was our first ever export market and has been a key market for us ever since, our Swedish importer is our 2^nd biggest customer.  I was really excited the first time I was in Stockholm to see the enthusiasm, appreciation and understanding of great beer amongst the Swedish people – I wish we could have some more of that back in the UK!

I think Swedish people also relate really well to our branding with Punk IPA really standing out as an alternative type of beer and approach to beer marketing.

BeerSweden: What’s the philosophy behind BrewDog and its beers?

James: Martin and I were bored of the industrially brewed lagers and stuffy ales that dominate the UK market. We decided the best way to fix this undesirable predicament was to brew our own beers. Consequently in April 2007 BrewDog was born. Both only 24 at the time, we leased a building, got some scary bank loans, spent all our money on stainless steel and started making some hardcore beers. We wanted to redefine people’s perceptions about beer in the UK and elevate it’s status. We are committed to making the highest quality beers with the finest fresh natural ingredients. Our beers are in no way commercial or mainstream. We are unique and individual. We take classic beer styles and give them a contemporary spin and the customary BrewDog bite.

BeerSweden: You and BrewDog co-founder Martin Dickie are rarely out of the media spotlight these days, having been labelled the bad boys of brewing. Are you deliberately trying to upset ‘the establishment’ and if so why?

James: I think people have to realise how backward, traditional, stuffy and old-fashioned the beer culture is in the UK. To make matters worse all the regulators (such as our friends at The Portman Group) seem to be hell bent on protecting the interests of the corporate brewers. In addition, just to make things a little bit more difficult for a good (and cool) beer culture to develop, we have CAMRA – who I feel are responsible for holding back innovation in British brewing as well as giving craft beer a very un-cool image in the UK. When we are up against all this corruption and mediocracy the only way to make a statement and a stand is by breaking some rules, upsetting some trends, unsettling some stuffy institutions and breaking down tradition and convention. Craft beer has a long way to go in the UK, we are determined to spearhead the revolution.

Our biggest goal is to make other people as passionate about craft beer as we are. We want to raise awareness of craft beer and make it cool, contemporary and relevant in the UK.  I guess we just can’t do this without courting some controversy. And for a brand as punk as BrewDog, that is not always a bad thing.

BeerSweden: You’re currently inviting people to buy shares in BrewDog to raise money for a purpose-built eco-brewery in Scotland. Can you tell us more about your plans?

James: Sure, via www.equityforpunks.com anyone can buy a share in our company and own part of our brewery, our beers and our brand. It is a great opportunity for people to buy into the BrewDog vision, philosophy and ideal. We have had an amazing experience since we started BrewDog just over 2 years ago, this is peoples opportunity to share in our future journey and growth potential. By investing you will also have an involvement in how the company is run as you can vote on key decisions on the website and discuss plans in our forum.

BeerSweden: Lastly is there anything special going on in the dog house right now that you can tell BeerSweden regulars about?

James: As always at BrewDog we have a few very special things going on. Our product range is going to undergo some changes as we move into 2010, some beers will disappear but we have some amazing things lined up to replace them with. Abstrakt will be a series of limited edition directional, high-end beers packaged in half champagne bottles – a 18% IPA, Vanilla bean quad and a Raspberry oak aged imperial stout are all planned for the Abstrakt series. In addition we will be launching 5am Saint, an uber-hoppy 5% dark red ale, into our core range. Oh and we are currently working on a top, top  secret project to make a beer, the like of which has never been seen before-  but I can’t give too much away yet other than that it will launch at the end of November 2009….. The best place to keep up to date is the BrewDog blog: www.brewdog.com/blog.php or by following me on Twitter: @BrewDogJames

See a list of the Brewdog beers available at the Systembolaget here.