Update: To be fair, when I heard about their tattoo promotion I immediately thought “damn, you have to be at the pub on opening night….”
Am I supposed to cheer along with the giving of the finger to 99.998% of customers for the sake of marketing? Or is this supposed to be Dada beer? Who cares. All I know is I am far less inclined to buy any BrewDog beer. Why? Because of this short sentence:
A response to the haters.
“Haters”? Good Lord. Are you twelve? This has to be the stupidest new usage of a word that has been imposed upon the language and there is far too much use of it in craft beer circles. It denies the right to disagree. It tells us to stop thinking and start following. You call in to question my freedom from being your sycophant, I call into question your business model.
Not that there is anything wrong with the beer. BrewDog is quite good at making beer. As good as a lot of other great brewers. What makes it different is how it seems to be that it is brewed by pushy dullards with an over active interest in getting our money while letting us know we don’t “get it.” No thanks me thinks. This brewery has gotten too boring.
[…original comments…]
Evan Rail – July 25, 2010 1:21 PM
http://www.beerculture.org
Also, quoting from the response, why “hate on us” instead of just “hate us”? Is Scotland all “street” now? Are the BrewDog boys in a rap gang? “More punks I smoke, yo, my rep gets bigger,” that kind of thing?
In any case, the number of times one hears the word “undrinkable” in association with these brews does far more for their marketing than any official efforts ever could.
Surely BrewDog sends out some great beers. But calling out anyone who disagrees makes “haters” out of people who might have previously been undecided — or even fans. Is “you’re with us or you’re against us” really good for PR?
Tim – July 25, 2010 3:41 PM
http://strngbrew.blogspot.com/
Thank you for lucidly putting into words my disdain for the words “haters” in that middle paragraph.
As for the beer, I don’t care and I don’t see how this could ever have any effect on my life. I’ll never the opportunity to drink it. And the marketing effect? Doesn’t make me want to drink their beer. In fact, it has the opposite effect, especially in light of their response to the “haters.”
Brian – July 26, 2010 1:51 PM
You all sound like haters to me. 😉
I think it’s pretty obvious what is meant by “haters” in the context of today’s internet and the over-inflated responses one gets to something as innocuous as brewing beer.
He could easily have said “flamers” or “nay-sayers” or some other equally descriptive noun to make the same point. But, so what? I understood what he was saying, and I know it wasn’t a denial of my “right to disagree.”
Are you so desperate to find reasons to not like these guys that you have to pick on their use of language?
Drink a stoat, save a (brew) dog!
Alan – July 26, 2010 1:56 PM
Hardly. I have been a supporter from early on. It’s not like I am going to pour out those Paradox samples or anything.
But call me a hater because I disagree with marketing is to call me an arsehole or, worse, someone who fails to be the sycophant.
The only think I find obvious is that, again, it is always so sad when the cool make a false step.
Velky Al – July 26, 2010 4:40 PM
http://www.fuggled.net
It is quite funny watching BrewDog’s antics from this side of the Pond because in many ways the bulk of their product line is entirely irrelevant over here. I loved Punk IPA when I had it in Prague, would I take it over Starr Hill’s Northern Lights IPA? Not a hope. I enjoyed Hardcore, would I choose that instead of Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo? Again, no chance. Chaos Theory was a grand drop of beer, but would it replace Ruination in my cellar? Not for a second. The story is the same with Rip Tide, wouldn’t take it over Rasputin. For all their aping and courting of the American craft beer scene, their products just aren’t in the top 5% of what is available here in order to justify the cost.
Alan – July 27, 2010 1:05 PM
Zak has an interesting continuing discussion.