Bite me.
That sums up my initial reaction to this article on BrewDog’s latest super-high-alcohol brew.
This has a lot to do with what I’m reading into this article, which strikes me as holier than thou, wanting to look down its nose at BrewDog-or someone-for making beers that (gasp) get you drunk.
There’s a bizarre sideways-implied insistence that there should be ‘responsible brewing’ in regards to alcohol content. What the hell does that mean? And if it’s a charge you want to make, why not start with Jack Daniels or Sky Vodka? Sorry; it just riles me when I see foolishness.
The only responsibility BrewDog has is to make good beer. I would hope that they’d go about it in an ethical manner, considering the amount of water used to make beer, the use of spent grains and hops once the beer is made, etc. Ensuring the drinking possibilities of future generations is what I consider to be responsible brewing.
After that, what those guys and gals do is up to them. At no point should the question be asked; is it responsible to brew this beer that is going to get people drunk?
Because the question is dishearteningly stupid. Beer will get you drunk. It’s a bonus to the rest of the things we love about beer and yes, we need to be aware of the consequences when we drink. But why should the brewers think about that?
A pint for Dionysus 
It’s also a disguised version of “Won’t somebody please think of the (drunk) children!” By which he means college kids. And that defeats the whole point of his argument, frankly. Because
1) we let adults make stupid decisions about alcohol as long as they’re not harming anybody else; and
2) college kids want cheaper drinks, as a general rule–they ain’t sipping the best of top shelf liquor at their parties; and
3) anybody who spends $60 on a beer knows what they’re doing, and is looking for a certain kind of experience. And I doubt it’s, “Hey, I’m gonna beer bong this thing.”
Well said by both you and Fuz. Furthermore, I don’t even think the beer needs to be good or even drinkable to qualify it as worthwhile. Pushing the boundaries of what is possible will “[ensure]the drinking possibilities of future generations”. That said, I feel no need to experience the latest highest alcohol beer… unless someone has a bottle they need help emptying.
Indeed. At $60 a bottle, that is crazy high-octane stuff…but it’s only for the people who love beer in the first place.