If you follow craft beer at all, you’ve heard of BrewDog. Founded in Scotland in 2007 by Martin Dickie and James Watt, the brewery has made national headlines because of its strange, boundary-pushing beer choices. In only ten years, it’s quickly become the best-selling brewery in the United Kingdom and a favorite of beer geeks from Edinburgh to Encino. After finding massive success overseas, the company has recently opened up a brewery in Columbus, Ohio. The pair have big plans for the brand in the US. Recently, they launched an IndieGoGo campaign to fund a sour beer brewery and a beer-themed hotel. Yes, you read that right. They are planning to open the world’s first craft beer hotel.
In 2009, the brewery pushed the alcohol-level envelope and unleashed its Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a 32% alcohol brew that (at the time) was the strongest beer ever made. This lead to a mini-war with German brewer Schorschbräu, who released a 40% beer to trump the guys at BrewDog. To put that in perspective, most bottles of vodka, tequila and whiskey are 40% alcohol. Alex Trebek would call that a pretty “potent potable”. The following year, duo dropped Sink the Bismark, a 41% alcohol beer. That same year, they released a 55% alcohol beer called The End of History that was packaged in stuffed, taxidermy animals including: stoats and grey squirrels.
BrewDog only made 12 bottles of this ultra-exclusive beer. At the time, it was the strongest beer in the world. It has since been bested by multiple breweries.
The BrewDog craft beer hotel will be located on the same site as the brewery in Columbus. If you didn’t guess it already, Watt and Dickie go all-in when it comes to their beer. It looks like the hotel will continue that trend. According to the IndieGoGo page, the hotel they are calling “The Doghouse”, will have beer-themed rooms, a beer fridge in the shower, malted barley massages, craft beer breakfast (what’s better than beer for breakfast?) and even an IPA Jacuzzi.
Who doesn’t want to take a soak in a bath made of fizzy, hoppy beer? We won’t tell anyone if you take a sip while you’re sitting in there. How could you not? The water is beer!
You might be wondering why the BrewDogs felt the need to open a beer-themed hotel. “We want to create the top craft beer destination on the planet,” reads the site. “With The DogHouse focused on amazing craft beer from BrewDog and our favourite breweries worldwide, we’re creating the ideal environment in which to immerse yourself in the ultimate beery weekend.”
The estimated cost of the hotel is $6 million dollars. That’s why the company has taken to the internet to get fans to donate to the project (though they’re only asking for 75K, so it must be just to build a pitch deck?). If everything goes as planned the hotel will open at the end of 2018. Who’s down for a beer-fueled road trip?
