BrewDog is no stranger to headlines. The Scottish brewery, co-founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie, made the news a few years ago when it battled other breweries in an effort to make the highest alcohol beer in the world. The duo’s Tactical Nuclear Penguin clocked in at an intense 32% alcohol. This was followed by Sink The Bismark (41%), and the pair finally reached their limit with End of History and its staggering 51% alcohol. It should be noted that not only did End of History come in bottles made from taxidermy road kill, it also contained quite a bit more alcohol by volume than your favorite Scotch or vodka. A few month’s ago, Watt and Dickie announced that they would be opening up a beer-themed hotel as part of their US brewery in Columbus, Ohio. But the pair’s newest attention-grabbing idea might be their most bold yet: They’re planning to open a bar that straddles the border between the US and Mexico.
The planned watering hole is called “The Bar on the Edge” and the placement between the two countries is a reference to the brewery’s emphasis on being inclusive to all people (as long as they enjoy craft beer). “’The Bar on the Edge’ will be set up in the furthest outskirts of the United States, reflecting our ambition to reach every corner of the country as we begin to brew our beers on US soil,” said Watt in a press release. “Beer has always been a unifying factor between cultures – and our business was born from collaboration and an inclusive approach – so we thought it would be fun to place the bar a few feet further to actually cross the US-Mexico border too.”
The actual location of the bar hasn’t been revealed yet, but the company has stated that half of the bar will be located somewhere in Texas with the other half situated in Chihuahua, Mexico. How they’re actually going to make this happen remains to be seen. “We will request official permission from the local authorities to put it there and adhere to any red tape stuff, but I guess it would make it more difficult to build a wall if there’s a BrewDog bar in the way,” says Watt. “We’re planning on putting the bar there anyway until someone tells us to move it.”
This isn’t the first political statement made by the brewery. Before opening its US brewery, BrewDog made protest beer in 2014 called ‘Hello my Name is Vladimir’ as a sarcastic jab at Russian president Vladimir Putin and his anti-gay legislation prior to the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The bar itself will be made from used shipping contains so that it can be considered a “temporary mobile building”. On the US side, customers will be able to purchase Mexican Beers. On the Mexican side, customers will be able to purchase American beers. Both sides will also serve BrewDog’s various offerings. No word yet on whether or not you’ll need a passport to drink at it. Will it need to get stamped every time you cross the room? Are border patrol agents going to check IDs like bouncers?
