Independent craft breweries BrewDog of Scotland and YellowBelly Beer of Ireland have teamed up to brew ‘Kottbusser’, a once-forgotten German beer style, at YellowBelly’s brewery in Wexford, Ireland.
This incarnation of the long-lost Kottbusser, which has been named after the beer style itself, has been brought to life on BrewDog’s second generation brew kit. Once responsible for bringing BrewDog staples including Punk IPA, Tokyo* and Nanny State into the world at BrewDog’s original Fraserburgh site, it’s now the beating heart of its Irish brethren’s Wexford set up.
The concept of a collaboration came about as a result of BrewDog’s latest international adventure, whereby the brewer has partnered with 10 breweries across Europe to brew a series of beers that reflect both BrewDog and its partner breweries’ attitudes and techniques. The YellowBelly Beer collaboration will be be closely followed by a mash up with Brewski from Sweden, due to launch in early May. Manic Mango will be available in Sweden only from May 4 at Systembolaget.
BrewDog Brewing Manager John Allen said, “We are always looking to collaborate with exciting brewers from all over the world, and when it came to Ireland, the guys and the beers from YellowBelly Beer really caught our attention after featuring them in our bars last year. Brewing with the team was awesome, and they’re definitely destined for great things with the selection and quality of beers they are making.”
BrewDog and YellowBelly Beer are brewing two iterations of their Kottbusser. The first is a kettle-soured version, featuring Scottish heather honey and Mr. Jeffares Wexford Blackcurrants. For the second version, the brewers are creating a straight version without the sour edge. This latter interpretation of the beer will be brewed at BrewDog’s Ellon site in Scotland.
Allen continued, “With YellowBelly doing some great kettle sours, we thought this recipe would work great with a tart, sweet kick. So not a 'traditional' Kottbusser, but neither us nor YellowBelly are particularly known for having a traditional attitude to brewing.”
