This year I took the opportunity to invest in BrewDog via Equity for Punks IV. I love what BrewDog are doing in the craft beer arena and am happy to support them. Besides which being a shareholder comes with a few perks such as discounts in BrewDog bars and on their online store.
A further benefit is the opportunity to join the EFP specific BottleBox club. The EPV BottleBox club is a subscription service which delivers a box of 12 BrewDog beers either monthly or bi-monthly.
I deliberated over joining for a couple of weeks primarily because I was not sure exactly what to expect from the club. I was most interested in getting a good selection of different BrewDog beers with some rarer and/or special beers to lay down for a later date.
Finally I just went for it and chose the annual up-front payment which got me one of the monthly boxes for free. So for a £385 investment I would get 12 boxes of beer at £32 each (including postage).
My BottleBox was delivered via ParcelForce. Personally, as someone who works, I am not a fan of ParcelForce as I find their weekday, working hours only delivery service to be too inflexible. However, I had a word with a BrewDog staffer and they told me that Doddle and CollectPlus pick-up delivery options are in the pipeline.
Via ParcelForce I opted for a delivery to my local post office and picked up my first box of beer from there. It was well packaged and arrived undamaged:
Click to Enlarge
Here’s what I found in the June BottleBox:
- Monk Hammer – can
- Jack Hammer – can
- Dog D – bottle
- Bourbon Baby – bottle x 2
- Kingpin – bottle
- AB:19 – bottle
- Dead Pony Club – bottle
- Jet Black Heart – bottle
- Arcade Nation – bottle
- Black Hammer – can x 2
Click to Enlarge
By my reckoning that is £44 worth of beer (I’ve used cheaper supermarket prices for those the beers that are normally available there). Not bad for £32. Plus I get the chance to try many Brew Dog brews I have not sampled before.
Of this selection I have previously tried Jack Hammer (albeit in bottle form), Dead Pony Club, Jet Black Heart and Arcade Nation (a personal favourite of mine).
In addition to those beers I received a bottle of the newly released lager Kingpin, some aged Dog D, a bottle of AB:19 and two bottles of Bourbon Baby (one I have very much enjoyed and the other I have laid down).
To round off the box there were a selection of three Hammer Heads cans. The Black Hammer about blew my mouth off with its 200+ IBUs (which was actually a welcome thing). The remaining Black Hammer and the Monk Hammer will be saved for a rainy day.
As well as the beers you get tasting notes…
Click to Enlarge
…which give details of all the beers in the box:
Click to Enlarge
That was my first BottleBox which I am very happy with. I’ll be appending to this post as I get each delivery detailing what is in it so that anyone thinking of subscribing has an idea of what they could get.
July 2016 BottleBox
- Black Eyed King Imp – can
- Kingpin – can
- Paradox Islay – bottle
- Candy Kaiser – bottle
- #Mashtag 2016 – bottle x 2
- Electric India – bottle x 2
- Elvis Juice – bottle
- Ace of Chinook – bottle
- Hop Fiction – bottle
- Jack Hammer – bottle
Click to Enlarge
August 2016 BottleBox
- Electric India – can
- Albino Squid Assassin – can
- Ship Wreck – bottle
- Hardcore IPA – bottle
- Kingpin – bottle
- Dead Pony Club – bomber
- AB:20 – bottle
- Hello My Name is Ingrid – bottle x 2
- Barrel-Aged Albino Squid Assassin – bottle
- Restorative Beverage for Invalids and Convalescents – can x 2
- BrewDog Crest Bottle Opener
Click to Enlarge
September 2016 BottleBox
- Elvis Juice – can
- Kingpin – can (although it should be Hop Fiction according to the tasting notes)
- 5am Saint – bottle
- Ace of Citra – bottle x 2
- Dog E – bottle
- Paradox Islay – bottle
- Jack Hammer – bottle
- Vagabond Pale Ale – bottle
- Electric India – bottle
- Black Hammer – can
- Black Eyed King Imp – can
Click to Enlarge
October 2016 BottleBox
- Neon Overlord – can x 2
- Chilli Hammer – can x 2
- Pumpkin Kin – bottle
- AB:21 – bottle
- Paradox Islay – bottle
- Candy Kaiser – bottle
- Jet Black Heart – bottle
- Punk IPA – big can
- Kingpin – can
- Restorative Beverage for Invalids and Convalescents – can
Click to Enlarge
November 2016 BottleBox
- Electric India – can
- 5am Saint – bottle
- Zeitgeist – bottle
- Hello My Name is Ingrid – bottle x 2
- AB:20 – bottle
- Beatnik Brewing Collective, Imperial Read Ale – bottle x 2
- Hardcore IPA – bottle
- Dog E – bottle
- Elvis Juice – bottle
- Black Eyed King Imp – can
- BottleBox Beer Club Patch
Click to Enlarge
December 2016 BottleBox
Click to Enlarge
- Jack Hammer – bottle
- Cocoa Psycho – bottle
- Hoppy Christmas – bottle x 2
- Casino Rye Ale – bottle
- Tokyo* – bottle
- Santa Paws – bottle x 2
- Ace of Equinox – bottle x 2
- Jet Black Heart – bottle
- Flat-Pack Fruit Bat – can
Click to Enlarge
January 2017 BottleBox
- Rye Hammer – can x 2
- Tokyo* – bottle
- Elvis Juice – bottle
- Candy Kaiser – bottle
- Vagabond – bottle
- Hardcore IPA – bottle
- Punk IPA – bottle
- AB:21 – bottle
- Jack Hammer – can
- Self Assembly Pope – can x 2
Click to Enlarge
- Hop Shot – 110ml bottle
Click to Enlarge
February 2017 BottleBox
- Hop Shot – 110ml bottle x 2
- Cocoa Psycho – bottle
- Hardcore IPA – bottle
- Elvis Juice – bottle
- Zeitgeist – bomber x 2
- Punk IPA – bomber
- Jet Black Heart – bottle
- Rye Hammer – can
- Jack Hammer – can x 2
- BottleBox Bar Blade
Click to Enlarge
March 2017 BottleBox
- Kingpin – can
- Hop Fiction – can x 2
- Punk IPA – bottle
- Jack Hamer – bottle
- Coffee and Cigarettes – bottle x 2
- Dead Pony Club – bottle
- 5AM Saint – bottle
- Semi-Skimmed Occultist – can x 2
- Zeitgeist – can
Click to Enlarge
April 2017 BottleBox
- Born to Die 13.05.2017 – can
- Punk IPA – can
- Jack Hammer – can
- Elvis Juice – can
- Paradox Rye – can
- The Physics – bottle
- Punk IPA – bottle
- Hop Rocker – bottle
- Dog F – bottle
- Jet Black Heart – bottle
- 5AM Saint – bottle
- Kingpin – bottle
Click to Enlarge
May 2017 BottleBox
- Hop Fiction – can x 2
- Jack Hammer – can
- Dead Pony Club – bottle
- Elvis Juice – bottle
- Zeitgeist – bomber
- Hardcore IPA – bottle
- Cocoa Psycho – bottle
- Paradox Rye – can
- Punk IPA – can
- Kingpin – can
- Semi-Skimmed Occultist – can
- Schooner Glass
Click to Enlarge
FIN
THE UPWARD SPIRAL 