A controversial Aberdeenshire brewery is set to have what it described as the “UK’s strongest beer” banned from British stores.
Fraserburgh-based BrewDog’s Tokyo* which has an alcohol content of 18.2% is poised to fall foul of alcohol watchdogs Portman Group.
However it is not the content of the bottle (twice the recommended daily limit) that has landed the company in hot water – but rather the bottle’s packaging.
The label on bottles of Tokyo* reads: “Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. What logically follows is that you must, from time, have excess.”
The firm were informed of the complaint from Alcohol Focus Scotland last week. The body claimed the statement did not promote a positive message of safe and responsible drinking.
Portman’s independent complaints panel has provisionally upheld the complaint and have given BrewDog until November 25 to appeal.
Speaking to STV News, BrewDog director James Watt said the label message “tongue in cheek” and had been “taken out of context”.
Mr Watt said his firm had become an “easy target” for the watchdog that he claims is funded by company’s that profit from selling cheap alcohol.
He said: “You can buy a bottle of vodka for the price of a bottle of some of our beers. We need a high alcohol content so we can increase the amount of complex flavours that go into our beers.”
Mr Watt said the company had not decided if it was going to appeal against the provisional ruling but asked if BrewDog would change the message on bottles of Tokyo* Mr Watt said: We’re not going to change what we do. If they’re going to ban us, they can.”
The Portman Group are due to make a final decision on Tokyo* within the next six weeks.
BrewDog have been making headlines since the firm started up in 2007.
Last year the company were rapped by health watchdogs when it released an ale called Speedball – named after a cocaine-heroin cocktail which lead to the deaths of actors John Belushi and River Phoenix.
In response to the “onslaught of mass hysteria” caused by the release of Tokyo*, the firm released Nanny State – a 1.1% beer, so low in alcohol it is not subject to beer duty.
