Collaboration BrewDog

IPA Pioneers Uiltje & BrewDog bury the hatchet and brew together!

For a few months in 2023, it felt like a storm was developing over the digital jungle between Dutch brewer Uiltje and Scottish brewer BrewDog. Now, six months later, they are unveiling their collab for the Dutch market. Boldly named WHOOO Let the Dog Out, their battle-axe-busting beer plays on their shared passion: hardcore IPAs. At 7.0%, their limited edition West Coast Cold IPA is a hoppy beer for fans of both breweries. "This is definitely not an entry-level IPA," says Joyce Kooijman, marketing manager at Uiltje. "It's approachable, but also a little naughty."
The riot that led to the collab was not a riot at all but a little online frolic that got out of hand. BrewDog was launching a new IPA called Wingman, a name that Uiltje had also used for a beer of its own. Uiltje thought the illustrated style was a little too close to their own house style and pitched it like a true millennial on social media.
"The craft beer market is awash with witty names because we're often fishing out of the same pop culture pond," Kooijman says. "As it can go sometimes, the post blew up a bit and commenters from all seven continents joined in. In the big picture, it wasn't a biggie."

Playful provocation

Founded in 2007 and 2012, respectively, BrewDog and Uiltje have made a name for themselves by brewing unorthodox beers with provocative names and atypical marketing. Brewdog's approach has often been characterized as "punk," Uiltje prefers the word "mischief" (wantonness, mischief).
"BrewDog is the textbook example of provocative writing and provocative branding," says the creative director of Uiltje John Weich. "We've always loved that and been inspired by it. We had to include that in the collab."
The two fastest-growing beer brands in the Netherlands had more in common than their differences. They put their minor differences aside and resolved it in the brewery.

WHOOO Let the Dog Out?

WHOOO Let the Dog Out is a distinctly corky West-Coast Cold IPA that leans heavily on its New Zealand roots and experiences of both head brewers. By combining Nectaron, Superdelic and Nelson Sauvin hops with classic German Pilsner yeast, it has become a super dank and juicy passion fruit and mango IPA with a mellow Sauvignon Blanc vibe.
"We created a beer that teleports the drinker to the golden shores of New Zealand's Golden Bay," says Aditya Parupudi, head brewer of Uiltje. "It's like a hop vacation in a can, brewed for true IPA fanatics."
Because the IPA is brewed by Uiltje and targets the Dutch market, Uiltje takes the lead in brewing and roasting. The cheeky name, hand-drawn label and story all contain distinctive Uiltje-vibes. "That's pretty normal with craft beer collabs," says Kooijman. "The home team does the heavy lifting."
The label, drawn by Dutch cartoonist and in-house Uiltje illustrator Gerben Valkema, features an owl caught smearing a wall with the BrewDog shield and Uiltje Owl.
"We deliberately chose an old-school Uiltje logo, a nod to our heritage," says John Weich. Originally, the idea was to air an owl and dog graffitiing together. After a few attempts to foil the BrewDog dog, they gave up. "We were changing fire-assets. You shouldn't want to do that. So we focused on the attitude of the brands, and not the animals."
Although the beer is a limited edition, WHOOO Let the Dog Out? is widely available in on-trade and supermarkets in the Netherlands, as well as a number of BrewDog cafes in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Please behave

And does that mean the collab will nip all discussions and riots in the bud for good? "Probably not," laughs Kooijman. "We're both incredibly proud of the beer we make with the names we give it. It's inevitable that our paths will cross again. When that happens, we'll hum a little or they'll hum a little, then we'll brew another beer together."
And so it should be.

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