Where would you find a Trashy Blonde, Alice Porter and an Elite Yelper all under one roof? Only at October’s Edinburgh Elite Event in Brew Dog! 30 yelpers cruised down Cowgate to get cosy on the bar's comfy couches for an evening of beer tasting led by the bar's beer-sommelier extraordinaires. With six different brews, cheese boards and many merry yelpers it was an evening bubbling over with yelpy banter.
Yelper Lou V admits that 'being Dutch, I grew up with beer and like to think that I take it seriously, but oh my, was I taught a little lesson.’ They're Scotland's largest independent brewery, and Brew Dog know their beer. Having brewed the world’s strongest beer at 55% after a beer-brew-off with the Germans, needless to say, with 6 of their beers to taste, these yelpers were in for a treat.
Several of the awesome bar staff took the yelpers on a tour of their best brews, and Steph D was in awe after ‘they welcomed us with open arms and full glasses OF EVERYTHING.’ And small measures these were not! With 1/3 pints of each beer these yelpers started off sipping a light lager and by the 6th heady 18% brew were more than a little merry!
After sipping, swilling and savouring the generous glass of 77 lager, things got fruity with a Trashy Blonde and Punk IPA. Even though the Lager 77 was Katie N's favourite, she 'enjoyed testing her tastebuds and learning about the brews' and thought 'all the brews were special, and memorable in their own way'.
By the fourth mini-pint of 5am Saint, debates began over which beer was best and when Alice Porter came to the stage the beers were getting heavy. After their fifth pint most yelpers had lost count, so when Andrew announced the final dark brew – Tokyo – that packed quite the intense, sweet punch there wasn’t a yelper without a look of stunned, awe-inspired appreciation at this near-black 18% beer.
As is the Edinburgh Elite tradition, the event stretched well beyond two hours whilst everyone bantered over beer, and nibbled the meat, cheese and onion chutney platters. Huge props to the Brew Dog staff who, as Kerrin R noted, 'skillfully shouted over a rowdy group of 30 who enjoy food, drink and chat – not an easy task to say the least' and then afterwards kept it flowing, chatting to the keen yelpers for many an hour with a genuine enthusiasm and passion for their brews.
Steph D left full of beer, cheese and love for all things Yelp and BrewDog, proclaiming this was ‘seriously, one of my favorite nights in Edinburgh so far. Yelp people are all sorts of amazing as were the BrewDog peoples. Nothing more I could have asked for.'
It may have been her first Elite event, but Louise C felt like she'd hit the jackpot after finding all good things rolled into one evening: 'good beer, good company, friendly helpful staff, a cosy bar and yummy cheese & meat boards are difficult to find'. Welcome to Yelp, Louise!
It'd be a challenge to find a yelper at the event who hadn't found a beer they enjoyed and with a personal Brew Dog favourite. A huge thank you to all the staff at Brew Dog – Bruce, Rebecca, Andrew, Caitlin and Ross – the energy, passion and knowledge these guys bring to supping on a pint has to be seen to be believed. And of course to the Edinburgh Elite and Yelpers for coming and bringing the banter, Katie and Kevin for their help, and Robin Mair for the photies.
But don't take our word for it – read what all the yelpers had to say right here, write your own review, have a look at all the photies, talk about it and find Brew Dog on Facebook and Twitter!
Bottoms up!
Jenny L
Yelp Edinburgh Community Manager
