Logo

A small scale Scottish brewery with a history of controversy has produced what it claims to be the world’s strongest beer, one so alcoholic that it is supposed to be drunk in spirit-sized measures.

The beer has been named ‘Tactical Nuclear Penguin’ by its producer BrewDog, of Fraserburgh, north-east Scotland and is roughly eight times as strong as a normal beer with an alcohol content of 32%.

Sold at £30 a bottle, or £250 with a share in the company, BrewDog says the limited edition beer is intended for connoisseurs and describes the “imperial stout” as their “most audacious and ambitious project to date”.

BrewDog’s timing of the Tactical Nuclear Penguin release has been a source of uproar amongst public health charities, since it coincided with the Scottish Government’s confirmation that it wants a legally binding minimum price for alcohol to combat rising alcohol abuse.

This isn’t the first time a BrewDog product has caused controversy; their first three beers – Punk IPA, Hop Rocker and Riptide – were investigated after research into irresponsible drinks promotions.

The beers were cleared of wrongdoing but BrewDog retaliated by launching a beer named Speedball, after the notoriously lethal drugs cocktail of cocaine and heroin.

In September BrewDog launched a low alcohol beer titled ‘Nanny State’, a move commonly interpreted as a humorous retort to the brewer’s critics in the Scottish Parliament and Westminster.

The BrewDog website boasts that the company presents a challenge to the "bland" beers made by mainstream brewers: "We are unique and individual. A beacon of nonconformity in an increasingly monotone corporate desert. We are proud to be an intrepid David in a desperate ocean of insipid Goliaths."

James Watt, the managing director of BrewDog, described Tactical Nuclear Penguin as "Bold, irreverent and uncompromising, a beer with a soul and a purpose, a statement of intent."

He added: "Beer has a terrible reputation in Britain, it’s ignorant to assume that a beer can’t be enjoyed responsibly like a nice dram or a glass of fine wine.

"A beer like Tactical Nuclear Penguin should be enjoyed in spirit sized measures.”

Only 500 330ml bottles of Tactical Nuclear Penguin have been produced and will be available exclusively to buy online or from two off-licenses in London and Edinburgh. Money raised from bottles purchased for £250 will help finance a £2.3million eco-friendly brewery in Aberdeen.