BrewDog is one of, if not the most successful craft beer business Scotland has to offer to local, national, and international markets. With a quirky outlook on marketing and some seriously clever PR stunts, the craft beer company has been on our radar since brewing its first beers back in 2007. How time flies!
After establishing its new brewery premises in Ellon, alongside brewery bar, DogTap, and investing in Aberdeen by gifting us lucky locals with a BrewDog bar, the craft beer giants are at it again and have well and truly outdone themselves this time by adding a second bar to the city centre, BrewDog Castlegate (previously known as The Athenaeum to you Aberdonian's out there).
The latest establishement in global dominance, BrewDog Catlegate, consists of a bar with sixteen craft beer lines, an informal restaurant for casual pub grub with a twist, a bottle shop, and a downstairs club, UnderDog, which will be open till 2am on weekdays and 3am at the weekend with some majorly good music vibes. Thus meaning that there's something for everyone at this new eatery, as well as some cracking hand-made speciality coffee for those looking to meet up casually with friends during #dryanuary.
I've consumed one too many beer cocktails previously at BrewDog Aberdeen, and have been lucky enough to experience the brewery tour in Ellon also, so it was about time I got my act in gear to check out the company's new digs. So around two weeks ago, on a cold Winter's afternoon, I did just that.
Stepping into the bar it was fairly busy, with no seating available my date and I were on the hunt for a table, after all I was there for the food primarily. Hanging around for 10 minutes I was sure we were never going to get a table, but alas, five minutes later I was seated with a great view of Castlegate. Ideal for an avid people watching enthusiast.
The menu is small yet pretty varied, allowing you to choose something light, or for those looking for a good feed, something a little more hearty. There's plenty of choice with something for everyone, and vegetarians also have a pretty decent offering too.
In my case, when you're extremely ravenous, the whole 'eyes bigger than your belly' thing seriously applies to me. This in turn lead to us ordering a warm bag or croutons with a cheese fondue dip (£4.50) from the global beer plates section to start. Chewy, yet crispy, we dipped away to our cheesy hearts content.
Looking for something a little more filling, it was time to embrace the main event in the form of some serious gooey goodness; the patty melts.
I decided on the mushroom swiss melt: 1/4 lbs burger patty on canary bread, lathered in glazed BBQ sauce, with chestnut mushrooms, crispy shallots and swiss cheese accompanied by hopped up fries and market pickles (£9.00).
My date opted for the parry melt. A 1/4 lbs burger patty with beer and bacon onions, swiss and jack cheese, served with hopped up fries and market pickles (£9.00).
Both meals were extremely satisfying and left us feeling full for the rest of the day, which to me, is serious value for money. I must admit, we both agreed my patty melt was the better choice of dish, however, both meals were delicious, and served in record time. Marvellously splendid and exactly what you want on a Sunday. Well cooked, tasty comfort food.
A massive fan Tommy K fan; also known as a major addict if you ask my friends and family, the Great British Sauce of Proper Tomato sauce was one of the best I have sampled to date. Light and fruity, with a real zing of tanginess, the sauce was the perfect condiment to accompany the hoppy fries.
Although we were full to the brim, we were really keen to try out one of the shakes too. After a hard deliberation period, we decided we were going to share a salted caramel ice cream, chocolate and Oreo cookie shake (£5.00); it sounded like ice cream heaven. Unfortunately when we visited the shake machine hadn't arrived yet (sob, sob, sob) but in all honesty, we really didn't need it.
In the case of BrewDog Castlegate, our eyes really were bigger than out bellies, waddling out of the bar completely satisfied, looking forward to our next visit. If I can give you one piece of advice to anyone looking to visit for food, I would definitely recommend booking in advance as this place is proving to be exceedingly popular.
Below I've decided to list a few favourite dishes which I'd like to try out next time...you never know, maybe you'll be sampling them before me!
Below I've decided to list a few favourite dishes which I'd like to try out next time...you never know, maybe you'll be sampling them before me!
- Vindaloo sausage (£8.00 - Dogs section)
- Kimchi dog (£8.00 - Dogs section)
- Chicken wings, hot sauce and honey glaze (£5.50 - Global beer plates section)
- Chocolate chunk cookie and peanut butter ice-cream sandwich (£5.00 - Ice-cream and shakes section)
P. S. Four legged friends are welcome in the bar, so you can take your dog along with you as you enjoy a pint or two of some fierce craft beer.
For Now...
Just Julia
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