New Zealand brewing company Yeastie Boys, who began brewing their award-winning irreverent ales in Scotland late in 2015, have added their open source Digital IPA to the permanent range they are brewing locally for the British and European markets.
Digital IPA, a robustly hopped India Pale Ale that features a huge load of coveted New Zealand hops and bursts with hop flavours reminiscent of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, was one of the world’s first open source beers when first released in 2011.
A multiple award-winning beer, Digital IPA – named after the 1978 song by post punk band Joy Division – became an instant worldwide sensation in both the beer and design worlds when the Yeastie Boys made the recipe downloadable.
“Digital amused me as a beer name because of the fact that beer – unlike the music that inspires much of our work – cannot be downloaded or streamed.” said Yeastie Boys’ Head Boy and Creative Director, Stu McKinlay. “It has be purchased from a commercial brewery or brewed at home with plenty of your own elbow grease. Coming from a homebrew background, ourselves, we never thought twice about sharing recipes and processes.”
“People think we are mad to give away our intellectual property but we believe it actually keeps more people engaged in the process of making and drinking great beer” said co-founder and Directive Creator, Sam Possenniskie. “I ask doubters if they know of any restaurant that has closed down, or seen diminished sales, as a direct result of a chef releasing a recipe book? The entire beer scene is invigorated when people share knowledge.”
With New Zealand hops being so hard to get a hold of, the Yeastie Boys believe it is more likely homebrewers will benefit from this knowledge sharing. However, they would also love to see UK brewers remix their beer with some of the exciting new local hops coming out of UK and Europe.
To date, only one commercial brewery – New Zealand brewpub Fork & Brewer – has openly reworked the Digital IPA recipe but hundreds of homebrewers have utilised the concept over the years.
Digital IPA won a gold medal in the design category at the Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards in 2012, due to its innovative use of QR codes in the label. The QR codes led users to information about Yeastie Boys, the recipe, places to buy the ingredients and social media where they could discuss their own remixes of the beer.
“We know people will come back to our beer, once they taste it, but we’re very conscious of getting them to pick it up from the often crowded craft beer shelves in the first place.” said McKinlay. “To see them go beyond that, to a point where they are interacting with us and with the wider beer community makes me think we are all heading in the right direction.”
Digital IPA – alongside Yeastie Boys’ trophy winning Gunnamatta and Pot Kettle Black – is now available wholesale in Great Britain through the NZ Beer Collective, Vertical Brands, Biercraft, A New Wave, Pigs Ear, Bottle Shop, Uto Beer and Jolly Good Beer.
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About Yeastie Boys:
Yeastie Boys is an award-winning, post-craft New Zealand based brewing company, who split their time between New Zealand and United Kingdom. They brew super-premium, deliciously irreverent ales all over the world (from Invercargill, through Adelaide, Boston and Suffolk, to Aberdeen).
The brainchild of Stu McKinlay and Sam Possenniskie – two of New Zealand’s leading beer activists and visionaries – the Yeastie Boys have been picking up trophies, poking their tongues out at convention, and receiving critical acclaim since their launch in 2008.
Despite brewing less beer per year than Sierra Nevada brew in a single shift, Yeastie Boys’ products are currently available in New Zealand, Australia, USA, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, New Caledonia, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain.
Contact:
Stu McKinlay
Email: stu@yeastieboys.co.nz
Mobile: +447909432770
Twitter: @yeastieboys
More information:
Digital IPA fact sheet
Digital IPA bottle shot – print version
Digital IPA bottle shot – web version
Gunnamatta (Earl Grey IPA) fact sheet
Pot Kettle Black (South Pacific Porter) fact sheet
This press release as a PDF
