North East Beer Review

Brewdog is the brewery that got me into craft beer and I am sure that was the case with many of you too. I remember drinking my first can of Punk IPA when I was 18 and fell in love with the IPA style and my love has grown for the style in the 7 years since. Although over the past maybe 4-5 years I have grown disillusioned like many with Brewdog, the final nail for me being the discontinuation of Neon Dream. However, for pure nostalgia I do tend to try the new styles and left mostly disappointed . Analogue Dream is different and you will find out why. But in the meantime, I will attempt to cover the history of Brewdog and Analogue Dream, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally what I thought about it. Cheers

Born in Ellon, Scotland

BrewDog started back in 2007 in Fraserburgh, Scotland, when James Watt and Martin Dickie decided they were bored with the same old lagers and traditional ales that seemed to dominate supermarket shelves. Their idea was simple — brew bold beers packed with flavour that stood out from everything else in the UK at the time. In the early days they were brewing on a tiny setup, bottling by hand, and selling beer at local markets. Then came Punk IPA, the beer that really put BrewDog on the map. For a lot of drinkers in Britain, that was one of the first beers that showed just how exciting craft beer could be. What made BrewDog different wasn’t just the beer. They built their reputation on being loud, rebellious, and sometimes downright controversial. They pushed strange beers, aggressive marketing, and a “punk” image that made them impossible to ignore.

Over the years they grew fast, opening bars all over the UK and around the world, launching new breweries, and turning themselves into one of the biggest craft beer brands anywhere. They also introduced their famous Equity for Punks scheme, which let regular beer fans buy shares in the company. That helped create a loyal following and gave BrewDog a community that felt personally invested in the brewery.

Of course, it hasn’t all been smooth. In recent years BrewDog has faced criticism over workplace culture, management style, and rapid expansion. By 2024, James Watt stepped down as CEO, and by 2026 the brewery was going through another period of change as the company tried to redefine itself. Due to financial pressures, Brewdog was acquired by Tilray Brands in March 2026, a cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company headquartered in New York.

Due to a lot of duds in my eyes being released over the past couple of years, Analogue Dream seemed different to me. For starters it was brewed by Brewdog Deutschland and imported by Asda. It is an 8% hazy IPA which is a step away from the recent accessible <5% craft lagers and session ales. This is a nostalgic beer which is designed to “take drinkers back to a simpler time”. Analogue Dream is brewed with Citra, HBC 638 and Amarillo hops which packs a juicy and citrusy punch. From the get go, this seemed particularly different to what has recently been released by Brewdog.

An extremely juicy pour

Analogue Dream pours a thick and juicy yellow colour in which the famous unfiltered nature of the Hazy IPA shines through. A bubbly white head forms which retains throughout the drinking experience leaving a fine a lacing ring. The carbonation is moderate and you could slightly observed a few streams of bubbles. Overall, a juicy, thick and magnificently hazy pour.

A flavour packed taste and aroma

Aroma

When this beer unlocks the flavour explodes from the glass. The flavour commence a bright citrus and tropical aroma. With notes of grapefruit, orange, mango and peach present. A piney edge presents itself beneath this giving an extra edge without being too harsh. Overall, this is a smooth and inviting aroma for this modern hazy juicy sipper

Taste

On the palate, Brewdog Analogue Dream brings its initial flavours in waves, first it is the citrus burst with flavours of grapefruit and orange zest. The second wave is that of tropical fruits which brings flavours of mango and peach which adds a degree of sweetness. This is balanced by the hoppy nature and the bitterness that comes with it. This is resinous but well balanced to not be overly sharp but to still mellow out the initial sweet hit. The malt base adds a bready sweetness to round off the beer. For being 8%, the alcohol warmth is gentle which adds to the crisp, dry and slighly bitter finish. Overall, this is a great tasting beer as it’s juicy and tropical whilst also being bold but easy drinking. Top notch.

Time for my verdict

As a someone is quite disillusioned with the more ‘mainstream’ craft breweries if there is such a thing. I felt that this Brewdog Analogue Dream did bring back a bit of nostalgia to back when I first got into craft beer. This is a deep flavoured and bold beer that doesn’t just play it safe for the selves on the supermarket. The depth of flavour from citrus to tropical to resinous was great. So for this reason I rate this a 4.5 out of 5. It is not the best beer in the world but I feel this is up there with the great available supermarket brews and it has restored a little bit of faith in Brewdog.

Where did I purchase this beer?

I bought this beer from Asda, the British Supermarket for those not from the UK.

Cheers for reading my beer review. If you enjoyed my beer review, you will love my review of Northern Monk Infinite Fog.