He describes himself as a "slightly insane" beer loving, metal head who gets through the day via the power of the "Holy Trinity – beer, cigarettes and coffee". Who are we talking about? It's only our German brewer Franz who waved goodbye to Deutchland in favour of sunny Fraserburgh. We took five to catch up with Franz to get to the lowdown on life as a BrewDog which started as little as six months ago:

“Whilst working as an apprentice brewer in Germany in late 2009, I stumbled across my first BrewDog beer (Punk IPA) at a British beer tasting in Wolnzach. Hooked, it wasn't long before I was putting together a rather hefty order on the BrewDog site which was where I noticed a vacancy at the brewery. A couple of emails later I found myself with a 3 month trail starting in March '10. Within two days of finishing my German brewing apprenticeship I was in Fraserburgh and I've never looked back since.”

While many people get into brewing for the same reason - "because they like beer!" - there's still plenty of variation in the way beer is created, consumed and considered by different countries across the globe. When it comes to the European and UK beer scenes in particular, Franz is in the pretty cushy position of having a perspective of both:

“German Brewers are totally keen on efficiency and look to make beers that taste very similar which has a lot to do with the purity law. German breweries also mostly produce lagers (Pilsner style) with lower ABVs so that they get a clean taste. British beers have a much stronger focus on aromas which produces a much wider scope for variation and invention.

“When it comes to the craft beer scene, this is something that's just kicked off in Germany and I think it'll take at least another 10 to 20 years until we are at the same level as the US or UK; the main reason being that in Germany it's all about the image of the beer and not about the content of the bottle. When it comes to brewing technology, however, Germany still have the upper hand...if ever so slightly!”
 
With the wheels of Germany's craft beer revolution slowly beginning to whir into motion, Franz can – for the meantime – enjoy being at the forefront of the industry on Scottish soil:

“Working in the most exciting brewery in Europe is amazing; especially being surrounded by world class beers and awesome people. The every day challenge of brewing means that there's never a dull day and if I ever feel like the stress of making a beer is creeping up on me I just get some kind of metal or metalcore on the stereo and I'm sorted.”

With BrewDog's crack team of brewers a metal loving bunch it's not surprising that our beers are infused with the finest rock'n'roll vibes to hit the airwaves. Hardcore IPA in particular calls for some heavy riffs to ensure maximum flavour; perhaps part of the reason this is Franz's favourite beer:

“Hardcore IPA is so rich in flavour it would definitely be the beer I would take with me to a desert island. The high ABV also means you can't drink 10 bottles in one session...so it would last a bit longer before I would have to set up my own desert island brewing system or go completely mad from lack of beer.”

While BrewDog have been slammed time and time again for the relatively high ABV of our beers, we're thinking that this new desert island idea could be a brand new slant. However, the risk of treading new ground ABV-wise is something Franz finds to be his biggest inspiration:

“I hope that Brewdog encourages other brewers and breweries to take some risks and start something new. There are already some really exciting British beers out there but if development holds on it could be monumental. But it's not just the breweries that have to change though, its the customers who have to change their approach as well.”

Want to hear more from Franz? All you have to do is rock up to the launch of our new Aberdeen pub this month:

“I'm counting down the days until launch night, as is everyone at BrewDog. I've seen the pictures and can't wait to finally grab some beers there. If anyone sees me at the launch night, come over and say hi!”

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