A few weeks back, we got round to brewing and packaging a new product called Please Look After This Beer.

In case you're unfamiliar with the origin of this pun, it's a play on Please Look After This Bear - the message written on Paddington's tag by his Aunt Lucy, before the little bear set off on his long journey from South America to London. The story of Paddington is as relevant today as it has ever been; its unmistakable message made it an easy decision for us to partner with the wonderful people at Refuweegee. Our intention was to donate all the profits from the beer to help displaced families arriving in Glasgow, and show them the hospitality that Glasgow is famous for. The beer itself; an orange-infused twist on our Bearface Lager, inspired by Paddington's love of marmalade. We had the beer packed, the press release ready, and we were planning on handing out tasters from a battered old suitcase at Glasgow Central Station.

There was just one problem. Somehow, during his pre-checks on the name of the beer, our Creative Director Rob managed to miss that the incomparable Siren Craft Brew had released their own Please Look After This Beer last year.

Given that the entire concept, not to mention a planned PR campaign, was built around the name of the beer, we (including Rob) felt it would have been a huge mistake to release the beer as if it were an original Drygate idea.

In the world of beer, while styles are happily recycled time and time again, using someone else's product name can be considered seriously bad form. There are of course exceptions to this, but when it comes to a specific piece of word-play that aligns perfectly with a beer concept, accidentally using the same name as someone else is indistinguishable from ripping it off. 

So, we shelved the release - but it felt like a waste, and it was clear that we had let down Refuweegee. So, Rob got in touch with Siren's founder, Darron Anley, and explained the situation. We have nothing but respect for Siren, a brewery at the top of their game, and frankly an inspiration for those of us working at Drygate - so we wanted to be as open and honest as possible. It was a dumb, but genuine, mistake on Rob's part, and we hoped Siren would be able to see past that and give us their blessing to quietly release the beer.

Reader, we're happy to say that they did.

Please Look After This Beer is now available on our online shop, and here at 85 Drygate, Glasgow. The profits from the beer will still go to Refuweegee. And if anyone asks, we are absolutely aware that we did not come up with the name first - we're just glad we could release the beer.

Thanks again Siren, we really appreciate it.

Team Drygate x