It started as Twitter banter. It ended as a supermarket listing. Now BrewDog’s ALD IPA is going on sale in Aldi stores.
The beer started life as a joke Tweet after shoppers commented on the resemblance between Aldi’s Anti-Establishment beer and BrewDog’s popular Punk IPA.
BrewDog initially suggested it would create Yaldi IPA in a mocking social media post. However, the supermarket, which is known for its ‘like brands’ approach, responded with: ‘We would have gone with ALD IPA, send us a crate and we’ll talk…’
The crate must have done the trick, because now just two months on, what started as a spoof brand is being sold exclusively at Aldi stores.
ALD IPA will be available as a special buy from Thursday, 15th October, and is BrewDog’s first ever exclusive creation for a supermarket. A 4.7% session IPA, it is based on the brewer’s Hop Fiction recipe and will cost £1.39 per 330ml can.
Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi UK, said: “We couldn’t resist stocking ALD IPA, which supports our mission to work with the UK’s best independent suppliers. Plus, with customer enquiries through the roof after the conversation broke on Twitter, it really was a no-brainer to give our shoppers what they want.”
James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, added: “Ald IPA has been one of our favourite collaborations to date. It’s definitely one no one saw coming!
“From a mock-up on Twitter, to being stocked at Aldi stores across the UK, the response has been incredible. Most importantly, both BrewDog and Aldi have agreed that for every case sold an extra tree will be planted in the BrewDog Forest. A win-win for our customers, and the planet!”
