The End of History: A 55% ABV Beer Packaged in a Dead Squirrel

Germany may have beaten England at the World Cup, but English brewers have taken their revenge, reclaiming the title of Most Potent Beer in the World. The British champions are Martin and James, a pair of twenty-something Englishmen who had a dream. In 2007, part of that dream became a reality when they launched their own Brewery and called it BrewDog. But that dream was both more ambitious and, well, stranger than most would have guessed. Their latest move is the most potent beer in the world—The End of Times —which they stuffed into a dead rodent.

BrewDog first held the title of Strongest Breweries with their Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a 32% ABV Imperial Stout that toppled German brewer Schorschbräu Schorschbock. But the Germans weren’t done, and came out with a 39% Eisbock. BrewDog responded with Sink the Bismark!, an Imperial IPA at 41%. Schorschbräu retaliated by bumping theirs up to 43%. But now The End of History seems to have settled the score, and done in style—at least if you’re into fur.

Only 12 bottles have been made, and each one is presented in a stuffed stoat or gray squirrel—roadkill stuffed by a local taxidermist. It’s also the end of the Beer War, at least from the English side. “The beer is the last high ABV beer we are going to brew,” according to the breweries’ website, “the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer.”

Here’s a video on the inspiration for the beer:

The End of History from BrewDog on Vimeo.

Editor’s note: Brew Dog is Scottish, not English! May William Wallace’s ghost forgive us!