He’s a homebrew hero.

Craft beer fan, Tom Doyle, has gone from humble homebrewer to national brewing hero after being crowned winner of BrewDog’s homebrewing competition and bagging a listing with Tesco. The Dublin-born Hop Head took BrewDog’s panel of judges by storm with his full-throttle 7.0% Caribbean-inspired stout, loaded with rich chocolate, mocha and roasty flavours, finished with a vibrant burst of orange citrus notes, Tropic Thunder.

Launched for the very first time last year, #HomeBrewDog was a direct challenge to the masses, created with the aim of discovering some of the best new brewing talent from across the country. With over 300 entries and an endless stream of budding beer geeks fighting for the number one spot, BrewDog’s expert panel was looking for the most unique and diverse brew out there.

Tom, who previously studied Food Engineering, started his brewing career in his fourth year at Dublin University when he got bored of the beers on offer and decided to try making some for himself. After joining homebrew club, Capital Brewers in Dublin, Doyle soon got to grips with the huge variety of beer styles out there.

Now being brewed at BrewDog’s Aberdeenshire HQ, Tropic Thunder will hit Tesco shelves as an exclusive listing, giving this everyday homebrew hero a platform to hit even loftier heights. The brew will also be sold on draft at all 30 UK BrewDog bars, with other beer evangelists invited to try the badass new brew.

“At BrewDog, we support homebrewing from the grassroots level up,” said BrewDog co-founder, James Watt. “Martin and I started our careers by brewing exciting alternatives to bland mass produced beer in our garden shed, and with #HomeBrewDog, we wanted to find the nation’s next big thing in homebrewing and shine a light on the insanely creative and innovative homebrewers across the country. The #HomeBrewDog initiative is a great opportunity for beer buffs to try their hand at creating the beers they want to drink – exactly like we did.”

In 2008 BrewDog Co-Founders, James Watt and Martin Dickie won 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in a homebrewing competition run by Tesco. When asked to produce enough beer to stock 500 of its stores, the duo were forced to take out a bank loan to fund a bottling line needed to fulfil the order, and the rest is history. The supermarket continues its commitment to providing a platform for budding brewing talent by backing the winning entry of the #HomeBrewDog scene in its stores.

“Words cannot describe how happy I was to win this competition and have the chance to meet some of the most influential people in the brewing world,” said competition winner, Tom Doyle. “I have had such an amazing time working with the BrewDog team up at Ellon HQ brewing mega batches of Tropic Thunder, and I still cant quite believe my beer will sit on their draft lines for all to try. I am grateful for all the team at BrewDog who ran this competition in recognition of the homebrewing community, giving us a chance to promote our hobby and show just how awesome some of our brews can be.”

To launch his beer to the army of BrewDog punks backing its newest member of the craft beer elite, Tom will host his own event at BrewDog Edinburgh, where he’s dedicated his superior craft beer taste buds to hand-selecting the tap list in the bar, and sharing his own creation with beer fans.

The #HomeBrewDog initiative is one more way BrewDog is championing the homebrewing community. In 2016, BrewDog released all of its beer recipes to the public in the trailblazing DIY Dog, and the Scottish brewery sells homebrewing starter kits in each of its bars and online shop. Later this year, BrewDog also plans to launch a new bar in London’s Dalston, which will house micro brewing equipment, allowing members of the public to come and try their hand at brewing awesome craft beers themselves.

About BrewDog

Since 2007 BrewDog has been on a mission to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as we are. From the Headliner series, which includes bold, uncompromising pack leaders like the flagship Punk IPA, to the Amplified range (beer, but turned up to 11), BrewDog creates beer that blows people’s minds and has kick-started a revolution. Cofounders James Watt and Martin Dickie shook up the business world in 2010 with the launch of pioneering crowdfunding scheme Equity for Punks, an initiative that has seen the company raise £26m over four rounds, taking more money through crowdfunding than any other on record. The funds, and the army of punk shareholders (50,000) enabled the Scottish craft brewery to scale up without selling out. With over 48 global bar launches, export into 60 countries, and a brand new brewery in Ohio opening in 2017, BrewDog continues to take the craft beer revolution stratospheric, whilst continuing to push the boundaries, invest in people, put the beer first, and champion other small breweries in its venues.