Truly Hardcore

As a self confessed IPA junkie I love to try extreme versions of IPA's, and so I thought that Brewdog's Hardcore IPA would be a great challenge to my taste buds. At 9.2% this beer is certainly hardcore in strength terms, but does the flavour live up to the name?

The beer is not the most pleasing on the eye, it pours a cloudy, dirty orange colour. The frothy head dissipates quickly to leave a thin lace of white head. The aroma is very intense, the first thing you get is a strong orange flavour like a good old fashioned marmalade, this is followed by a sweet funky aroma, you could even say slightly spicy, certainly lots going on for the nose to translate. Medium bodied, with a nice low level of carbonation, hop oils coat your tongue and throat.

The flavour is as complex as the aroma. Orange and grapefruit are up front, caramel sweetness in the middle, followed by a nice strong level of bitterness on the end (brewdog claim that this beer has 150 IBU's, but I have to say that I have tasted beers that have a stronger bitterness than this).

Overall I have to say that this is a fantastic beer, one that I would rate alongside Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA (I have yet to try their 120 Minute IPA). One to slowly sip over an hour or so, also let it warm up a bit and you will get the full effect of all the intense aromas and flavours. Go and buy some!

For homebrewers, here are the essential facts:

ABV: 9.2%
OG: 1083
IBU’s: 150
Malts: Maris Otter, Crystal malt, Caramalt
Hops: Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe
Dry Hops: Centennial, Columbus,

An Evening of Amber Ale

It could have been an amber ale shootout, but it was a lot calmer than that. I nice relaxing night with three amber ales lined up; Boont Amber Ale from Anderson Valley, 5 AM Saint from Brew Dog and Levity Amber Ale from ODell's. On hand was a keg of my own amber ale (Red Hopper), should the need arise.

First up was Boont Amber Ale, the beer pours a lovely amber colour with a thin but lasting off-white head. Very floral aroma with hints of pine and citrus. Quite a thin body, I would have expected something a little more chewy. The caramel and toffee flavours of this beer are quite strong, followed by a lasting strong bitterness. I have to say that this beer is nothing out of the ordinary and unfortunatley as it warms up it doesn't improve. An ok beer but I have had far nicer amber ales than this.

Next up was Brew Dog 5AM Saint. I have to admit that I had heard a lot of good things about this beer and so I was looking forward to something good. It pours a nice red colour with a thick off-white head. Aroma is dominated by citrus hops with a nice sharp quality. Medium bodied with a nice mouthfeel. I have to say I found this to be a fantastically flavoursome beer, citrus and pine up front, caramel malt in the middle, finished off with a nice strong level of bitterness. A truly great beer, however, the flavour is so heavy and intense, I am not sure if I could drink more than a couple of these! Definitely worth picking up a few bottles.

Last, but not least, was Levity Amber Ale from O'Dell's, a brewery I really like. The beer pours a light amber colour with a thick cream head. Lovely marmalade and citrus aroma. Light bodied and immensely drinkable, but a little too light for me. I am a big fan of O'Dell's but this is just a little too lightweight for me.

I think the key to brewing a good amber ale is balance, you need to balance a strong caramel and toffee malt base with a big hit of hops up front and a nice strong level of bitterness at the end. I think the beer that comes closest to this out of the three I tried was 5AM Saint. Boont Amber was ok, while Levity was very dissapointing. This is still one of my favourite styles of beer, however out of these three, probably 5AM Saint is the only one I will be buying again.

PS, I did finish out the night with a few glasses of my own Red Hopper, and while it was not as good as the Brew Dog (although more drinkable), I thought it was easily the superior of the other two!

Open It! - Part I

This weekend is Open It! weekend for us beer bloggers, an idea by Mark Dredge of Pencil & Spoon, Open It! weekend is about digging deep into your beer fridge and opening up those bottles that you have been saving for a special occasion. For me unfortunately I do not have a beer fridge full of rare specimens, however there are a couple of bottles that I have been saving and this first post will be about I Hardcore You, a collaborative beer brewed by Mikkeler and Brew Dog. I Hardcore You is a serious beer, a 9.2% Imperial IPA.


I Hardcore You, a serious
beer.


The beer pours a rust colour with a thin white head. The aroma hits you from across the room, pine and pink grapefruit assault the nose, and this is the strongest aroma from this style of beer that I have come across, there is also a very slight funkiness. The taste is just wow, hops, hops and more hops, all backed up by a lovely warming sensation from the alcohol. The pink grapefruit flavour is up front in this beer, a nice malt middle is followed at the end by lemon juice and a nice stern level of bitterness. A chewy body is balanced by a nice level of carbonation. Although the aroma and flavour of this beer is very strong, as is the ABV, it is actually very drinkable and you would quickly forget that it is 9.2%.

An absolutely fantastic beer and I am sorry to say that this is the only bottle I have. A hop bomb that in my opinion is everything that a good Imperial IPA should be.

Part II of Open It! weekend will involve a bottle of Porterhouse 2009 Celebration Stout.

Brewdog Zeitgeist - Black Lager

Zeitgeist, overall pretty
dissapointing.

I have never before tried a black lager (didn't Guinness attempt to lauch one recently?) and so when I came across a bottle of Zeitgeist from Brewdog, I had to give it a try. Brewdog are known for producing edgy, hard hitting beers and so I was interested to see what they could add to what is essentially a lager.

The beer pours a black colour with a very slight red hue. A thin off white head gives it an almost porter like look to it. Subtle aromas of malt and hops with no real dominant aroma on the nose. Light to medium bodied with a high level of carbonation. The taste is all about the crystal malts and the hops are not very apparent. This is probably my inner hop-head talking but I would have liked a bit of noble hop punch to this one.

Overal a nice, smooth, refreshing beer, however not overly exciting and not a beer I would buy again. Knowing the kind of beers that Brewdog can produce, this was pretty dissapointing.