BrewDog Rip Tide Review

Brewery: BrewDog Ltd. | Beer: Rip Tide
Style: Russian Imperial Stout | ABV: 8.0% | IBUs: 65
Serving Method: 22.4 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

As much as I was looking forward to trying BrewDog's offerings, I wasn't exactly a fan of the first I tried, their Hardcore IPA. Luckliy it had an friend on the long trip from Scotland, an Imperial Stout called Rip Tide. Hopefully we have some better luck this time around—I'm optimistic.

Not the same beast as the Imperial Stouts we're used to in America, BrewDog describe Rip Tide as"a contemporary Scottish take on an age old Russian classic style." The first thing that tipped me off to that was the eight percent alcohol content, relatively weak for anything with the word "imperial" on the bottle. The ingredient list is hardly some wilting flower though.

First Gold and Galena hops provide bitterness, while the backbone is built from Maris Otter, Dark Crystal, Caramalt, and Chocolate malt varieties along with and roasted barley. What BrewDog list as the "twist" in the mix is dark muscavado sugar—an unrefined brown sugar with lots of molasses flavor. Here's how BrewDog describe the result:

A strong, silky smooth imperial stout with a deep, dark ruby appearance. Mocha, bitter chocolate, liquorice and dark cherry flavours prevail, before the balanced, warming and encapsulating finish.

Well, it's time to dig in. BrewDog recommend you enjoy this beer with "an air of aristocratic nonchalance," so I'll try to keep that in mind.

Appearance: A dark and murky brown body with no distinct highlights. The head is slow to form, taking shape only after pouring is finished. What does manifest is half a finger tall, tan, and quickly fades to a thin skin that leaves little lacing.

Aroma: Dark fruit over moderately dark, chocolaty malt. There's a nicely bitter streak around the edges, giving it additional complexity.

Taste: The focus is a rich malt profile featuring great coffee and bitter chocolate notes. It's not all about the malt though, as there's a good dose of balancing bitterness coming from the hops. Some mild alcohol towards the end, but nowhere near what you'd expect from a bigger beer like a Russian Imperial Stout (the same can be said for the malt profile, too). The aftertaste is roasty and slightly bitter.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied and velvety with light carbonation. There's the barest burn alcohol at times, but it's deceptively smooth. Dries in the finish.

Drinkability: About middle-of-the-road, just watch out for the alcohol content.

Verdict: Certainly an improvement over my first experience with this brewer, Rip Tide is somewhere between a regular and "Imperial" Stout, making it a bit of a unique proposition on the shelves. This is enjoyable, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do with an all-out, ten percent Stout.

Grade: B+

BrewDog Hardcore IPA Review

Brewery: BrewDog Ltd. | Beer: Hardcore IPA
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 9.0% | IBUs: 150
Serving Method: 22.4 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Of all the breweries that started to show up in my neck of the woods last year, BrewDog was one of the ones I was most excited to try. The Scottish brewery was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie with a distinctly anti-establishment attitude. It has grown swiftly into Scotland's largest independent brewery, with distribution reaching far enough to stock our shelves here in Houston.

For simplicity's sake, I've listed this as an American Double IPA, though that seems like it may be a little inaccurate. Its backbone is built from Maris Otter Extra Pale Malt. As for hops, the beer is "hopped to hell" and "dry-hopped to hell" with Simcoe, Chinook, Amarillo, Warrior varieties. Here's how BrewDog describe Hardcore:

This explicit ale has more hops and bitterness that any other beer brewed in the UK. This is an extreme beer rollercoaster for freaks, gypsies and international chess superstars.

Hopes are high here, so let's get this show on the road.

Appearance: A thoroughly hazy golden-orange capped by a slow-to-form finger of off-white head that leaves good lacing.

Aroma: Mild citrusy and herbal hops over a caramel malt base. Missing the punch you'd expect from a "Hardcore IPA."

Taste: Where in the hell are the hops? According to the bottle, this bottle will still be fresh for over six months, so I'm sure this isn't a freshness issue. Some grassy and herbal bitterness builds up as time goes on and it warms, but it never really gets much "hoppiness" going. With the hops not making much of an impression, the plain caramel malt body makes up the bulk of the flavor profile. Plenty of butteryness and unmasked alcohol throughout, making a boring profile into something unpleasant. The aftertaste is bitter and boozy.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with smooth carbonation and some slight burn from the alcohol.

Drinkability: Rather poor due to the flavor profile and alcohol content.

Verdict: Hardcore IPA is a thoroughly confusing beer; I was ready for something different, but I've never had to search for hops in an IPA. Even if you take style off the table and try to rate this beer in a style-vacuum, it's still not a very pleasing beer. When you take into account that this bottle cost me over seven dollars, this really becomes a hot mess.

Grade: D+

BrewDog Release Tactical Nuclear Penguin, The World's New "Strongest Beer"

Those crazy punks from BrewDog have been in the lab creating something truly wicked, and the result is Tactical Nuclear Penguin. It's a 32% ABV beer that can lay claim to the two key titles: strongest beer on the planet and the best named beer on the planet.

Most people believe the previous record for strongest beer belongs to the 27% ABV Sam Adams Utopias, but it was actually set by Schorschbräu Schorschbock at 31%. This beer may eek past Schorschbock, but it crushes the legendary Utopias by 5 full percentage points. Wow.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin started life as 10% ABV Imperial Stout, was aged for eight months in an Isle of Arran whisky cask, and then aged a further eight months in an Islay cask. It's quirky name is actually a reference to the process that boosted the alcohol content—for three weeks the beer was subjected to sub-zero temperatures, which allowed much of the water to freeze out and left the remaining beer more potent. Similar techniques are used in traditional German Eisbocks and terrible American "Ice Beers" like Bud Ice.

Here's the label text that will great those lucky enough to get their hands on this mad brew:

This is an extremely strong beer, it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. In exactly the same manner that you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.

As you might expect, such a time and labor intensive experimental beer is not exactly cheap. But, at the equivalent of just under $60 per 300ml bottle, Tactical Nuclear Penguin is a relative bargain in this territory. Sure, it may not come in a gorgeous bottle like Utopias, but it does come wrapped in a paper bag featuring a hand-drawn penguin.

500 bottles will be released, half of them sold as part of a package with one share of the company as part of the company's Equity for Punks program. The price for the 250 bottles bundled with the share will be about $400, which isn't too bad considering it comes with a 20 percent lifetime discount at BrewDog's site (which sells their beer).

For more info, check this video of the boys wearing their finest suits: