International Arms Race (Brewdog)

Bit of a novelty challenge from those nutters over at Brewdog this one - a zero IBU IPA, in the IPA style but using no hops....? Er..

Essentially a competition between like minded souls with the rebel-hearted US brewing company Flying Dog, the 7.5% alcohol BV is given length off the leash and the bittering and flavours come from berries, herbs, roots and whatnot.

You'd think it might taste a little plain if not downright rank. However, these chaps know how to brew and the aroma is fruity and alluring after the transient head disappears in seconds.

The sup is light for it's strength, herbal as you'd expect and fairly citrussy. The drinker experiences ginger, some aniseed traces and a light pepperyness.

It's pretty interesting but that's as far as I'd go. Hops have been in beers for gazillions of years and for good reason, I for one missed the crunch and whoosh of that hop hit, and the overall effect is of a stiff beer cordial.

Flying Dog also brewed a version for the showcase blind tasting event, I still don't quite know who won but everyone looks like they had jolly fun.

More power to them for this sort of thing, although for £3.99 a bottle, I'd probably head over to the Brouwerij Huyghe shelf for my quota of this kind of ale eccentricity.

6/10 - A decent enough beer but fun in the way you might find buying a dragonfruit fun at the supermarket. Nice to try the once but you're soon craving a good old apple.

The Broadside

Alice Porter (Brewdog)

Brewdog allege that this "renaissance baltic porter" is the result of a 300 year old recipe. The label talks of cobblestones and swirls of mist from the Thames, as if Doctor Watson himself might order this at his local.

The dog-icon cap flips away to reveal a sweet but subdued bouquet of burnt sugar with a ping of vanilla. On the pour it's black and tumultuous in the glass, a broiling inky drink that sheds a light brown lacy head that swiftly fades to nought.

It's 6.5%abv, but the alcohol is well shielded in the sup. It's all dark chocolate and summer fruits through the length, a classic porter mix with a stylish welcoming mouthfeel. Coffee and vanilla peek through then round off with a gentle bittered finish that sports shades of dark cherry.

Brewdog strike the quality threshold yet again with this beer. Would recommend this without hesitation, although as with all of their offerings check the price before you run it through the till.

8/10 - Delicious, extremely drinkable porter with an edge of mystery. Holmes would approve.

- The Broadside

IPA is dead (Brewdog)

Citra big pineapple, pine, raw dry hop smell, sweet malt powers through to finish. Not huge bitterness, but big dry hopping lingers in the tongue. It's like Hardcore IPA blended with SN Torpedo. 9/10

Sorachi Ace tangerines, clementines smell, hints of lychees.
Tastes of smooth creamy lychees, maybe even lemongrass, a tingle of dry hops at the finish, but not big bittering. Immersed in Japanese terrior. 7/10

Bramling X, big lemon citrus on the nose, sweet apple on the initial taste. The end is a rather sharp gin and tonic finish. 8/10

Nelson Sauvignon big tropical fruit, mangoes and pineapple, not quite as sweet smelling as Citra. Definite hints of Savingon Blanc as the crisp, sharp hops kick in. The finish is huge tropical fruit, this is beery Lilt. It's amazing that hops can add such tropical flavours, you'd swear there was fruit juice in here. 8/10

So which is best? (sorry but that's what we do here at the Bunker)

The uniqueness of the Sorachi Ace and the tropical fruits of the Nelson Sauvignon are very different, but not necessarily something you would want regularly. The Bramling X has some big flavours, but does it lack a bit of depth? Or is it just over shadowed by the others?

For me Citra wins out, fresh and piney, with a lovely dry finish to the hops.

An education in hops from Brewdog, if you have any interest in beer you should seek out and try these. Try the Brewdog Shop.

1st Citra
2nd Bramling Cross
3rd Nelson Sauvignon
4th Sorachi Ace

Thanks to Brewdog for providing. I suggest you go buy your own here

Thanks Brewdog!

We are big fans of Brewdog and their mega micro brewery here at the bunker, their epic beers have earned some great reviews.

We also love a bold IPA, so are naturally very excited by Brewdog's IPA is Dead. Thankfully this isn't some kind of Orwellian vision of a beerless future, just Brewdog's unique showcase of killer hops of the world.

Nelson Sauvin - A New Zealand epic with gooseberry notes
Sorachi Ace - Unique lemony aroma, developed in Japan
Citra - A new high alpha American hop
Bramling X - An English hop with distinctive aroma

Thanks to Brewdog for providing these to review.

Riptide (Brewdog) 8%Abv

Pours as black peat, with an exceptional head of coffee foam. Smells of ripe summer fruits, mixed berries and blackcurrants.

The initial taste is dominated by an exceptionally powerful and unexpected lingering sweetness. It's only on the second sip one can delve deeper into this dark delight. It's a whirlwind of coffee, hints of chocolate, but finishing with an asserted ripe fruity sweetness that leaves a taste buds twanging like a banjo string.

The hops are the final lingering presence of this beer, a flash of herbal bitterness. A wiser tweeter than me said of a review of Riptide "Riptide review in the style of @thebeerbunker: When you took the back off your Ferguson cassette recorder and it never worked again? That." Quite.

I kind of like the riptide analogy, like being dragged backwards out to sea past a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds to be met by a sweet mermaid who smiles and pushes you back to shore for another sip of stout.

7/10 An epic fruity and kaleidoscopic stout.

Hardcore IPA (Brewdog)

Pours into the glass with all the colour of a port casked whiskey. The smell is like a nuclear detonation of hops. Pine resin, strong citrus, like a lime and rum cocktail.

Initial taste is warming malt sweetness, almost like liquor rather than beer. What follows nothing can prepare for, its like a kick in the balls with a jackboot of bittering hops. This is quickly once again engulfed with more warming malt and that potent ABV.

The dry hop finish hits the tongue like a fizzy cola bottle of hops, leaving an explosion of bittersweet flavours, hints of pineapple in the finish.

9/10 An awesome beer, this is 11 on Spinal Tap's amp. This beer is the Sex Pistols, but with a bit more balance and delicate class it could have been The Clash.

Thanks to Brewdog for providing, i suggest you read their blog

You might want to read our AB04 review

AB04 (Brewdog)

As much a crime re-enactment as a tasting session. The combined Bunker hierarchy massed to delve into this Brewdog prototype.

Initial impressions - Pours as a galaxy-dark stout with a blood red edge ring, like the telling mark round the plughole when the detectives arrive. This is a Hallowe'en haemoglobin porter. The scent is red wine tannin, laced with dark chocolate and iron.

The powerful sweet opening is swiftly followed by a potent burnt liquorice taste. After that a cooking chocolate bitterness rises, not reminiscent of hops, more of a pouch of tobacco being rolled by the old sailor in the corner who won’t take his one eye off you. The alcohol is mighty and assertive, not many will come your way of an evening without requiring a transfusion.

The finish lingers, like a sociopath re-tracing the fact, a swathe of ripe blackberries drifting mashed into a burnt oven roasted chilli. Powerful fortified wine flavours linger in the memory, no heat as such but stiff persistent echoes of chilli.

8/10 It’s a fortified, complex beer and undoubtedly Brewdog. The frontier has been pushed again with this ale, and bravo for that.

Thanks to Brewdog for providing, i suggest you read their blog and await details of AB:04's release.

5am Saint (Brewdog) 5%abv

It pours like a Tawny port, whiskey edges and a butter caramel head. The smell is so powerful, an overdose of dry hops and grassy smells, mixed with hidden cherry and summer fruit notes.

The taste gives a nano second of sweetness before unleashing a monster of full bodied bitterness. Hints of fruity but bitter cranberries are followed by a slightly sour tanginess, reminiscent of unripe fruit. Its got more hops in the finish than most IPAs dream of leaving a bitter lingering finish.

8/10 Unripe fruit, bitter, tangy and hopped to hell. To try and put this in a box would be impossible, it defines itself. Definitely one to try, you’ll never forget it.

Thanks to Brewdog for providing, i suggest you read their blog

77 Lager (Brewdog)

Pilsner is a term everyone knows. In Europe it is used these days to denote a light coloured mostly hoppy lager. In the US, it's more frequently used to signify a premium beer, regardless of hop character.

This drink fully confirms that Scotland is in fact in Europe. This is a lager brewed on ale terms, 100% full leaf hops and malt, and the characteristic Brewdog cocksure marketing describes it as "a lager that actually tastes of something, 77 will redefine the (lager) experience forever". Those chaps know how to set expectation.

It pours a deep faintly murky amber, and jives about in the glass with a decent lagery fizz. The nose is hoppy and a little florid.

The taste is divine. The opening note is a malty crunch, and as crisp as a crisp. The body is not too long, but then it ought not to be in a lager. The finish is hoppy and refreshing, with a delicious bitter length to it.

This is a hot weather drink, and a cold weather drink to remind you of hot weather. Its a sociable beer, and a beer to drink at home to reminisce about being sociable.

I think this is best bulk bought for a party. This has crunch, bite and character, but doesn't ask the drinker to acquire a taste for it. The finish is long and bitter, but it's a crafted bitterness like the end of a well written tragedy.

8/10 - Delicious. A benchmark for UK pilsners and an export to challenge some of the best in Europe.

- The Broadside

Massive Thanks to Brewdog

A massive thanks goes out to Brewdog for sending the following through for review!

What a selection! Can't wait to get stuck in to reviewing these.

Punk IPA
5am Saint
Hardcore IPA
Isle Arran Paradox
AB:03 from the Abstrakt range
AB:04 as yet unreleased from the Abstrakt range!

I suggest you follow the Brewdog Blog here, their blog is a delight of banter, innovation and punkery

Punk IPA (Brewdog)

Brewdog, always in the news, always trying to create the next benzine / propanol / yeast combo and spawn 3,000% ABV ales.

The above is my conception (mis or otherwise) of the Scottish enfants terribles of the contemporary brewing scene. Their products are sold in slim Banksy-style bottles and are pricey, but The Broadside thought he'd have a crack at one as the clock swung round past midnight and the manor fell silent.

It pours like an IPA, a straw-coloured lagoon but with a lumpy, high head which falls uneven over time to a Matterhorn-profile of creamy foam. The bold nose is an assertive barrel of grapefruit laced with pine tacks and stoppered by a bread cork.

The first taste impression is wet and bitter, although it dries with the second and third impressions through to the finish. The bitterness has a go at the mouth throughout the experience, never quite enough to anaesthetise the drinker's tongue but fairly close. Curiously, the hops are all around yet a hop flavour isn't so present - Brewdog have gone all out to make this an individual effort, like a carbine with a pearl handle.

At the back end, the 6% abv is apparent, as is the grapefruit kick. In fact, this is a grapefruit and hop lovers weapon of choice if a quick inebriating hit is required at the start of an evening. If you ever get to the point of pouring a beer for breakfast (don't) then you'd do worse than consider this.

With Punk, Martin and James at Brewdog have thrown their hat into the US style tough-as-nuts IPA ring. As an English gent, I prefer my ales with a touch more balance but I'm sure this drink will find plenty of fans - in the war against bland this is a field commander.

7/10 - perhaps not one for the armchair malt and balance buff, but a fine bitter cannonball across the bows of convention.

- The Broadside