BrewDog... Why are we not getting any of your beers in Ontario? The Punk IPA comes in for a lousy couple of months and thats it? I get it, you have a ton of orders coming in from around the world... but for for real, toss a Commonwealth brother a goddamn bone.
I really like BrewDog's ales. The Hardcore IPA and I Hardcore You (Mikkeller collaboration) are hoppy-ass beers that I drank regularly while I was jiving in Europe over the Winter / Spring. The Tokyo is equally pretty awesome. I will be writing up reviews for several BrewDog beers, including those mentioned, when I do my feature on the Beer Temple American Beer Bar in Amsterdam.
This review however, is all about the single hop IPAs. Re-fined and de-fined. These ales let you zero in on a particular varietal's contribution in terms of flavor and aroma. IPA is Dead; good name.
The IPA is Dead 4 pack includes 4 different single hop IPAs made with Sorachi Ace, Citra, Bramling Cross and Nelson Sauvin. I regrettably consumed the Sorachi Ace in a somewhat confused and dissociated state during a random night in a hotel room in Haarlem. I can't really recall what it tasted or looked like but if it was anything like the other 3, it must have been really tasty. These sort of confused situations are common for Canadians visiting the Netherlands.
Once back home and in the safe and controlled confines of my home Groningen, I was able to pull off a proper tasting of the other 3.
First down the hatch was the Citra. Why Citra first? Well, because I absolutely love this hop. I like drinking beer made with it and I use it in my home brew all the time. Having experimented with this variety a fair bit, I cannot imagine it would be easy pulling off a single hop with it. My personal preference is to use Citra almost exclusively for dry-hopping and generally avoid putting any in the boil unless at flame out.
The appearance was perfect. Bright white, soapy head that sprung-up strong and never faded. Body was nearly a bright orange with a tinge of copper. My home-brewed IPAs envy this color. Only a slight haze with moderate to low carbonation.
Smell is straight up fruity goodness; mango, melon, grapefruit, peaches. A touch of pine resign rounds it out nicely and the biscuity malts creep through to add some balance. Taste follows suit with a strong but clean bitterness hitting the palate up front. Not harsh or astringent at all but instead really pleasant while still being pronounced. Mid way through all the fruitiness comes out. Very tropical with a shade of herbal grassiness. Finish is a lingering bitterness which is dry. The malts have a graham cracker character to them, somewhat bready and not really that sweet. Awesome IPA.
Next up was the Bramling Cross. I am not really all that familiar with this hop. Never used it and do not recall any beer in specific that was made with it. I do know that it is an English varietal that is similar to EKG or fuggles.
This one was way better than I expected. Definitely different than the Citra in terms of aroma and taste. Appearance is almost identical to the Citra, which makes me suspect they used that same wort for all the beers. Smell is pretty hard to pin-down but it is not at all like other English / Nobel hops. Smell is somewhat grapeish maybe raspberry or blackberry with a little bit of spice. Taste is a lemon rind bitterness with a touch of the grape/berry flavor. Finish is lingering, herbal / floral bitterness. Malt shines through nicely, the same profile as noted above. Quite stellar and enlightening.
Nelson Sauvin. Some say it smells a bit like cat piss and the name is apparently derived from its taste profile being similar to sauvignon grapes. Not sure about the grapes but I've noticed other beers using this hop have a unique aroma to say the least.
Appearance is the same as the others, although the above picture makes me wonder if it wasn't a tad hazier. Smell is really nice and somewhat unique, although there was no cat piss. A little citrus rind and a little pine. Very refined and straightforward smell. Taste is quite nice. Similarly simple with grapefruit and orange rind dominating over pine resin. Malts seem more pronounced in this one and lend a slight candy-like flavor rather than bready. Plenty of bitterness to satisfy the fear when jones'n for alpha acids.
Overall an awesome 4 pack definitely worth buying. These guys are getting better every year. Now if only I could get some of their product without moving back to Europe..... fucking hell.
ZG
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