"Punk's not dead...

...it just smells like it is", as someone once said to me at a Subhumans gig.

The "new" Punk IPA from Brewdog has arrived in my local Sainsbury's so I had to give it a go.

I was delighted when I first discovered Punk IPA in the early days of Brewdog. Since Safeways had become Morrisons and ready access to Goose Island IPA had ended I'd seldom seen American style IPAs so it was good to see one made by a British brewery.

Having said that, I can see why Brewdog want to change the recipe. When I got round to trying a direct comparison of Goose Island and Punk it was like seeing a competition between Picasso and an enthusiastic kid with a spray can. Compared to the complexity of Goose Island the Punk seemed a very basic beer.

Now Brewdog are more experienced I was interested to see what they'd done in their major revamp of Punk.

It pours with a strong aroma that reminded me of mint. That's a new one on me for beer so I got quite excited. The beer is hazy, which is a little off putting, and the taste...well the taste is something else. Apparently the new version is less bitter than the old but the taste was so hoppy it was almost undrinkable. It's like someone has taken a load of American hops, put them in a liquidiser and sieved the liquid into a beer bottle.

That may well be to the taste of some of my fellow beer nerds but the flavour was so strong I didn't find it pleasant. I won't be bothering to try the canned version when that appears.

You say hello, I say goodbye

"Twats". That's what the lovely Lisa said after reading the tag on the bottle of Punk IPA I'd just bought. 

It's basically a rehash of the Arrogant Bastard Ale inspired blurb found on the bottle. Not being as decisive as the lovely Lisa I found it amusing the first time I read it, but like a lot of brewdog stuff it does grate a bit now.  

I suppose the problem is that if you're going to act like arrogant bastards then people will think you're twats. 

Does it help with sales? As brewdog are selling the stuff as fast as they can make it I guess it does, but I don't think Lisa will be buying any in a hurry. 

Oak aged beer

I'm still not sure about this oak aged beer malarkey, but I think they might be growing on me. The first bottle of Brewdog's Paradox that I had I couldn't finish* , Innis & Gunn didn't impress me and Fuller's Brewer's Reserve I could take or leave. But I've now found a beer "fermented and conditioned with oak" that I've liked from the off: Curious Brew Admiral Porter. 

With Innis & Gunn I noticed the vanilla flavour that comes from oak but it didn't seem to sit well in beer. With Paradox I noticed a whole new layer of 'eurgh' added to what have been a good strong stout. And with Brewer's Reserve I thought 'hmmm...bacteria', not what I normally look for in a beer.  But dedicated beer researcher that I am I've since tried all of these again and found them more enjoyable. 

Admiral Porter is contract brewed for a wine maker, and I think aged with oak chips rather than in an old whisky barrel, so should be safe from any whisky contamination. It was a good balanced beer that went down very easily. I'm not quite sure if this is because I'm getting more used to beers with a bit of oak in them or because this is just the mildest of the oaked beers I've drunk. Am I failing as a beer nerd here? Will other oak aged beer become more pleasant the more I drink them or are they just a bad idea in general?

*Don't worry, a mate drank the rest of it.

IPA challenge bout four: Brewdog Hardcore IPA Vs Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA

The latest bout in the IPA challenge is a clash between two heavy weights: Brewdog Hardcore IPA and Dogfishhead IPA, both weighing in at 9% ABV. Both lacking stamina (stingy little bottles), the fight has all the makings of being short and brutal.

Hardcore opens with a stinging jab and a taste like sucking on lemons but without making your eyes burn.

The Dogfish head has a darker copper colour, and with a bigger body. The famously continuously hopped beer is made to taste sweet in comparison to the hardcore hop monster from brewdog.

Styles make fights and though on paper these are both double IPA, when they get in the ring they're fighting with completely different styles. The bruiser from Brewdog has an unbalanced style with stinging hops constantly jabbing you in the face but not much in the way of body. Less reachy than Hardcore the Dogfish head's bigger body clinches to your tongue with a barley wine like sweetness.

Despite having all the makings of a classic fight, like with Calzaghe Vs Hopkins the clash of styles seems to bring out the worst in each other. After a sip of Hardcore the 90 minute IPA seems cloyingly sweet, but when you switch back the Hardcore tastes overpoweringly bitter.

At the end of a very negative round the judges are not impressed, with me thinking the 90 minute edges it and the lovely Lisa giving it to Hardcore. As we're the only two judges it's looking like a draw, but we can't progress with our knockout tournament if we allow that. So the only option is to call for another round. Sadly a rummage in the beer cupboard reveals I haven't got any more Dogfish head and won't have until my mum goes back to Delaware. So when the bell goes for round two 90 minute IPA remains on its stool and it's a win for Hardcore by TKO. Not a very satisfying result, and I'm sure 90 minute IPA will be eager for a re-match.

The IPA challenge second bout: Jaipur Vs Punk IPA

Two beers from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, I mean the New Wave of American inspired British Breweries line up for the next bout. Or if NWOBHM's not you thing, the brewing world's Stones and Beatles apparently.

Despite the superficial similarities, both being from similar training camps and in stingy little bottles, at the weigh in it started to look like a potential miss match. The punk was over filled*, not something I'd normally complain about but possibly suggesting a problem with the bottling line at Brewdog. In this game if you haven't prepared properly your weaknesses will be painfully exposed once you step into the ring. 

Punk IPA (6% ABV) steps up to the canvas, looking brash and in your face, any doubts about the bottling clearly not affecting their confidence. Jaipur (5.9% ABV) is looking more subdued, perhaps feeling the pressure. 

Seconds away and caps off the bout is on. Jaipur has a bit more aroma, though surprisingly malty. Punk smelling a bit harsh, reminiscent of a lemon toilet duck.  

They come together for the first sip and and, oh my god, the Jaipur is totally overwhelmed. It's been caught flat footed! Well, not so much flat footed as just plain flat. It just hasn't got the conditioning, and in this game if you don't put in the time on the road work you won't last five seconds in the ring. The Jaipur hops are nowhere to be seen and just a sweet maltiness is present in the taste. Punk may smell a bit rough round the edges but with the wallop of grapefruit it packs into its pale body it knocks the Jaipur out cold.

But what's this? the second, Kipling (5.2% ABV), has popped its top and is climbing into the ring. It must think it's a medieval duel! This is disgraceful, the referee is stepping in but the Punk looks up for it and is squaring up. It could be a rash decision on the part of Kipling, and it's giving away a weight advantage. The Kipling flicks out a tentative aroma but it's putting on a poor show compared to when it was seen on cask only a few months ago. Again we just get flat bland sweetness form the Thornbidge boy which is easy dispatched by the fighter from Fraserburgh. 

It may seemed the Brewdog bottling line could cause problems but it's the in the Thornbridge camp that the questions will be asked tonight. They're really going to have to put some work in to make a come back after this performance. 

A win for Punk IPA by knock out. 

*Embossed on the bottom of bottles is their capacity in ml and the distance from the top the bottle needs to be filled to reach it. Not a lot of people know that.

The dogs have done it (just)

Brewdog's equity offer has reached the minimum amount required to go ahead. So far they've raised just over £500,000, well short of the £2.3 million they were hoping for but still an impressive figure to raise.

The investment didn't make much financial sense and opinion was divided amongst my fellow internet beer nerds as to whether investors were seizing a great opportunity or simply mugs. Either way I find it heartening to see that there are thousands of dedicated beer enthusiasts out there prepared to put their money where their mouth is.





I didn't buy a share myself though, I prefer to invest my money in beer more directly in public houses specially designed for such transactions.

Well, well, well

You heard it here first.

No sooner have I posted “I’m also getting a bit tired of James Watt’s attention seeking but that probably won’t change in a hurry " than James Watt's latest wheeze upsets the blogosphere.

A lot of my fellow beer bloggers do seem to be genuinely very pissed off. Can't say I'm surprised, as the deliberately courting controversy was wearing a bit thin and the Portman group aren't really the best target. If the Portman group's voluntary regulation was done away with then it would only be replaced with compulsory state regulation which I'm sure would be a lot harder on brewers like Brewdog.

Entrapment!

I've just got back from my local Sainsbury's laden with clanking bottles again. Last week it was Fuller's Vintage Ale going cheap that got me, now they're selling off beer competition leftovers for 50p a bottle. I piled all the Brewdog Chaos Theory into my trolley but I thought taking all the Williams Brothers IPA would be going too far, so there's still some of them on the shelves in the Brookwood branch. If you have a Sainsbury's nearby it's well worth checking it out ASAP.

Sainsbury's Beer Competition

Sainsbury's Beer Competition has finally started. I first got wind of this when a post on Brewdog's blog said they'd got three beers in the final. The thought of paying supermarket prices, not Utobeer prices, for the Brewdog beers certainly got me excited so I've been looking forlornly at the normal range of beer in my local Sainsbury's, uninspired by the usual selection.

Fortunately a post over at Jim's Beer Kit alerted me that it had finally kicked off so when my local branch was still the the same old, same old I hot footed it down to a bigger branch. There in the first aisle I saw was a fine selection of beers, and on a four for the price of three offer!

I stocked up on the Brewdog beers, but also took the opportunity to get plenty of supplies of the others. I'm currently working my way through them with the assistance of the lovely Lisa.

Here's some tasting notes for the Brewdog beers:



Dogma, the beer which was once the infamous Speedball, was very sweet tasting from having honey in it. I don't actually remember the original having honey in so maybe the recipe has been tweaked. I can't say I noticed the kola nut and guarana but then I wouldn't know what they taste like anyway. I do like to see experimentation in beer but this one wasn't really to my taste.

Chaos Theory is a amber coloured IPA and I much preferred it to Dogma, plenty of hops and a touch of darker malts to give it a bit of body. Thumbs up for this one.

Hardcore IPA has definitely been tweaked apparently they couldn't get all the hops they wanted when they first brewed it. It now has a fantastic aroma, much better than the original, and no diacetyl in the taste which some bottles I had suffered from. I'd prefer something this strong to have a bit more body though, all pale malt and what must be a highly attenuating yeast leave this a bit thin.

And one from the Williams brothers: The birds and bees. I was a bit wary of this one as amongst some of my favourite hops (Styrian goldings and Cascade) it also lists elder flowers as an ingredient. I'm sure one of Badgers beers has elder flower in and it's not to my taste. I needn't have worried though as this one is a good, refreshing Summer beer. Lets just hope we get a bit more Summer!

Are Brewdog losing it?

The normally excellent Brewdog have teamed up with lads mag Front to make possibly the worlds tackiest beer. A posting briefly appeared on their website last night announcing the launch of FRONT brew.


You'd have to be a tit to drink this?

The innovative range of beers Brewdog make and their ability to market them successfully have been a very welcome addition to British brewing but they seem to have lost it with this one.

You can read about it on the Front magazine webiste here.

American style IPA night

Can you guess which one is the homebrew? 

Having brewed a beer inspired by Goose Island IPA I decided the time had come to compare it to the original. I also had the Dogfish head 60 minute IPA my mum had kindly brought me from Delaware and to make an evening of it I threw in a bottle of Scotlands very own American IPA Brewdog Punk IPA. 

First up was my homebrew, my first attempt at an American IPA. The grist was all pale malt and the hops a combination of Styrian goldings, centennial and cascade. I'm normally a terrible reductionist when it comes to homebrewing, only altering one thing at a time so I can see what changes it makes. This means I usually only have one type of hop, using it for bittering and aroma. As I'd gone for three types here I decided to mix them all up at all stages to see if I could pick out the different hop types or if they would merge into a new flavour. As it turned out I could detect the fresh flavour of the Styrians and the grapefruit of the cascade. I'd never used centennial  though it's meant to be very similar to cascade so I guess it added to the grapefruit flavour. To be more like the Goose Island IPA which inspired this brew I should probably have added the Styrians early in the boil and focussed on cascade later and for dry hopping. 

This became more apparent when I started on the next brew: Goose Island IPA. There was a much stronger grapefuit aroma and flavour than in my homebrewed beer. I've already discussed the hops but there was also more body to this beer than mine. Attenuation is quite hard to control when homebrewing as I can't just cool the fermenting vessel down when I want the fermentation to finish. This meant there were very little residual sugars in my beer making it very easy drinking but lacking in body. I'll probably add a touch of crystal or cara malt next time I make and American IPA as my current one goes down far too easily for the strength it is (6.5% ABV).

Then I got on to Dogfish head 60 minute IPA, a beer I'd been looking forward to for weeks. Sadly this was a real disapointment. I don't know if I'd got a dodgy bottle or it was a bad batch but the smell of the beer reminded me more of corned beef than anything else. I've no idea what causes this in beer but it's not a desirable characteristic. I did drink the rest of the beer but it certainly wasn't the clean tasting hop overdose I was expecting. Oh well, maybe the other bottles will be better. 

I didn't get as far as the Punk IPA as I was feeling a bit mellow by now and I'd already had few good sessions that week. It's still sitting in the cupboard though so its time will come soon ...

Brewdog to sue the Portman group

The Brewdog Vs Portman group saga took an entertaining twist today as the Brewdog blog revealed they're suing the Portman group for defamation. More here.